Just when it seemed the log book had finally found a home, the saga over where to display the massive carvings is reignited.
District of Squamish council voted unanimously on Tuesday (Sept. 15), to direct staff to look for an appropriate spot for the log book, which is currently on display at the Adventure Centre.
Council also attached a rider to the motion: the cost of such relocation should not exceed $8,000.
Coun. Rob Kirkham, chair of the Squamish Sustainability Corporation (SSC), brought forward the motion, asking council to foot the bill for this relocation.
Kirkham said local tourism operators have expressed interest in the space taken up by the 14 nine-foot-tall wooden "pages" depicting the history of logging in Squamish.
"SSC is looking for ways to make themselves more sustainable and tourism operators in Squamish have expressed interest in promoting their enterprises and a willingness to pay for it," Kirkham said.
Besides tourism operators, cultural and social groups are also interested in using that space, said SSC operations manager Tania Music.
The SSC plans to have a "what to do in Squamish" gallery along the Adventure Centre's corridor to better promotes the town as a tourist destination.
Kirkham said the log book was placed in the Adventure Centre on a temporary basis, and it's not the right permanent space for them.
"It's dark there and they are jammed together. They don't really fit in there," Kirkham said.
The staff said they were planning to put the log book in the houses at the Al McIntosh Loggers Sports Ground until a more permanent location could be found for them.
"When you move them in the houses, they can't be just popped into them, it's quite an expense," Coun. Corinne Lonsdale said.
Coun. Patricia Heintzman suggested the West Coast Railway Heritage Park as a permanent home for the log book.
She also suggested the district shouldn't exceed $8,000 as the cost of moving them.
"We don't want this to come back and it costs us $20,000 while the only revenue we are generating [with the Adventure Centre's space] is just $5,000," she said.
Coun. Bryan Raiser said he doesn't support spending "thousands of dollars" on moving them until there's a permanent spot.
"I want to see them in their houses. We should not have temporary solutions and this has been going on for a long time," he said.
Artist Glenn Greensides created the log book in 2004 at the Loggers Sports Ground. They were placed in a shed on the grounds for a long period of time, causing Greensides himself to express frustration. In Feb. 2007, council voted to move them to the Adventure Centre temporarily with the hope of finding a permanent place down the road. That has never materialized.
In an Oct. 2008 meeting, the council had supported the log book being located to Rose Park adjacent to the Adventure Centre parking lot, but that was shelved because of funding issues.
