Integrating the Mesachie Lake and Honeymoon Bay fire protection services is one of the options suggested by a third-party review.
The review, conducted by Behr Integrated Solutions Inc., concluded that other options include establishing a contracted area with Honeymoon Bay to provide fire protection to Mesachie Lake, extend the Cowichan Valley Regional District-contracted area with the Town of Lake Cowichan, rescind Mesachie Lake and Honeymoon Bay fire protection local services areas and establish an integrated local services area, replace the fire station and major equipment or keep the station at status quo.
A facilitated public meeting is expected to be held in Mesachie Lake within the next month, with the date and location to be announced, to discuss the review, hear community input, and explore future service delivery options.
The board at the CVRD will provide direction on options following the public meeting, according to a press release.
“The goal of the review was to provide the CVRD with observations, options and recommendations aimed at developing a long-term, sustainable fire protection strategy that optimizes safe and effective service delivery for the residents of Mesachie Lake,” said CVRD chairman Jon Lefebure.
“Based on the results of the review, we have several options, but many of them will incur major costs. For example, Mesachie Lake firefighters respond to an average of 21 service calls each year, yet we estimate the costs of upgrading the existing fire hall and equipment will result in significant property tax increases for Mesachie Lake residents.”
The CVRD announced in January that the Mesachie Lake fire department would be put on an “operational pause” as of Jan. 24 to allow an independent consultant to conduct a third-party review of the department.
The district also announced that fire chief Gary Eve and deputy chief Owen Robertson, long-time members of the fire department, were being terminated at the same time, but provided no explanation for the firings.
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After a public outcry, the fire department resumed operations on Feb. 2 under the temporary leadership of former fire department member Kevin Smith.
Lefebure and the district didn’t give any reasons for the sudden termination for Eve and Robertson at the time, stating the issue is a personnel matter that can’t be discussed in public.
Eve said he has since been told that he and Robertson were fired from their volunteer positions for insubordination, a reason he said is unsubstantiated and was just an easy way out for the CVRD.
“I asked for a review of this decision through the CVRD’s human resources department, but was told that the reasons I presented for the review were not good enough,” he said.
“Every lawyer I talked to said it was a wrongful dismissal and I would win a court case, but it would take years of my wages to fight it and I would be fighting against my own tax money. The whole issue stinks very badly.”
Eve suggested that the fire departments in Cowichan Lake, Youbou, Honeymoon Bay and Mesachie Lake should form their own independent fire protection district and completely separate themselves from the CVRD.
Ian Morrison, the CVRD director who represents Mesachie Lake, said it will be up to the Mesachie Lake community to decide which of the options presented by the independent review to recommend to the CVRD.
“My focus since this issue first came up in January is to provide the community with the best information I can,” he said.
“I’ll let the people decide which service option they prefer and I’ll advocate for that.”
According to a press release from the CVRD, factors that prompted the independent review included aging infrastructure and apparatus replacement costs at the Mesachie fire department, low firefighter recruitment and retention, increasing training costs, unattainable asset management plan objectives, and a very low annual call volume.
“There are significant concerns that Mesachie Lake’s aging fire hall and equipment are placing the safety of residents and firefighters at risk,” said John Elzinga, the CVRD’s general manager of community services.
“It is hoped residents will examine the report thoroughly to inform themselves about which of the options makes the most sense to them, both financially and logistically.”
robert.barron@cowichanvalleycitizen.com
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