A representative of the Canadian military gave an update and fielded questions about an effort to convert the now-closed Meadow elementary school into the headquarters for an army reserve unit during a school board meeting Tuesday night.
Rocky Mountain Rangers lieutenant Seth Hunter gave a presentation in which he stressed that seeing soldiers would be a rare as about 90 per cent of the activity would occur inside the building.
No ammunition, either live or blank, would ever be fired on site, Hunter assured trustees, and also said weapons storage will meet and exceed security standards.
"I cannot go into detail on what those standards are, but if you take what the RCMP have and multiply it by 10, you might be getting close," Hunter said.
Live ammunition would be stored on the site, but for no more than two days in advance of an exercise.
Nor will heavy armour come into play.
"The Rocky Mountain Rangers is a light infantry unit," Hunter said. "What infantry means is we get around on our two feet, we don't have fancy vehicles,
"We have specialties, basically in mountain operations, winter warfare and helicopter insertion, which is my specialty. So you don't have to worry about tanks."
There would be a three-hour training session every Wednesday evening and the site would be used as a barracks whenever out-of-city training is conducted on weekends.
Four people would work out of the school full-time while the rest would be part-time soldiers who are going to school or hold down other jobs during the week.
Although the long-term goal is to build the reserve into a company of 120 soldiers, Hunter said 40 at the most would gather at the site at any one time.
And he said the school's soccer field would remain open to the public. A playground may also be in store, Hunter said in answer to one trustee's question, but did not make any promise.
"Playgrounds are not something the military traditionally does," Hunter said.
Hunter's presentation appeared to answer most of the trustees' concerns but not all.
Board chair Lyn Hall was particularly concerned about the possibility of barbed wire atop of the fence planned for a the school's parking area which would be turned into a vehicle compound.
Noting the vehicles would consist of large and small pickup trucks, Hall urged that the barbed wire not be installed out of concern for the safety of local youth who may be tempted to scale the fence.
"I'd much sooner see you guy lose a pickup truck than I would see a child get cut on that barbed wire," Hall said.
Hunter said he would direct the request to the army's property management division.
Prior to Hunter's presentation, Meadow neighbourhood resident MIke Mohns urged trustees to reject the proposal, saying it's simply the wrong location and suggested the school would be better used as a community centre.
A reserve had been stationed in Prince George but was pulled out in 1968-69. Local leaders, notably former mayor Colin KInsley, have been pushing to get a reserve reestablished in the city for several years.
The school district and the military are currently negotiating a lease for the site.
