Has any public building in the Shining Valley and beyond been the subject of more controversy, heated debate and lampoon than the Adventure Centre?
When the concept for an upscale visitors centre was first conceived, the president of the Squamish Chamber of Commerce, Patricia Heintzman, declared that it was "about time Squamish set its standards high. We all deserve it... logger, recreationist, senior, youth, entrepreneur, business owner, construction worker, grandmother, Squamish Nation dancer, toddler, naysayer, optimist..."
Ian Sutherland, the presiding mayor, was convinced that corporate sponsorships and the cash flow from an anticipated 100,000 visitors annually would make the operation revenue neutral in no time. "It is just a matter of picking the best deal for the people of Squamish," he said. But long before the last trusses were bolted together, ballooning construction costs sent ripples of worry through the corridors of muni hall. For Coun. Corinne Lonsdale, the whole process had the distinct aroma of reckless excess. "We've seen it come in way over, way over budget, I mean ridiculously over budget. It's a disaster if you ask me," she said during an animated council meeting held in February 2006.
When the building opened, the final tab approached the $5 million mark, double the original cost projection. To help inaugurate the new structure, on two separate occasions a group of overzealous Squamites, possibly under the influence of a mind-altering substance, created a sea of bubbles when they poured dishwashing detergent into the decorative onsite waterfall. Brent Leigh, the district deputy administrator at the time, warned the perpetrators that although this practical joke may have seemed humorous to them, the toxic froth heading to a nearby slough was no laughing matter.
As it turned out, that episode was in fact an omen because the whole operation has been on the bubble ever since. From the get-go, the Adventure Centre suffered through unanticipated growing pains, including less-than-optimal visitor traffic, a dry well of corporate sponsorships and a heavy dependence on taxpayer-funded support.
But hope springs eternal. Under the auspices of the new Squamish Sustainability Corporation (SSC) board and a district council unwilling to cut the operation any more slack, the place is in the process of becoming a more fiscally responsible entity. The Sea to Sky Adventure Co. recently started leasing space in the building, along withGalileo Coffee and Landsea Tours and Adventures.
And the SSC board is about to seek the kind of corporate sponsorships first proposed during the Squamish New Directions era. What some pundits have derisively called Sutherland's Folly, and other choice monikers we cannot repeat here, may eventually become the Telus Squamish Visitors Centre.
There is certainly an upbeat buzz inside the building these days. The echoes of conversations from a constant stream of visitors mingle with the smell of freshly brewed coffee. Laptoppers surf the 'Net, or send emails, and children in the main hall play area amuse themselves with an abundant supply of toys.
Recently, in a laudatory feature story, the influential U.K.-based Guardian newspaper reported that "Squamish isn't perfect. But it's getting most things right." If the current changes at the Adventure Centre are any indication, we can only respond with, "Yes, indeed it is."
