The mayor of Kamloops says he plans to defy an order from the city’s fire chief requiring he remove a burned out SUV from the parking lot of his downtown business within 48 hours.
If Mayor Reid Hamer-Jackson does not comply, the vehicle will be towed by the city with the bill going to Tru Market Truck and Auto Sales.
The torched vehicle has been sitting in the dealership’s West Victoria Street lot last October, not long after Hamer-Jackson, the dealership's owner, was elected mayor. It was the scene of earlier this year.
Kamloops Fire Rescue Chief Ken Uzeloc deemed the SUV a fire hazard and gave Hamer-Jackson notice on Monday afternoon.
“The property owner has been given 48 hours to remove the hazard,” Uzeloc told Castanet Kamloops.
“If that doesn’t happen, then we would look to tow it and potentially store it for a period of time, allowing the person time to come and deal with it and pay any bills. If that doesn’t happen, then we would dispose of it and attach any costs that we incur onto the property’s tax roll.”
Hamer-Jackson said Uzeloc gave him written notice on Monday following a brief tour led by the mayor of the West Victoria Street corridor. He said he thinks the city is wasting its time focusing on the charred SUV.
“The vehicle is not the problem,” he said. “They have 800 emergency calls across the street [at West Victoria Street shelters] — you might want to look at that a little more.”
Hamer-Jackson campaigned before last year's election on accountability for shelters, most notably those along West Victoria Street. He has long called for an independent review of BC Housing's supportive housing and shelter facilities. That idea by a city council committee.
Uzeloc said the SUV on the mayor's lot is a hazard because it attracts people — some of whom might be willing to light a fire to keep warm.
“It’s the fact that there’s been two fires already in it and that it continues to attract people that are trying to seek shelter,” he said.
“There’s cardboard in it, there’s wood blocks in the windows that have been broken out due to the fires that have occurred, there’s a sleeping bag in it, as well. My fear is that they’re going to look to have another fire to keep warm as it gets colder.”
The city it has received two nuisance-related calls for service relating to the vehicle.
Hamer-Jackson said his licence to sell vehicles allows him to store wrecks on his property.
“If I had 50 vehicles on my lot, I guess they could all be hazards, really, because in reality I can buy and sell wrecks,” he said.
“But I put the cover on it. There’s covers over vehicles, RVs, boats, everything all over the city and I don’t know how you deem them all a hazard.”
Hamer-Jackson said he’s put many tarps on the burned SUV but they keep disappearing. A blue tarp he placed on the vehicle on Saturday was still there as of Monday evening.
Uzeloc said the tarp is not a fix because it does nothing to address his safety concerns — the big one being that the SUV is a magnet for those looking to keep warm.
Castanet Kamloops asked Hamer-Jackson whether he plans to comply with the order.
“No — I’m not going to tow it,” he said.
“I am paying taxes on a piece of property downtown where I have a car lot, and I should be able to park wrecked vehicles there.”
Uzeloc said the mayor is not being targeted unfairly.
“This has nothing to do with who owns it,” he said.
“I would be doing the same thing for any business or property owner if they had the same circumstances happening.”
