Officials with the Rocky Mountain Rangers army reserve unit are confident they can ease the concerns of residents in the area around Meadow elementary school.
The former school is their intended site to temporarily house the militia during its formative few years in Prince George. Once up and running, assuming the general region supports the army's operation here, the rangers will locate somewhere with custom facilities.
"I knocked on a lot of doors in the area of the school to let residents know what our intentions were - approximately 50 homes," said Lt. Seth Hunter, one of the leading organizers of the upstart civilian reserve unit. "Ninety-five per cent of people were supportive, and a small group of people were opposed no matter what we said."
Several topics of concern were expressed. There is nothing he can do, Hunter said, about the past decision to close the school or the past tenancy of Northern Health, although both were sore spots he discovered among some neighbours.
There is also nothing he can do about general misgivings on the principle of Canada having a military at all, which was also mentioned by some.
He could respond to some issues that frequently came up, though. He said some were concerned there would be tanks or armoured personnel carriers on the streets. He said the rangers move about in no such vehicles, it is mostly the common pickup truck that will be driving the roads around the area.
Others worried about errant bullets. Shooting will not be done there, he said.
Simple noise concerns were the most common preemptive complaint, he said, but nothing will emanate from the site that exceeds what a school would produce and nothing would conflict with city noise bylaws.
He also heard from one resident that a rumour had been circulating describing 2,000 people converging on the former school every day. On a very special occasion there might be a few hundred people out on the soccer field, like an annual review, but mostly the population would fit inside a couple of classrooms a few times a week, plus a handful of staff.
Property values should see no negative effect, he said, but unit leaders were consulting with local real estate professionals to ensure this was so.
"We feel very confident we can address 90 per cent of everyone's concerns just through a question and answer meeting," said Hunter. "Most people just have worries about the unknown, so we can talk about how we operate and explain what really happens at a reserve unit facility."
That public availability happens Thursday night at the former school. Anyone with questions or concerns is invited to attend at 7 p.m. at 155 McDermid Drive.
