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The newspaper of record for Nanaimo and region since 1874 || Wednesday, May 13, 2015
» Colliery Dams
CRIME
Councillor ready to take part in ‘civil disobedience’ A police sketch of a man sought following a sexual assault of a woman in Nanaimo on Wednesday.
Police hunt for pair of attackers JULIE CHADWICK DAILY NEWS
GSI proposal, “it’s going to come down to the labyrinth and the swale.” Referring to protests in the park, he said: “And I’ll be out there with the rest of them.” Coun. Jim Kipp also alluded to disruption in the park. “There is a fourth option on the table, and it’s right in front of you right out there,” Kipp said during the council meeting, looking out into the public gallery. “That’s the fourth option right there,” he said. “People standing in front of machines. People having signs. People complaining that council isn’t doing what they want. So don’t skip the fourth option. And some of us will be around for a while to hang on to that option.” The city has until June 1 to choose a remediation option.
The Nanaimo RCMP have released a composite sketch of one of two men they say sexually assaulted a woman in the early morning hours of Wednesday, May 6. Police say the assault took place in a grassy area between Ninth Street and the Nanaimo Parkway. The victim was approached by the two men while walking on Ninth Street. The suspects subsequently left the area and the 37-year-old was able to later provide a detailed description of one of the attackers, said Nanaimo RCMP spokesman Gary O’Brien. The suspect is a white man, mid-to-late 30s, five foot five to five foot seven, with shoulderlength hair. He was wearing a long-sleeved black shirt and red shoes. The second man is believed to be of First Nations descent, a few inches taller, with a heavier build, and had a circular tattoo on his calf. He wore shorts and a white T-shirt. Anyone with information on the incident on either of these two men is asked to contact the Nanaimo RCMP at 250-754-2345, text Crime Stoppers at 274637, keyword Nanaimo, or call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.
Spencer.Anderson @nanaimodailynews.com 250-729-4255
Julie.Chadwick @nanaimodailynews.com 250-729-4238
Nanaimo Coun. Gord Fuller says he is prepared to participate in civil disobedience if a proposed ‘overtopping’ remediation at the lower Colliery dams is rejected. [SPENCER ANDERSON/DAILY NEWS]
Gord Fuller would join Colliery dams protests SPENCER ANDERSON DAILY NEWS
D
issatisfaction with the process to address the Colliery dams issue in Nanaimo dominated debate during a committee of the whole this week, with two city councillors indicating they will a support public protest if a proposal to reinforce the embankment of the lower dam is rejected by the province or council. Coun. Gord Fuller said Tuesday he will take part in protests at the park if city council is forced or decides to undertake more intrusive measures to address safety concerns with the dams, including forms of “civil disobedience.” Council approved a recommendation from staff to directly award construction and design work to reinforce the embankment of the lower dam to GeoStabilization International, a firm that specializes in erosion control.
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GSI has proposed using a grid system of metal anchors and concrete to protect the embankment of the dam from eroding in a flood scenario, a method referred to as overtopping. City staff have repeatedly said they have been told by engineers that additional work to raise the spillway of the dam would also be required for the proposal to be accepted by provincial regulators, who have ordered the city to fix the lower and middle dam. The province’s dam safety section has also required the city to have an independent engineer to sign off as the overtopping method, as it has not widely been used in dam applications. Getting an independent engineer’s approval is a major hurdle for the project, city staff have said, and is far from certain.
City council voted in late April to authorize up to $400,000 in spending to retain GSI, as well as the city’s consultant Golder Associates and a third consultant, Herold Engineering, to prepare to complete design work that will ultimately need to be approved by the province. The city successfully sought an extension to a provincial order to remediate the lower dam so that it could pursue the overtopping option. Months of engineering work have resulted in two other proposals. One is to replace the lower dam spillway with a larger ‘labyrinth’ design at a cost estimate of $8.1 million. The other is to build an auxiliary ‘swale’ spillway, estimated to cost between $3 million and $6 million. Both methods have been approved in principle by the province, but opponents says they are costly and invasive to the park. Fuller said that if the province does not accept the
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