The Commons: Let Them Eat Golf podcast, Qualicum Beach

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Transcript

Cold open

Narrator: Wednesday, April 15th, 2026, a little before ten in the morning. About a hundred people are standing in the square outside Qualicum Beach Town Hall: seniors, parents, kids. [1]

Narrator: "It's a marvellous place," one parent told CHEK News. "You don't see it actually in very many communities, that many different, amazing organizations all in one place." [1]

Narrator: They've come because of a building a few blocks away: the old Qualicum Beach Elementary School, now Qualicum Commons. Eight days earlier, the Town told everyone in it to be out by the end of June. [1][2]

Narrator: Many of them go inside and fill the Council chamber. Then they're asked to leave. The meeting about to start is closed to the public. [1]

Narrator: The minutes say what happened next, which is almost nothing the public can see. Council closed the meeting at 10:01 am, to discuss labour relations, land, and legal advice. It reopened to the public at 3:05 pm, and adjourned the same minute. That afternoon, the Town's Chief Administrative Officer couldn't tell CHEK News whether the Commons had come up at all. [3][1]

Narrator: Almost every decision about the Commons was made in a room like that one. [4][5][6]

Narrator: This is Let Them Eat Golf, a podcast about what Qualicum Beach Council said no to, and what it said yes to, built from the Town's own records. This episode: The Commons. The narrator's voice is AI. Everything else you'll hear comes from public meetings, public records and published reporting. No candidate, party or campaign pays for, sponsors or authorizes this podcast. [7]

Act 1: The building

Narrator: The school closed in 2014. The next year, community groups reopened it as Qualicum Commons. By this spring, the tenants included two daycares, a dance school, an occupational therapist, and Coast Karma Academy, an independent school for autistic and neurodivergent students. [8][9]

Narrator: Supporters say the building has 72 licensed childcare spaces, 92 students at Coast Karma, and 78 jobs, and that more than 1,000 people use it every week. Those are the supporters' figures. [10][8]

Narrator: The Oceanside Commons Society's campaign website quotes a working parent: "Without the childcare spaces here, I would have had to leave my job." [10]

Act 2: A year of due diligence

Narrator: The School District owns the building. In 2024, it planned to close it, along with its Craig Street building, citing about $4 to $5 million in capital costs for the two. [11][8]

Narrator: That September, the District and the Town announced they'd work together on a long-term solution. "Both parties are committed to transparency," the release said, "and will keep the community informed throughout the process." [12]

Narrator: In March 2025, one of the building's original tenants announced it was leaving. The Society of Organized Services is a Parksville non-profit that has worked with Oceanside families for almost 60 years. Since 2015, it had run a community services centre at the Commons: sessions for toddlers and caregivers, youth drop-ins, family nights, and a seniors' social group. [13][14][8]

Narrator: Its executive director, Susanna Newton, told NanaimoNewsNOW why it was moving everything back to Parksville: "The uncertain future of the Qualicum Commons facility, ongoing issues that we've had in the building, and, obviously, operational cost." Its programs carried on in Parksville, all except the seniors' group, which it ended. [13]

Narrator: That same week, School District staff were recommending the board close the building on July 1st. [13]

Narrator: The next step happened in private, three days after that report. On March 12th, 2025, in a closed meeting, Council directed $590,000 to maintenance at the Commons. [5][8]

Narrator: That money came from a developer. It was a community amenity contribution from the rezoning of 850 Eaglecrest Drive. And in 2022, in an open meeting, the previous Council had decided where it would go: half to parkland and environmental conservation, half to local health care. [15]

Narrator: In June 2025, the Town signed a one-year lease on the building, starting July 1st, with options to renew. The Mayor said it gave the Town "the opportunity to strengthen partnerships and support current tenants, while setting the stage for the Qualicum Commons to thrive as a community space for generations to come." [16]

Narrator: On July 23rd, staff told Council the Commons lease and the golf course purchase hadn't been in the Town's work plan. At that meeting, Council pushed back 33 planned initiatives. At a Town Hall the same day, a resident asked when the due diligence would end. [17][8][18]

“Well, there is a, we have a one-year lease at the moment to determine what needs to be done.”

Mayor Teunis Westbroek, Town Hall, Jul 23, 2025, Town of Qualicum Beach meeting video

Narrator: The $590,000 was first mentioned in public seven months after the decision, on October 22nd, in a staff summary of the year's budget changes. [19][5]

“So, there's Qualicum Commons maintenance. We're allocating $590,000 from the community amenity contribution that was received through the Eaglecrest Drive rezoning to address potential issues with building maintenance needs at the Qualicum Commons.”

Town staff, Council meeting, Oct 22, 2025, Town of Qualicum Beach meeting video

Narrator: In December, at a Town Hall meeting, a resident asked about it. [20]

“To date the acquisition has primarily been done behind closed doors, and using section E and K. One is about the acquisition of land and the other one is about negotiations of municipal service. I'm asking today how we are able to use that behind closed doors to make a decision to use $590,000 from the community amenity fund. That's not something that should be done behind closed doors in my view.”

A resident, Town Hall, Dec 17, 2025, Town of Qualicum Beach meeting video

“So how is it that we can use funds for maintenance of a building, when these funds were allocated on June 8th, '22, in a regular council meeting, that the money would be used 50% for parkland and environmental conservation and 50% for health care, local health care.”

The same resident, Town of Qualicum Beach meeting video

Narrator: Staff said the business case was still being worked out. [20]

“…the first year is really about doing our due diligence to understand the business case around the Commons.”

Town staff, Town of Qualicum Beach meeting video

Narrator: On March 18th, 2026, another resident asked again. [21]

“Qualicum Commons. Most of the discussions, from what I understand, … in closed meetings. And there doesn't seem to be very much information coming about what exactly the status of Qualicum Commons is. So I'm wondering, when will we get a report…”

A resident, Town Hall, Mar 18, 2026, Town of Qualicum Beach meeting video

Narrator: He asked how money set aside for health care could pay for repairs. [21]

“How does $500,000 earmarked for health care in the community get spent on repairs to Qualicum Commons? — There is a good answer for that, but I'll let [staff] answer it. — Thank you, Your Worship. Again, it's held as a contingency. So, it hasn't been spent.”

The resident, the Mayor, and Town staff, Town of Qualicum Beach meeting video

“It's now held in a contingency. And if it's used, that will be made public. And if it's not used, it goes back to a reserve.”

Town staff, Town of Qualicum Beach meeting video

Narrator: That was three weeks before the Town told the tenants to leave. [21][2]

Act 3: Three months' notice

Narrator: On Tuesday, April 7th, the Town announced it would not renew the lease. Here are its reasons, in its own words. "Significant floods in three areas." Heating and cooling units "failing, or at end-of-life." Replacements needed for "the roof, windows, doors, plumbing, electrical, and fire suppression systems." And, "To address only the immediate, short-term needs," estimates "in the range of $1.5 - $2 million." Rent from the tenants, it said, "would not come close." [2]

Narrator: "As the Town does not own this property," the release said, "multi-million-dollar investments would not make financial sense." It then drew a comparison of its own: investing in the Commons is "very different than the purchase of the Eaglecrest Golf Course lands," which the Town owns. [2][22]

Narrator: The tenants had until June 30th. Coast Karma's school year didn't end until June 26th. [9]

Narrator: Its founder, Glenn Sollitt, told CHEK News it was "a mix of shock, anxiety, panic." And: "It's frustrating, to put it nicely, that we're so vulnerable that someone else can make a decision that affects the very existence of our school." [9]

Narrator: The owner of the Qualicum Beach School of Dance, with 190 students and eight staff, told Global News there was "little to no inventory in Qualicum Beach," and that this was "potentially business closing for me." [23]

Narrator: Sollitt told Global he had expected more time: "There's a four-year option to extend it, and our expectation was that that's exactly what was going to happen." [23]

Narrator: The Mayor answered in a written statement. The building "is owned by School District 69 and the Town cannot currently purchase it because it's not for sale." And the tenants "were made aware from the outset that their leases were for a one-year term, ending June 30, 2026." [23]

Narrator: Both sides were right about the paperwork. The tenants' agreements with the Town were one-year licences. But the Town's own lease with the School District carried a right to renew for four more years. The Town's resolutions of May 20th spell that out. [24]

Narrator: The response was fast, and almost all of it was in writing. A petition from the Oceanside Commons Society had 430 signatures by the next afternoon, and nearly 1,400 by Friday. It now has 2,837. [9][25][10]

Narrator: From early April to mid-May, the Town logged about 180 written submissions about the Commons. It hasn't published them, only their subject lines. "Commons Closure – Daycare Programs." "Remember the Old School House." [26][27][28]

Narrator: Some people wrote to the paper instead. On April 21st, a Qualicum Beach resident wrote to the PQB News that saving the Commons was unlikely without a wealthy sponsor, but ended: "We can make a difference if we work together and get this done." [29]

Narrator: And on April 15th, they came to Town Hall, and found the door closed. [1][3]

Narrator: Two days later, the Mayor thanked the community "for speaking out." The Town, he said, "is actively exploring possible solutions to keep the Commons open." [30]

Act 4: The sublease

Narrator: For the next five weeks, the Town and the Oceanside Commons Society, the community group behind the petition, traded letters. Most of what's public about those weeks comes from the Town's own summary, released with its resolutions on May 20th. [24]

Narrator: On May 14th, the Town set out its terms. The Society would take a sublease of three years and eleven months, and take on everything: running the building, maintenance, insurance, utilities, safety compliance, handling asbestos when tiles and panels are repaired, and all capital repairs. It would also indemnify the Town. In return, the Town would pay up to $80,000 to fix three broken heating and cooling units and some flooring, and keep mowing the fields. [31]

Narrator: Put simply, the repairs the Town had priced at one and a half to two million dollars would become the Society's responsibility. [31][2]

Narrator: According to the Town, the Society wrote back on May 18th that it didn't presently have the capacity to take on all of that, and asked instead for a memorandum of understanding and six months to plan. [24]

Narrator: On May 20th, Council met behind closed doors again. It turned down the six months, and set a deadline: sign a sublease by June 1st. [6][24]

Narrator: The next day, the Society said no. In an email to CHEK News, it said: "OCS has not received a sublease from the Town, and we are declining to sign one today." The Town says the Society told it that it "did not wish to receive the sublease for review." Both accounts fit the record: what the Town had sent on May 14th was a letter of terms, not a draft sublease. [32][33][31]

Narrator: The Mayor's statement that day: "The Town simply cannot absorb the long-term capital and operational costs of the Commons given the potential burden on taxpayers, but we also know how vital this space is for the entire Oceanside area." The Society called the outcome "a milestone, not a finish line." [32]

Narrator: So on May 22nd, the Town did what its resolution laid out. It renewed its lease with the School District and, at the same time, gave a year's notice. The Town's tenancy now ends June 30th, 2027. Tenants were offered licences to that date, "to allow time to secure alternate space." [33][24]

Narrator: Council also told staff to let the District know the Town wishes "to further explore the potential acquisition of the Commons property as a long-term community hub." Six weeks earlier, the Mayor had said the property wasn't for sale. Any sale still has to go through the Province's process. [33][23][24]

Narrator: The School District hasn't said publicly whether it will sell. In April, the Town told NanaimoNewsNOW the District had said it can't sell the property in the short term. Back in 2024, the District's board chair said it would "welcome other proposals that may offer long-term solutions." [25][8][12]

Act 5: The campaign

Narrator: Which brings us to the election. Three people are running for mayor: Nessa Cymbalisty, Adam Walker and the current Mayor, Teunis Westbroek. Mayor Westbroek's flyer promises to "work with the Qualicum School District and the community to explore the future of the former Qualicum Beach Elementary School site," with "possibilities for children programs, a new location for a bigger seniors' activities centre, community gardens and flexible community space." [34]

Narrator: Our fact check rates that Misleading. The site already is a community hub. The flyer doesn't say that the Town declined the repairs, told the tenants to leave, and has given notice to end its lease. And a seniors' centre needs assessment and a study of Town land for a cinema were both pushed back by the Eaglecrest funding plan he voted for. [34]

Narrator: Adam Walker, who's running against him, organized the April 15th rally. He's behind the Save Qualicum Commons website, and he's a member of the Oceanside Commons Society. [1][9][25]

Narrator: And the decisions we've described were made in closed meetings, which don't record who voted how. [4]

What we still don't know

Narrator: Some things aren't public. We don't know when Council decided not to renew, or who voted for it. [2][4]

Narrator: We don't know what happened to the $590,000. In March, staff said it hadn't been spent, and that if it were used, that would be made public. We haven't found any record of it being used, or returned to a reserve. [21][8]

Narrator: We don't know what long-term repairs would cost. The Town's estimate covers only the immediate needs. And we don't know whether the School District will sell, or where the tenants will be on July 1st, 2027. [2][8]

Close

Narrator: The Town's lease on the Commons ends about eight months into the next Council's term. [33]

Narrator: Every document in this episode is linked in the show notes, and on the Qualicum Commons page at letthemeatgolf.ca. If we got something wrong, email facts@LetThemEatGolf.ca, and we'll correct it, here and on the site. If you're heard in this episode and want your voice taken out, write to the same address. [8]

Narrator: Advance voting is October 7th and October 14th, at the Civic Centre. General voting day is Saturday, October 17th. [35]

Sources

Spot a mistake? Email facts@LetThemEatGolf.ca and we’ll correct it, in the episode and here. If you’re heard in this episode and want your voice taken out, write to the same address.

The Commons