District of Squamish Council opted to invest $20,000 into a recreational centre several councillors have admitted they know nothing about. During a meeting previous to the approval, on April 8 while Mayor Ian Sutherland was absent, council members decided to remove the item, then budgeted at $50,000, dedicated to preliminary engineering of a multi-use building.At the time, councillors appeared taken aback by the item."I don't think we should be approving something we know nothing about," said Coun. Patricia Heintzman at the first meeting. Coun. Corinne Lonsdale echoed her position. "I'm really quite concerned about how far this has gone without us."But when the budget was revisited the following week (April 15), Sutherland put the item back on the table and attempted to bring council members up to date on the idea. He said the $50,000 would be seed money to help the district create a home for groups such as the Royal Canadian Air Cadets, Squamish Food Bank Society, Alcoholics Anonymous and other service clubs now burdened by the high cost of rent. The building could potentially be built in place of the Squamish Youth Resource Centre near Howe Sound Secondary. Coun. Jeff McKenzie said he supported local service groups, but took issue with the way the project had been handled."There was no communication to us on what that was," he said.Several councillors also questioned how the district could afford to build and maintain another building.Sutherland said taxpayers would not be caught paying for the building itself, emphasizing the budget item was a one-time payment. "There's a pretty good opportunity to get funding for other sources to build this building."Lonsdale appeared doubtful."History tells mewe do something and then they won't be able to come up with the money," she said. "Is the capital for this building going to come from developers?" She asked whether developer support for the centre would take away from other amenities in town.Lonsdale pointed out that groups such as the cadets would have a difficult time contributing to the construction costs since they are already appealing to the district for a grant-in-aid of $8,000.Further questions revealed just how little council members knew about the idea."Who's going to own it?" Lonsdale asked. "Who's going to maintain it?"Sutherland appeared to have few answers to these questions, but said the study would address many of them.He also suggested the $50,000 would help cover the costs of an environmental assessment and engineering of the building. Lonsdale expressed more hesitation throughout discussion of the item."You say there's a committee. I don't know if council's aware of any committee," she said. "We haven't had any discussions with you. We haven't been able to give you any guidance or thought."She asked Sutherland to give the committee's name and chair, and then asked that it be formalized. Sutherland replied by giving the names of a few members, including recreation, parks and tourism director Bob Kusch.Council should consult with the community to see if there is demand for the centre, and to suggest where it might be placed, Lonsdale said, adding that a food bank might be better located downtown than out by Howe Sound Secondary.Lonsdale asked that the item be postponed until the end of the budget.Rather than put the item aside, Sutherland suggested the item be made smaller."Maybe it's not $50,000 maybe it's 30, 20 [thousand]," he said.Jenson asked to take the number even lower. "We've got you down from 50 to 30 to 20 [thousand], can we get you down to like 5 [thousand]?" he asked. But $20,000 was the lowest Sutherland would go, saying a feasibility study was impossible without at least that much money. Heintzman noted that the community has many schools that are empty in the evening. She said it is not the district's responsibility to subsidize community groups - a position Sutherland quickly disagreed with."It is our job to get these projects started in the community," he said. "We all say we support these things. At some point, we have to get started and get the ball rolling." He said the cadets are paying about $8,000 each year in rent.Sutherland didn't seem to think council members should have felt blindsided by the idea. He said he had made mention of it in a council column, but didn't specify whether it was in The Chief or in the district newsletter."Maybe you should copy that column and circulate it to council because we don't always get the paper," said Lonsdale. Jenson said he was more comfortable supporting a business plan than the preliminary study.When it came time to vote in principle for the item, it was reduced to $20,000 and passed with Heintzman and Jenson's opposed. Lonsdale scolded Sutherland for leaving council out of the discussion."Council needs to be better informed. We need to be kept in the loop. It's horrible hearing about it secondhand and telling people we know nothing about it."
