Sylvie Paillard
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The District of Squamish regular council meeting opened with Black Tusk Caledonia bagpiper Ian MacKay playing the Flower of the Forest Lament during a moment of tribute to councilor Ray Peters who died of cancer Thursday, March 30. Mayor Ian Sutherland informed the community that the Cheekye Fan Trail would be renamed the Ray Peters Trail during a formal ceremony to take place at Don Ross Secondary School on Sunday (April 9) at 3 p.m. There will also be a memorial at the Brennan Park Leisure Centre today (Friday, April 7) at 11 a.m. Sutherland said that the Peters family is requesting donations to the Squamish Trail Society and the Don Ross Outdoor Leadership program in lieu of flowers.
5th Avenuedevelopment supported
Numerous stakeholders spoke at a public hearing to determine whether Seabright Holdings ltd. should be awarded rezoning amendments for a proposed 5th Avenue 210 unit development. The development covers three lots and includes townhouses and a six-storey apartment building to border the estuary trail and Main Street, which the developer has agreed to extend. The developer also agreed to hand over a polluted pond in need of clean up. Written correspondence submitted by affected residents listed five concerns: excessive traffic, density, building height blocking views and light, pedestrian safety and environmental impacts. The developer first proposed the project three years ago, and several residents speaking during Tuesday's hearing said they supported the project since changes were made. Councilor Raj Kahlon said he wanted certainty that the pond clean up would be done before it was handed over. Mick Gottardi, director of community development, said that the clean up is part of the developer's infrastructure improvements, but that there was no timeline in place yet. Council unanimously supported the motion to give third reading to a bylaw granting Seabright a zoning amendment.
Requests forAdventure Centreinformation deferred
A motion by councilor Mike Jensen for staff to prepare a report detailing all costs associated with the Adventure Centre along with the motions from council approving the expenditures and how they met the authorization required by the local government act and the community charter was deferred for two weeks. And a motion by Corinne Lonsdale that council appoint all seven members of council, a representative of the Chamber of Commerce and Terry Hood of BC tourism innovations to the board of the Squamish Sustainability Corporation, which oversees the Adventure Centre, was deferred for two weeks. The motions were postponed at Sutherland's request to avoid dealing with contentious issues while mourning Peters' passing, said Sutherland.
Council considers city hall audit
Council discussed Jensen's motion to meet with municipal auditor George Cuff. Jensen said his motion reflects his surprise at the "substantial" increase in administrative costs over the last five years. Sutherland said the cost to hire Cuff to audit city hall would be around $50,000 and he would support it only if council said they would implement Cuff's recommendations. "I don't want to go through the time and exercise and not go through with it," he said. "I think we'll find that this is a pretty lean operation."
He also warned Jensen to be careful not to give the impression that municipal staff are underworked or overpaid. "They work an average of 60 to 70 hours a week," said Sutherland. Jensen said he wasn't targeting staff. "Just what we spend money on and how we operate," he said. Kahlon said that since personnel matters would be discussed, he'd like to bring the item in-camera. Council passed a motion to make initial contact with Cuff and take the matter in-camera following the next regular council meeting.
Communityinvited to Sikh fair
Council passed a motion, pending staff discussions with operators of the Farmers' Market, to authorize road closures for a Sikh parade commemorating the anniversary of the martyrdom of the Fifth Guru, Arun Dev Ji. Kahlon invited all community members to join in the free food, dancing, music and entertainment on Saturday, June 24 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Powerhouse Springstender to berenegotiated
Gottardi gave an oral update of the tendering process for the third phase of the Powerhouse Springs project. The lowest and lone bid to respond to the tender came at $300,000 over the district consultant's estimated of around $550,000. Gottardi said council has a few options; they can vote to submit an entirely different tender - since regulations stipulate they can't resubmit the exact tender - or council can direct staff to negotiate with the lone bidder with a possible extension to the scheduled completion of the work. Lonsdale said she was very upset at "where we're at." She said she wanted a written report on the tendering process. Sutherland said the oral report was to keep the process going and a written report would accompany a staff recommendation to award a bid. A motion to direct staff to negotiate with the lone bidder was passed with Kahlon and Lonsdale opposed.
Kusch reports on ball diamond
Director of Parks, Recreation and Tourism, Bob Kusch gave an oral presentation on the advancement of the rebuilding of the ball diamond's beer garden structure and fencing. Kusch requested that rather than going through a tendering process, council award the work to a local contractor who is willing to donate material and time. Kusch said the contractor would require $35,000 to $40,000 to build a new structure. Lonsdale was absent during the committee of the whole budget meeting where council awarded early release of funds for work on the structure and fencing at a maximum of $60,000. Lonsdale said she was uncomfortable supporting the expenditure outside the scope of the entire budget. "It may mean less on youth workers or less hours somewhere else," she said. "I don't think it's an emergency." Council passed the motion to support Kusch's recommendation with Jensen and Lonsdale opposed.
