FAQ

Eligible Resident Electors and Non-Resident Property Electors of the Electoral Areas and Municipalities that contribute to the Regional District of Nanaimo District 69 Swimming Pool Local Service can participate in the referendum.  This includes Resident Electors and Non-Resident Property Electors of the City of Parksville, the Town of Qualicum Beach, and Electoral Areas E, F, G, and H.

To participate in the referendum, voters must meet all of the qualifications to be a Resident Elector or a Non-Resident Property Elector: 

 Resident Electors must:

• be 18 years of age or older on General Voting Day; and
• be a Canadian Citizen; and
• be a resident of British Columbia for at least 6 months immediately before the day of registration; and
• be a resident of the municipality or electoral area on the day of registration; and
• not be disqualified under the Local Government Act or any other enactment from voting in an election or be otherwise disqualified by law.

 Non-Resident Property Electors must:

• not be entitled to register as a resident elector of the municipality or electoral area; and
• be 18 years of age or older on General Voting Day; and
• be a Canadian Citizen; and
• be a resident of British Columbia for at least 6 months immediately before the day of registration; and
• be a registered owner of real property in the municipality or electoral area for at least 30 days immediately before the day of registration; and
• not be disqualified under the Local Government Act or any other enactment from voting in an election or be otherwise disqualified by law.

 In addition, for non-resident property electors:

• The only persons who are registered owners of the property, either as joint tenants or tenants in common, are individuals who are not holding the property in trust for a corporation or another trust.
• If more than one person is the registered owner of the property, only one of those individuals may, with the written consent of the majority of the owners, register as a non-resident property elector.

 Note:  Corporations cannot vote.

If more than 50% of the validly cast ballots vote the same way on a question stated, that result is binding.

A referendum is planned for spring 2025. A date will be set and announced in early 2025.

Yes, the Regional District of Nanaimo election bylaw allows for electors to vote by mail. Mail ballots will be provided to eligible electors who apply to vote by mail. More details will become available after the referendum date has been set. 

Proxies are allowed in circumstances where an elector needs assistance to mark their ballot because of a physical disability or difficulties with reading or writing. In this case, an elector may be assisted in voting by an election official or by a person accompanying the elector.

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The main focus of the expansion will be:

• A new 4 lane 25 meter pool
• A new leisure pool
• A new lazy river
• 2 new multi-purpose rooms
• Upgrades to the lobby including a viewing area
• Upgrades to the change rooms including more universal change rooms, washrooms and showers

More details of the expansion project can be found in the FaulknerBrowns Architects Presentation to OSC.

The Regional District of Nanaimo recently acquired a Class B Cost Estimate. Outlined in the table below is the current project budget and the sources of funding. Details of the estimate can be found in the background documents. 

A grant application for the project has been submitted. If successful, the need for long-term borrowing will decrease. The term of the loan is estimated as 20 years.

The current timeline is planning for a referendum in spring 2025. Provided this is achieved, construction is planned for the start of 2026 and is estimated to take 24 to 28 months. 

A more detailed timeline can be found in the background documents. 

If the total $30,000,000 is required for the project, the annual debt servicing costs are estimated in the table below. The term of the loan is estimated as 20 years. 

All amounts are approximate as interest rates are subject to change. Calculated from BC Assessment 2024 Average Residential Values also subject to change. 

The allocation of annual taxes is calculated as the percentage of usage of the service by each participating area determined by a usage survey carried out by the Regional District of Nanaimo every five years as per the service area Bylaw 899. The percent usage per area is outlined in the table below.  

The annual tax requisition is allocated among the service area participants based on the results of this survey.  This amount is then converted to a per thousand dollars of assessment rate and applied to individual homeowners on the basis of their assessed property values.  Given that each Area has a different survey allocation and each homeowner has a different assessed property value, the estimated annual taxes will vary.

The construction sequencing has been designed to minimize the amount of closures as much as possible. There will the three timed closures throughout the construction period. 

The first closure would be at start of construction, this will allow for the installation of temporary walls and a temporary entrance and demolition of the existing offices, lobby and universal changerooms. 

The second closure is planned at the transition point between the existing facilities to the new pool space to allow for the relocation of the temporary entrance and to allow for safe and controlled access to the new space. 

The final closure is planned at the end of construction to allow for cleanup and take down of the temporary structures.

The total closure time is estimated to be 6 to 9 months collectively. More information can be found in the Background Documents. 

After receiving feedback on the design options, the Board made the decision to move forward with the Original Option design which did not include a fitness centre. History of the design options and decision making process can be found on the Expansion project page.

The Class B Estimate from the consultant includes new vertical Regenerative Filters that are designed to provide high efficiency filtration with less water waste. Natural filtration is not accepted as a filtration standard for public swimming pools as per B.C. Health Regulations. The consultant also includes a liquid chlorine system in the design. The B.C. Guidelines for Pool Operations requires a minimum level of chlorine disinfectant.

Ravensong Aquatic Centre is located in the Town of Qualicum Beach at 737 Jones St.

Ravensong Aquatic Centre is home to"

• 25 metre 6 lane pool
• Leisure pool 
• Steam room 
• Infrared sauna 
• Whirlpool 
• Mens/Womens/Universal changerooms
• Lockers

Currently, the facility remains the most used indoor recreation facility in District 69. Swim visits and program attendance have continued to increase over the past 10 years. As a result of several reviews, it can be reasonably stated that the facility is at capacity in it's current state.