Councillor Bryan Raiser made good on his promise to review council pay in Squamish on Tuesday, putting forward a Notice of Motion requesting that the item appear on a future council agenda. Raiser is requesting a review that would include representatives from labour, businesses and the community, with a District of Squamish councillor and members of district staff participating.
Raiser contends that the pay scale for the mayor and councillors is too low for the workload and is an impediment to younger, low income people getting into municipal politics. As a result, he has said that wealthy business owners and seniors with money and time are well-represented, while younger families have no voice.
Some members of council took exception to that claim when the issue came up in October after a staff review of wages, with members claiming they work to represent all residents of Squamish rather than one demographic.
That staff review, which compared District of Squamish wages with other municipalities, found that Squamish wages were about average for municipalities with Squamish's population and budget. However, with Squamish councillors meeting almost weekly at Committee of the Whole meetings, special meetings and committees - on top of their participation in local organizations and events - Raiser has argued that it's a full time job.
The mayor of Squamish is currently paid $35,923 annually while councillors receive $17,243.
Mayor Greg Gardner did not endorse the motion, but suggested that the motion be scheduled for the Feb. 9 special council meeting. With the Olympic break the next regular council meeting is scheduled for March 2, which is possibly too late to have any review included in the 2010 budget process.
Squamish rallies for Olympics
With the council chambers festooned in Canadian flags and red and white bunting, councillors passed two motions of support for the Olympic Games, local athletes and visitors to the town.
Council passed two proclamations. The first is the Best of Squamish Winter Athletes Celebration, which runs from Feb. 4 to 14, sponsored by Bob Brant and Cardinal Concrete. The goal of the program is to bring attention to local athletes competing at the international level, as well as to raise funds for the athletes through a partnership with Save On Foods that allows people to donate their points.
The second proclamation was by Councillor Patricia Heintzman, the Honorary Squamish Residents Months for February and March 2010. The goal of the proclamation is to make Olympic workers, volunteers, athletes and visitors welcome through the Games period, as well as to provide them with a souvenir of their stay. The souvenir will most likely be a card issued at Brennan Park Sports Centre, which will be hosting regular Olympic and Paralympic celebrations.
Council supports removal of invasive species
Communities throughout B.C. are struggling with a variety of invasive species, particularly hardy breeds of plants and weeds that are displacing local species and carry ramifications for waterways, homes and animal species that rely on the local plants for food and shelter.
Squamish is no different. It has a particular issue with Japanese Knotweed - a plant that spreads quickly and must be completely destroyed, down to the last sliver of root pass, to prevent it from taking root once again and spreading.
To combat the issue of invasive species, N&R Forest Managed Ltd. is putting forward a job proposal to the provincial Community Development Trust that would allow the company to hire people to remove invasive species. On Tuesday they asked council to send a letter in support of their job proposal, which was granted unanimously in order to meet the application deadline of Feb. 5.
Councillor Patricia Heintzman said it was a sensible request.
"We have certainly had reports on invasive species and the problematic nature of several species to land values, housing foundations, ecosystems... so it's a serious and significant issue," she said.
Paul Lalli asked whether the job proposal would include tackling the Japanese Knotweed issue in the Squamish estuary. "It's the number one species we're looking at because it's a pretty big problem," he said. "There are over 70 sites that have been found and probably more with the expansion of the highway and all the work going through town."
District staff confirmed that knotweed would be a priority of the applicant.
Hilly lots to be covered in a new bylaw
The developers of Rockridge Place applied for a variance permit to the current bylaw that will allow buildings to be placed closer to the road, reducing the need to build large rock retaining walls at the back of the property. The variance would also change the way that buildings are measured, using the highest spot on the facing street curb as a starting point rather than the grade of the property.
District of Squamish staff confirmed that they were working on changes to the bylaw that would make it easier for developers and homebuilders that are building on hilly properties within the community, rather than asking them to apply for variance permits every time these projects come up.
"I don't anticipate we'll get to a place where we'll never see another variance application, but we can reduce it to where it's a reasonable expectation of height that would capture 80 to 90 per cent of applications," said district planning director Cameron Chalmers.
With most of the flat lots in the district already owned or developed, staff told council that they should expect more applications for construction on hilly land that often require variances to meet bylaws.
Council approves $5 trail user fee
District of Squamish council gave the first three readings to a new bylaw that would require event organizers to pay a fee of $5 per participant when events use trails and roads on municipal lands.
The new trail user fee would apply to events like the Test of Metal and Gearjammer, the STORMY off-road ultra run, the Squamish Triathlon, the MOMAR adventure race and other events, with a few exceptions. The weekly Twoonie Races held by the Squamish Off Road Cycling Association would be exempt as a community event and youth events would automatically be exempted from the bylaw. There is also an opportunity for fundraising events to apply for an exemption.
The money would be collected by the District of Squamish and then put back into the trails using municipal crews, local trail organizations and private contractors hired by the municipality or trail organizations.
"This is fantastic and a long time coming," said Councillor Bryan Raiser.
Councillor Rob Kirkham asked if any thought had been given to charging a fee from all the commercial operators using trails. He was told that professional companies are in the process of being regulated by the provincial government. However, commercial operators that host events - such as the Sea to Sky Trail Ride and B.C. Bike Race - will be charged the fee.
