The caretaker home at Cedar Point Provincial Park in Likely is rotten and beyond repair, said Natasha Gainer, a member of the non-profit board that manages the park.
Gainer said they initially raised almost $30,000 to pay for abatement work to deal with mould and lead paint in the home, but did not expect to hear it was not worth saving. The residence is in a former 1962 school portable that was purchased from School District 27 and brought to the park in 1990.
In June 2024, WorkSafeBC deemed the caretaker residence a hazard and the caretaker, who has worked and lived there for six years, was forced to move out. He has been living in an old travel trailer on site ever since.
"On the day they were supposed to start the abatement work, Oct. 7, I got a call telling me I had to come out there to see it for myself," Gainer told the Tribune.
When she arrived, someone from the Prince George-based abatement company told Gainer everything was rotten - the walls, floors, roof and porch.
She was advised they not spend another $5 on fixing the structure.
Back in June, she said, they'd learned there were high levels of lead in the paint used in the home.
"The safety level for lead is 90 parts per million and some of the paint they tested was 39,000 parts per million," Gainer explained, noting it was old, green paint and several cans were donated.
Out of caution, the board made the caretaker go for some blood tests to make sure he was OK, she added.
After learning the bad news about the house, she called a last-minute board meeting and members agreed they should not spend any money on fixing it up.
The money they had raised for the abatement will now go toward demolishing and properly disposing of the structure.
That work cannot be done until the spring because to properly bond the lead, the temperature has to be 10 C or over.
Another blow was having to tell the caretaker he was not going to have a home.
The travel trailer he is staying in is not winterized and finding a home in Likely is difficult, Gainer said.
Having a caretaker living at the park is crucial for when the campground is open May 15 to Oct. 15, she said, adding it's also ideal to have someone there through the winter as he has been.
Campground rental fees are the society's main income and the board has decided to try to do additional fundraising to try and replace the caretaker's home.
It doesn't have to be fancy or big, Gainer said, noting their research has indicated a new structure will possibly cost $80,000 to 100,000 which she described as a "huge amount of money."
People have been reaching out to say they are planning different ways to help.
A few people wrote cheques already while others said to celebrate a 50th birthday they will ask guests to donate to the park fund. A crowd fundraiser has been launched with a goal of $20,000.
Born and raised in Likely, Gainer is hopeful they can achieve their goal.
"We are shooting for the stars," she said.
There have been some positive changes, however.
Gainer said they added some new picnic tables, outhouses, flowering plants and just completed installing a beautiful new playground structure for children.
The playground was made possible by local volunteers, plus help from United Concrete, Lake Excavating, San Jose Logging, BP Contracting and Rona Williams Lake, as well as the Likely Chamber of Commerce and Mount Polley Mine employees and contractors, she said.
