After months of discussing and analyzing the 2010 District of Squamish budget, members of council have given third reading to the 2010-2014 Five-Year Financial Plan.
Council did not discuss the budget at length during the meeting, but Coun. Corinne Lonsdale wanted the public to know that members have had many prolonged discussions.
Mayor Greg Gardner mentioned some budget changes, including the property tax reduction for light and heavy industry, and spending $100,000 of the 2009 surplus towards district legal fees, the contingency fund and the economic development fund.
An overall property tax increase of 3.6 per cent will be need to cover a required $17 million, however since council recently passed a reduction in light and heavy industrial properties, new figures have yet to be determined for residential and business property taxes, according to Gardner.
The recommendations from the Committee of the Whole meeting on April 6 concerning a $400,000 budget surplus from last year were supported unanimously. Members of council decided to retire the Squamish Sustainability Corporation (SCC) term loan with $120,000.
They also decided to contribute an additional $50,000 from the district surplus to pay down the SCC operating line of credit and reduce the credit limit by the same amount.
And they recommended that a line item be included in the district budget to retire this debt by $50,000 every year.
Patterson criticizes waste cost
Terrill Patterson pulled out one of his typical handmade props to demonstrate his dissatisfaction with the increasing costs of garbage pick up. It was a point of contention he's brought to council many times over the years.
With a cardboard scale involving a garbage can at one end and a dollar sign at the other, Patterson said last year there was a garbage surplus of $200,000, which was unnecessary and unfair since it is already included in a municipality's standard utility cost.
People throw away different amounts of garbage, he said, so he would support a system where individuals had to bring in their garbage and pay a certain amount for each pound.
"I have no objection to the CAO's philosophy that you should pay for what you put out," he said.
However, the purpose of his presentation was to ask council to exempt him from the garbage collection fee.
"I don't use the service so I want to be exempted from your garbage collection fee," said Patterson. "You can have your tote back."
Lonsdale motioned to deny his request and it was supported unanimously.
In previous budget meetings, council has discussed the necessity of any garbage surplus going towards their liability fund for closing the landfill in the future.
Log Books to move
The West Coast Railway Heritage Park (WCRHP) wants the Log Books to be available to the public, preferably in their own backyard. The display of a dozen nine-foot tall wooden "pages" depicting Squamish's history in forestry was on display at the Adventure Centre, and is now in storage.
Despite staff's recommendation to defer the future of the log books until the 2011 budget process, Gardner moved to authorize relocating the carvings to WCRHP on a loan basis, to be documented in a loan agreement. He added the district would not be financially responsible for moving the display, but will be responsible for its maintenance.
Coun. Doug Race said but that council should give the other members of the community an opportunity to come forward with suggestions as well.
Coun. Patricia Heintzman disagreed.
"They were intended to be viewed by the public and there's been ample opportunity for the community to come forward," said Heintzman.
Lonsdale said it's high time the carvings be displayed.
"It's a terrible waste to have them sitting in that building [storage]," said Lonsdale.
The motion was carried with Coun. Doug Race opposed.
30-day RV limit moves forward
Council granted third reading to establish a maximum 30-day consecutive stay over any six-month period for recreational vehicles tourism.
The limit will only apply to new RV parks, but does include the already-established Eagle Vista RV Resort and Campground on Centennial Way since an as-yet unsettled rezoning proposal will determine whether it's technically dub an RV park.
Coun. Paul Lalli opposed the motion, saying opposing RV owners had valid points. He said although short-duration RVers generate significant revenue during the high volume winter and summer seasons, it's longer-term RVers that supplement revenue in between.
Lonsdale made the distinction between RV visitors and trailers as affordable housing.
"If they want a trailer park, I would support a trailer park," said Lonsdale. "But an RV park is for tourists and they don't need to stay that long."
Third reading passed with Lalli opposed.
Zoning amendments approved
A Government Road townhouse complex that succumbed to arson just days before Christmas is one step closer to being rebuilt as council agreed unanimously to allow required zoning variances.
"I would like to commend all the residents for their effort in this tough situation," said Gardner.
The eight-unit complex will be similar to the previous 30-year-old development with a few exceptions: ground level garages and underground parking will be added to meet flood plane regulations - however the overall 35-foot height limit remains - and the setback from Government Road will be slightly increased to 25 metres.
Council also approved slight height adjustment for the new lots at Rockridge Place on Tantalus Road, due to the landscaping difficulties because of varying ground levels.
Accessibility bylaws proposed
A new set of accessibility bylaws proposed by the Accessibility, Social Planning and Research Council of B.C. will be sent to community and corporate service departments for response and council recommendations.
Proposals range from making buildings and streets more accessible to having an attendant at every gas station.
Project co-ordinator Karen Lai said the district should hire someone with a disability "as it's the only way to really understand the extent of the issues people with disabilities face on a daily basis."
Workers killed on the job remembered
On April 28, workers who have been injured and killed on the job across Canada will be honoured and in Squamish.
Council agreed to declare April 28 "Day of Mourning for Workers Killed and Injured on the Job," to honour the 121 workers who died in B.C. in 2009.
"The number of deaths has been increasing," said Squamish and District Labour Committee member Sandy Bauer. "These people deserve to be recognized."
The remembrance ceremony for killed workers will be held at the Worker's Memorial Monument in Pavillion Park on Sunday, April 25 at 12:15 p.m.
