The regional district’s emergency operations crew, who help to manage wildfires, floods, and other local emergencies in the Peace, are receiving a new main office courtesy of a grant funding northern development.
Work on this project is being funded in part by the Northern Healthy Communities Fund. This fund provides up to $500,000 per project.
“The NHCF supports initiatives that help communities remain healthy, resilient and ready to meet the challenges that come with large-scale economic development, such as new demands on housing, health care and other essential governments,” said B.C.’s Ministry of Housing and Municipal Affairs.
This new project, and the grant, is being managed by the Peace River regional district. Their board office is in Dawson Creek, and currently, is home to the emergency operations crew – who meet in the boardroom when a state of emergency is declared.
“(With the new center) the emergency staff can do their job without having to worry about people waking in or out. It’ll be exactly what it’s supposed to be – it’s going to be a headquarters for anything that’s happening,” said board chair Leonard Hiebert of the Peace River regional district.
The current meeting place of the emergency operations crew is inconvenient for them and board members, who host various committee meetings, as well as a monthly gathering of board members.
“With the new standalone (centre) we have the option, so we don’t have to stop our regular board operations,” said Hiebert.
“This is going to benefit the whole region – not just Dawson Creek, where it is being built. The response we got was ‘yes, you’re approved for this project,’” he explained. “When we do a project, we want to make sure it’s going to be beneficial to the whole region, because it’s very important, especially in these times of forest fires.”
While construction on the centre continues, the regional district is working on other projects, and its board chair said they would consider applying to the fund again.
“We don’t know what the future holds. When you have two to three local states of emergencies annually, we don’t know where that’s going to go … This is an option, and we will apply for whatever we can get for grant funding,” he explained.
The Northern Healthy Communities Fund has distributed over $5 million across northern communities — including Fort St John, Prince George, and Terrace.
