The Quadra Island Recreation Society is asking the community for their input into what the island’s Community Centre and a new pavilion at Blenkin Park should be used for.
Marc Doll, Vice Chair of the Society, explained: “We started by looking at one desperate need for the community centre, which was the lack of a proper kitchen facility. We came up with some solutions, but the price tag came in higher than what we wanted for a very small improvement. So, conversations continued, and we decided that we really had to look at the bigger picture. The Quadra Island Community Centre has been serving the community since 1985, and we felt it was time to go back to the public and ask: what do we need this building to do for the next 20 years?”
“At the same time, we’ve been working with the SRD for the last number of years to get an outdoor pavilion in Blenkin Park. The funding is in place, and we’re looking to start building as early as 2026.”
(Screenshot from the public survey)
“So, we’re going to the community to ask: does this community centre suit the needs of the community for the next 20 years? Or are there things that we need to start preparing for now? At the same time, now that we have money in place for a pavilion, we want to make sure we reach out to all the groups that currently use the facility—the concert groups, Quadra Palooza, the theatre groups, etc.—to say, ‘Is this something that you would want?’ And if so, what form would it need to take to best suit your use? How does the community imagine using it? Where should it be placed? What elements need to be incorporated to ensure it is well-used?”
Cortes Currents: Have you received any new ideas coming out of this so far?
Marc Doll: “The press release just went out. We have put a postcard into every mailbox on Quadra, which directs people toward a questionnaire on line at https://yourcommunitycentre.ca/. I think the postcards only hit mailboxes yesterday. I’m not going to look into the responses until everything is in. The survey closes on March 1st, and then there is a committee meeting to synthesize the responses and plan the next step, which will likely be a public open house.”
Cortes Currents: Can people mail in their responses instead of going online?
Marc Doll: “Yes. The idea is that there are also forms available at the community centre for those who don’t want to do it online. They can stop by the centre or grab a form from Jane for a written response.”
Cortes Currents: How integral are these projects to the community?
Marc Doll: “The community centre is the only piece of public infrastructure that Quadra Island has. When we look forward to the challenges that the future is going to place on us, having strong communities and places for people to gather, organize, and learn is what’s going to hold us together.”
Cortes Currents: Why does Quadra need a new pavilion at Blenkin Park?
Marc Doll: “The summer months offer so much opportunity. The park is large but generally not well-used in the summer. We want to bring people together; currently, we have no place for a theatre group to put on ‘Shakespeare in the Park,’ or even for the public to gather under cover for a family picnic on a rainy day. The community centre is a wedding venue in many ways, but it doesn’t have that outdoor capacity to allow a young couple to get married without the fear of being rained upon. All these things are important community offerings that we’re currently just not able to do.”
Cortes Currents: You mentioned opening the vision for both the centre and the pavilion. Is there an opening for people to provide additional funding?
Marc Doll: “That’s a really good question. Funding is always a challenge. What we’ve decided to do is get ourselves to a place where we could be shovel-ready. The community centre needs a lot of upgrades just to maintain its service. When it comes to federal funding—based on statements from the Liberal government—community centres are top of the list, but you need to have shovel-ready projects to access that. We’re going to be looking for funding from every source we can. Governments like quick wins, so our idea is to be ready when that money is on the table.”
Cortes Currents: What about donations from the public?
Marc Doll: “Working with the SRD on donations is a little bit more challenging than I would like it to be. They are less in favor of going down that route, but I think that’s still a conversation that we’re going to have.”
Links of Interest:
- Quadra Island Community Centre website (
- Articles about, or mentioning, the Quadra Island Community Centre
- Electoral Area C – Discovery Islands-Mainland Inlets Parks – SRD website
- Articles about, or mentioning, Blenkin Memorial Park
Top image credit: One of the events at the Quadra Island Community Centre – Roy L Hales photo
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