While it pinches pennies for a new vessel, Oak Bay Sea Rescue hopes for some wiggle room in Oak Bay’s budget tonight. Their request for $2,300 is included in the current draft budget and last year they were granted $3,000.
Oak Bay Sea Rescue is the society arm that fundraisers for RCM-SAR Station 33 in Oak Bay, which provides marine search and rescue readiness as well as promoting boater safety in and beyond Oak Bay.
“Over the last year our primary focus is fundraising for our new vessel. Every spare dollar we have we’re putting toward that,” said Terry Calvely, rescue society president. Early estimates for that fundraising are about $400,000.
The Oak Bay funds would cover specialized equipment for night rescue as well as some branding.
“This is for lights, for night crews,” Calvaley said. “It keeps them safe, keeps them off the rocks … and when we’re working on water we have to have specialized equipment.”
They also hope to have some banners made for branding during the many community events Oak Bay Sea Rescue attends. “We’ve had these on our plate the last few years,” Calveley said.
The budget is up for discussion tonight, April 19 at 5:30 p.m. in municipal hall.