FAQ's

The borrowing bylaw will be sent to the Inspector of Municipalities for approval which can take up to 12 weeks. Once approval has been given, the Chief Election Officer will set the date for the referendum which must be on a Saturday not more than 80 days after the approval of the Inspector.

Pending inspector approval, it is planned that the referendum date will be announced in Summer 2025 along with the voting location and information session dates and locations.

The full report presented at the May 27, 2025 Board meeting can be found here.

The referendum seeks elector approval for the Regional District of Nanaimo (RDN) to borrow up to $824,000, plus interest, to help finance the purchase of a 3.7 hectares (9.15 acres) property at 2350 Alberni Highway, Coombs, for the Electoral Area 'F' Community Parks and Halls service.

Eligible resident electors and non-resident property electors of Electoral Area F (the "jurisdiction") are the only persons entitled to vote in the referendum. To confirm if you’re eligible, please email vote@rdn.bc.ca, call 250-390-4111 or visit rdn.bc.ca/French-Creek-School-and-Parkland-Purchase-Referendum for more information. 

Voters will be asked:

“Are you in favour of the Regional District of Nanaimo adopting “Electoral Area 'F' Community Parks and Halls Local Service Property Purchase Loan Authorization Bylaw No. 1929, 2025”, which will authorize the Regional District of Nanaimo to borrow up to eight hundred and twenty-four thousand dollars ($824,000), plus interest, repayable over a period of no more than ten (10) years, to finance the purchase of a 3.7 hectare (9.15 acre) property located at 2350 Alberni Highway, Coombs, (known as French Creek School) for use by the Electoral Area 'F' Community Parks and Halls Local Service?"

The referendum is scheduled for October 25, 2025.

There are three ways to vote:

Mail Ballot Voting – Mail ballots are available to eligible electors who apply. Mail ballot applications are available online, you can request an application by emailing vote@rdn.bc.ca, calling 250-390-4111, or pick one up in person at 6300 Hammond Bay Rd.

Advance Voting – Wednesday, October 15 and 22, 2025, from 8 a.m. – 8 p.m. at the Coombs Fairgrounds, 1014 Ford Road, Coombs.

General Voting Day – Saturday, October 25, 2025, from 8 a.m. – 8 p.m. at the Coombs Fairgrounds, 1014 Ford Road, Coombs.

To find more information about voting please visit rdn.bc.ca/French-Creek-School-and-Parkland-Purchase-Referendum.

If you're not on the voters list, you can register at the time of voting by completing an application form. You will be asked to provide two pieces of identification that prove who you are and where you live. One of them must have your signature on it. For a list of accepted identification please see our Resident Electors FAQ sheet or visit rdn.bc.ca/French-Creek-School-and-Parkland-Purchase-Referendum. There are additional requirements to register as a Non-Resident Property Elector, please see our Non-Resident Property Elector FAQ sheet.

If you are already on the voters list, identification is not required. To find out if you are on the voters list, please email vote@rdn.bc.ca or call 250-390-4111.

The RDN is required to follow provincial legislation which does not permit online voting. 

Learn about the three ways to vote at rdn.bc.ca/French-Creek-School-and-Parkland-Purchase-Referendum.

Chief Election Officer: Jacquie Hill

Deputy Chief Election Officers: Nelda Richardson and Christine Holt

The “Electoral Area 'F' Community Parks and Halls Local Service Property Purchase Loan Authorization Bylaw No. 1929, 2025” will be brought to the RDN Board for adoption. Once the RDN has approval for borrowing, 2350 Alberni Hwy will be purchased from the School District.

Securing borrowing is a condition of the purchase agreement with the School District therefore, if the referendum is not approved, the conditions of the agreement cannot be met and the purchase of the French Creek School and Parkland would not occur.

Look for the Stay Informed and microphone image at the bottom of the page. Fill in your email address and click the SUBSCRIBE button. Once you have clicked on SUBSCRIBE, it will change to: Thank you for subscribing. You will start receiving updates from us shortly.

At any time if you no longer want to receive email updates on a project, you can click unsubscribe in the email update coming from the Get Involved RDN Team notification@engagementhq.com or by clicking Unsubscribe under the Stay Informed and microphone image at the bottom of the page.

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.

Yes, you can. You can apply for a mail ballot application by submitting an Application to Vote by Mail to the Regional District of Nanaimo in person or by courier to 6300 Hammond Bay Rd, faxed to 250-390-4163 or emailed to vote@rdn.bc.ca. 

When your mail ballot package is ready, the RDN will contact you to arrange for pick up.

You can drop off your completed ballot to one of the following four locations during the dates and times listed:

Oceanside Place Arena
 830 West Island Highway, Parksville

• Monday: 8:30 a.m. – 6 p.m.
• Tuesday: 8:30 a.m.  – 6 p.m.
• Wednesday: 8:30 a.m. – 7 p.m.
• Thursday: 8:30 a.m. – 6 p.m.
• Friday: 8:30 a.m. – 7:45 p.m.
• Saturday: 10 a.m. – 2:45 p.m. 
• Sunday: 10 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.

Meadowood Community Hall
 1830 Galvin Place, Qualicum Beach

• Thursday, October 9, 2025, from 1 – 3 p.m.
• Thursday, October 16, 2025, from 9:30 – 11:30 a.m.
• Thursday, October 23^, 2025, from 1 – 3 p.m.

 Regional District of Nanaimo Parks Services Office
 1490 Springhill Road, Parksville

• Thursday, October 9^, 2025, from 9:30 – 11:30 a.m.
• Thursday, October 16^, 2025, from 1 – 3 p.m.
• Thursday, October 23, 2025, from 9:30 – 11:30 a.m.

 Regional District of Nanaimo Administration Office
 6300 Hammond Bay Rd, Nanaimo

• Monday to Friday, 8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
• On general voting day (Saturday, October 25), from 8:30 a.m. – 8:00 p.m.

  
  

Yes. You can have someone else drop off your sealed envelope at one of the locations or you can courier it to the Regional District of Nanaimo Administration Office at 6300 Hammond Bay Road. For more information please visit rdn.bc.ca/2025French-Creek-School-Mail-ballot-voting

The School District accepted an offer of $1,300,000 for the property, an additional $20,000 is estimated for legal and professional fees. Part of the purchase would be funded through long-term borrowing which requires elector approval therefore, the RDN will be holding a referendum on October 25, 2025. If approved, Bylaw No. 1929, 2025 will authorize the Regional District of Nanaimo to borrow up to $824,000 required secure the site.

Estimated annual cost per average household in Electoral Area F of the loan repayment is $22.71 per year over the ten-year loan term. The annual cost per $100,000 of assessed property value is $3.03. BC Assessment 2025 average residential value for Electoral Area F is $749,286. 

To calculate the estimated cost of the long-term borrowing for your household, divide the assessed value of your property by 100,000 and multiply the result by the cost per $100,000 of assessed property value of $3.03.

Examples:

The RDN Board approved the allocation of $30,000 for annual carrying costs of the buildings including insurance and utilities until the future use of the buildings is determined. The annual carrying costs of the Community Park total $8,000.

The property includes the former French Creek Community School building, a separate gymnasium building and a field with a playground currently used as French Creek School Community Park.

The original schoolhouse dates back to 1911, with the balance of construction dated 1977. The building is 16,843 square feet and the property is 9.15 acres (3.7 hectares). The Community Park is 6.61 acres (2.674 hectares) which is approximately 72% of the property.

Board direction was provided for staff work with the Electoral Area F Director, the Arrowsmith Community Recreation Association, and community groups to determine an interim usage for the Gymnasium building and that the main school building shall remain unoccupied until after further direction is provided by the Board. Pending the outcome of the referendum and subsequent Board direction, staff will bring a report on uses for the buildings to the Board for their consideration. The parkland will remain as French Creek School Community Park.

Yes, the November 28, 2023 Board report located in the Background Documents on this page contain a condition report and property assessment as well as some other relevant information. The information contained in the Financial Implications section of this Board report is outdated. Since the writing of this report further investigation and negotiations have taken place and Board direction was provided based on the updated information. Discussions were made In Camera and therefore cannot be shared at this time however, RDN staff are working to provide further information for release later this summer. We encourage you to register at getinvolved.rdn.ca and subscribe to receive updates about the project at getinvolved.rdn.ca/french-creek-school-and-parkland-purchase-referendum

The RDN is planning to hold an in-person information session in the community, social media and newspaper ads will be shared as well as e-newsletters for those who subscribe to the Get Involved RDN project page.

A referendum or assent voting is used to obtain the approval of the electors of a regional district or specified area so the regional district board may proceed with a proposed matter.

A referendum or assent vote allows eligible electors to vote in favour or opposed to a specific question on a ballot. The result is determined by tallying the votes and if more than 50 percent of the ballots are cast the same way, that is the outcome of the assent vote.

 An AAP allows eligible electors to submit a response form to the local government if they are against a local government proposal. If less than ten per cent of electors oppose the proposal, the proposal may proceed.

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

Loans issued to the Regional District of Nanaimo come from the Municipal Finance Authority of BC.

The Municipal Finance Authority of British Columbia (MFA) was created in 1970 to contribute to the financial well-being of local governments throughout BC. The MFA pools the borrowing and investment needs of BC communities through a collective structure and can provide a range of low cost and flexible financial services, regardless of the size of the community. The MFA is independent from the Province of British Columbia and operates under the governance of a Board of Members appointed from the various Regional Districts within the province. The MFA provides long-term, short-term, and equipment financing, investment management, and other financial services to communities and public institutions in B.C.

Drop-in at the Coombs Fairgrounds anytime between 4p.m. and 7p.m on October 1. There will be information boards with details about the property and the referendum. RDN staff will be present to answer questions, there will not be a presentation or a microphone.

If you have questions about other RDN services, projects or topics please send them to inquiries at inquires@rdn.bc.ca or call 250-390-4111 and they will be connected with the appropriate RDN staff person who will respond to their inquiries during regular office hours.

RDN staff will be attending the Errington Farmers Market on September 27 to allow the community a chance to connect with staff and ask questions about the property and the referendum. The market is located at 1550 Veterans Rd in Errington and runs from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. 

If you are unable to attend the farmers market, but still have questions, you can submit them through our Q&A tool, or email FCSPPReferendum@rdn.bc.ca.

Yes, the RDN has added an additional information session on October 9 at the Meadowood Community Hall. The information session is drop-in format from 4 p.m. to 7p.m.. Staff will be available to answer questions.