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Squamish property tax increase limited to 2.9 per cent

After weeks of marathon meetings the District of Squamish council and staff have at last completed a five year financial plan with calls for an across the board property tax increase of roughly 2.

After weeks of marathon meetings the District of Squamish council and staff have at last completed a five year financial plan with calls for an across the board property tax increase of roughly 2.9 per cent in 2009 - slightly higher than the four per cent decline advocated by the financial standing committee but also far less than the initial 17 per cent tax increase put forward by staff in February.

The financial plan received first, second and third readings at a special committee of the whole meeting on Monday, May 4 and Mayor Greg Gardner plans to give it fourth and final reading at a special council meeting on May 12, following an afternoon public open house - four days before the provincial deadline.

"It's a very complicated and complex document with lots of time spent on it by staff and council, and I encourage the community to read it," said Gardner. "People want to know the bottom line in terms of an overall tax increase, and the amount we're moving forward is a 2.9 per cent tax increase... it affects different property classes differently, but overall that's where we're at."

Gardner noted in an interview with Pique on Wednesday that he was very pleased with the final budget, and that it was the first time in many years that support for the financial plan has been unanimous among councillors.

He has not counted the hours put in recently, but Gardner says councillors had two to three all-day meetings a week recently to go through 2,000 lines of the operating budget and the capital budget to look for savings.

"There isn't a single answer to what we did in the process (to reduce the budget). We went through it on an almost line-by-line basis to look at prioritization, what absolutely had to be covered and what was expendable. There are some efficiencies we tried to find that also helped," said Gardner.

"I'm proud of the budget. Although we kept the overall increase to less than three per cent, there are no major decreases in service levels."

The budget does include the more than $600,000 that Squamish could be asked to pay for RCMP under the provincial funding formula. When a population reaches the 15,000 mark, a community is responsible for 90 per cent of policing costs, going up from 70 per cent. According to the 2006 census the population of Squamish was 14,949, but the province has revised that number to over 15,000.

As well, council found $200,000 from last year's RCMP budget that they used to increase the number of RCMP officers in Squamish this year.

"In fairness it's not as much as they were asking for, but it's still an improvement," said Gardner.

Squamish is also negotiating the cost of integrated police services, like homicide investigation, with the province.

According to the revised tax roll released on Monday, Mayor Gardner will see his bill go up by $106.10 this year with a 2.96 per cent increase. Councillor Bryan Raiser, whose home was assessed under $400,000, will pay an additional $67.23 with a 2.93 per cent increase.

The biggest increase, percentage-wise, goes to Councillor Patricia Heintzman, who lives in Paradise Valley. A 3.02 per cent tax increase will cost her an additional $66.80.

Sewer and water fees will also remain frozen under the budget at $40 and $33 respectively.

Commercial rates vary, but the largest increase is in the neighbourhood of four per cent, while others will see double-digit decreases. The average increase is 2.9 per cent across the board.

Councillors and staff decided to delay some capital projects that could not be funded from reserves and took some projects off the books.

"Considering we started at a 17.5 per cent overall increase we came a long way and made some tough decisions," said Councillor Patrician Heinztman.

SSC board resigns en mass

A council resolution eliminated the paid business lead position at the District of Squamish this week, a move that was answered by the resignation of the Squamish Sustainability Corporation's board of directors on May 1.

The purpose of the SSC was to leverage Squamish's assets - recreation, housing, proximity to Vancouver, industrial park, proximity to Whistler, two universities, and high-speed fibre optic line, to name a few - to attract entrepreneurs and businesses to town. The SSC also operates the Squamish Adventure Centre, welcoming visitors to town while providing a venue for local non-profits and events.

The SSC is an entity owned by the District of Squamish, but includes representation from the Chamber of Commerce and Tourism Squamish.

The business lead position held by Dave Thomson was eliminated as part of budget deliberations, and will save the district up to $150,000 in salary and other costs.

Mayor Greg Gardner said the decision was entirely budget-driven.

"We as a group felt those funds were better utilized for other purposes," he said. "When I say that I don't mean purposes unrelated to economic development. For example... in our capital budget we've allocated a large sum of money to continue the process of distributing fibre (optic cable) throughout the community, which makes the community more attractive for businesses."

According to the SSC board the mass resignation was not related to the decision to eliminate the business lead position, but out of frustration. The economic development committee of council had discussed taking on many of the SSC's responsibilities, and recently the committee rejected a job growth strategy by the SSC.

Squamish pledges to work on RGS resolution

Despite a rocky relationship with the Regional Growth Strategy being developed by the Squamish-Lillooet Regional District, council voted on Tuesday to work with the SLRD to resolve differences.

That does not signify a change of heart on the part of Squamish Council, which unanimously rejected the draft Regional Growth Strategy (RGS) last November - the only community in the SLRD to reject the plan. At the time, councillors cited the lack of community consultation, lack of clarity in enforcing the strategy and amending the strategy, and outside interference in community planning.

Council also had misgivings about accepting the RGS before they had even adopted an Official Community Plan. Both are requirements of the provincial government, but as recently as February council challenged the RGS on constitutional grounds, specifically on the condition that political powers, once delegated, cannot be re-delegated.

The Ministry of Community Development takes a different view, however, and recently minister Kevin Krueger sent a letter advising Squamish to engage in a non-binding resolution process with the SLRD and SLRD members to resolve current issues and put in place a system where any future issues can be resolved.

Originally the ministry and SLRD asked for the process to begin on May 1, but the District of Squamish requested an extension at the beginning of April. Now the ministry has given Squamish until the end of June to start the process.

Councillor Paul Lalli asked whether June might be too soon to implement a resolution process, to which director of planning Cameron Chalmers replied that the ministry only wanted the process to get underway by then.

"They're asking effectively for a progress report by the end of June, if it shows we have a program and are taking steps towards a resolution," said Chalmers. "But the minister wants us to understand the (Local Government) Act and the minister's directive... to have reasonable milestones and the objectives we hope to achieve under the process."

The province reserves the right, under the Local Government Act, to force communities to accept dispute resolution, including a binding resolution process, which could limits Squamish's options.

Patrician Heinztman is the only councillor to vote in favour of the current RGS, during the previous council's term. Mayor Gardner voted against it, as did Corinne Lonsdale. Incoming councillors Paul Lalli, Doug Race, Bryan Raiser and Rob Kirkham have spoken against the RGS.

The RGS process was mandated by the province to guide development along accepted principles like SmartGrowth. However, it also allows member municipalities in a district to influence Official Community Plans and municipal land use decisions in neighbouring municipalities. All amendments are also subject to member approval.

Residents speaks out about supportive housing project

Not everyone is excited about the proposed social/supporting housing project in Squamish, at least not on the lot adjacent to the Squamish Library that is currently being considered.

Michael Bigler, who lives opposite the property, said he feels like he was blindsided by the proposal and called it a "slap in the face." He also said he regretted bringing the issue to council, but said he had to bring his concerns forward. He would support the facility at another location outside of the downtown area.

"I take my hat off to the people who volunteer and put in time dealing with the situation, and there's no easy answer... but I don't think we have necessarily a homeless problem in Squamish, it's a problem with substance abuse and mental illness," said Bigler. He said he talked to many of his neighbours and they are universally against locating the project in the area.

Bigler said he had safety concerns for himself and his daughter, as well as concerns about his property values. He said he would likely sell if the project went ahead. He has hired an appraiser to see what impact the housing project would have on his property value.

Mayor Greg Gardner clarified to Bigler that the proposed building would not be a homeless shelter as Bigler suggested, but would contain single-family living units. He also said that Bigler brought up some relevant issues, and recommended that he write a letter to the District of Squamish listing specific impacts and issues with the current Helping Hands Society shelter in the area.

He also reassured Bigler that the project still has a long way to go before breaking ground, and that nothing is decided at this point.

Councillor Paul Lalli also recommended that Bigler speak to the Helping Hands Society, which has take the lead on the housing project.

Middle section of Corridor Trail open

A 3.4 km gravel trail connecting the Squamish Adventure Centre to Mamquam Road opened last week, the first of three sections of the 9 km project to open to the public.

The south section of the trail will run from the Stawamus Chief parking lot to the Squamish Adventure Centre. The north section will run from Mamquam Road and Garibaldi Way to Depot Road.

The trail links Squamish neighbourhoods for walkers, runners and cyclists, with arteries leading to neighbourhoods and community facilities like parks and playgrounds.

The trail will one day form a section of the Sea to Sky Trail, which is itself part of the much wider Trans Canada Trail network.

The trail is not paved at this point, but it could be paved in the future.

Squamish votes to accept RFPs on energy utility

Squamish council voted unanimously to endorse a Request for Proposals to develop a feasibility study on a Squamish Neighbourhood Energy Utility, as outlined in the District of Squamish Community Energy Action Plan.

The concept is still in its infancy, but if it makes sense financially Squamish could one day have one or more plants that pipe heat directly into homes, reducing energy consumption and emissions. New developments could be designed to accommodate the system, and existing buildings could be retrofitted or redeveloped to use the system as well.

According to Sabina Foofat, who presented the RFP to council on Tuesday, at least five companies have been identified that could be invited to submit bids, with an eye on selecting a candidate by the beginning of June.

"This is a new field for B.C. and Canada, but it's an emerging industry that's already established in other parts of the world, particularly in Europe," she said.

The feasibility study would look at the different options available, as well as different locations where a plant or plants could be situated. The cost/benefit analysis is also important, as well as the process of applying to create a Neighbourhood Energy Utility (NEU).

The ultimate goal is to be resilient, to reduce our footprint," Foofat told council. "We don't want to create unsustainable long-term results or practices."