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Director with Colliery Dam group excited about improved relationship between city, community

Aug 23, 2016 | 5:25 PM

NANAIMO — A director with the Colliery Dam Park Preservation Society is hopeful that a new line of communication between city hall and the community will begin rebuilding trust.
 
Last Thursday, the city hosted a public meeting at the lower dam, with staff, including CAO Tracy Samra, on-hand to answer any questions and give an update on the work that was recently completed.

Roblyn Hunter says she left that meeting feeling very positive, noting it was a wonderful start to what she hopes is a new way of communicating.

“Having a face-to-face was really important for our community. I’m very appreciative that they took those steps. I think it goes a long way to rebuilding the trust that really was compromised over the last few years,” said Hunter.

A rift of distrust between city staff, council and supporters of the dams sparked years of heated debate in the community.

Many felt city staff were not listening to the wishes of the community, as they pressed on with recommendations for remediation work on the dams, facing pressure from the provincial government.

John Elliott, manager of utilities with the city, says from their perspective they wanted to reach out to the community and start an open dialogue, noting there has been direction given for them to be more open and collaborative.

He says it’s seen as a correction on shortcomings they’ve heard about in the past.

Hunter says she is getting the feeling the city is genuinely wanting to consult with the public.

“I’m hopeful that one of the good things that has come out of this, is that we now have a city hall that actually listens to the community. They aren’t making arbitrary decisions about how things happen.”

She says she was particularly impressed that CAO Tracy Samra took the time to attend the meeting.

“It was very telling in terms of a change in the climate at city hall.”

Elliott reports Councillors Bill Bestwick, Wendy Pratt and Gord Fuller were also at the meeting, which featured about 40 people from the community.

The focus, Hunter says, now turns to the future of the park, with a will to move on from the past tensions.

“Getting rid of the issue with the middle dam, we really want to see that put to bed. Having a different city manager with a different focus, I’m hoping that will happen.”

Hunter says her group will “not be very accepting” of anything changing with the middle dam, noting they don’t know how it’s going to go at this point.

“We want as little done as possible and have the Dam Safety Section go away,” says Hunter, chuckling.

Elliott says the city is currently developing a proposal with an engineer, noting any conversations around remediation on the middle dam are in the preliminary stages.

He says it’s clear it needs to be addressed in some way, but they need to figure out what’s realistic.

Right now, according to Elliott, Parks and Rec staff are working on a detailed proposal for functional and aesthetic improvements for Colliery Dam Park, noting it’s a beautiful space that is due for some direction and improvement.

Those improvements could include benches and putting sand down on beaches, with Elliott saying a report with options will be taken to council and the community to discuss.

He expects that information to come out soon.

Another issue that will be addressed in the interim is a safety concern with the newly constructed spillway on the lower dam.

Elliott says there are concerns about people climbing onto one of the walls of the spillway, noting signage put up to deter people isn’t working.

While city staff work on a solution that will fit in with the area, security patrols will be reinstated to keep people off the dangerous wall.