TNRD approves funds for two rural fire departments

Photo: Contributed

The site of the former Loon Lake Fire Hall.

Two rural fire departments north of Kamloops are getting regional district funding.

The TNRD board approved $150,000 this week for the Loon Lake Volunteer Fire Department Hall, to make sure the project is fully funded. The previous hall was lost in the wildfires of 2017, which hit the Loon Lake area hard. Land was secured for the hall earlier this year.

The budget for the hall had been $1.36 million, funded from three sources, including a $275,000 donation from Fraser Way RV. The budget did have a contingency, in case of cost overruns, but earthwork to prepare the site is expected to be $150,000 more than expected, according to a report to the TNRD board.

"This would use up the contingency originally planned, leaving none should any other costs be higher than planned for," states the report.

The $150,000 approved by the board at its Thursday, Dec. 17 meeting will come from the TNRD's community assistance fund for Electoral Area E (which is where Loon Lake is). They'll be used if needed, with any extra returned to the fund.

At the same meeting, $50,000 from the federal gas tax-community works fund was allocated to the South Green Lake Fire Hall for a new roof. The current roof has gaps in the insulation.

"These roof upgrades are anticipated to improve energy efficiency and reduce annual operating costs," notes a TNRD report on the project.