Here we are halfway through this council’s term.
It’s the second term for Coun. Susan Chapple and myself; Third term for Coun. Doug Race; Fifth term for Mayor Patricia Heintzman; and first term for Councillors Jason Blackman-Wulff, Peter Kent and Karen Elliot.
I think now we are firing on all cylinders. It takes time and I see strengths in each of us showing in different ways, making for good discussions of community issues.
District staff play a very important role in this process.
The District of Squamish has put a lot of time and money upgrading and modernizing our Digital Strategy to streamline daily interactions between the various arms of government and the public.
There is a lot of information about Squamish on the District’s website. View the projects that the District is working on under the “Business and Developments” and “Project and Initiatives” links. The link to the Official Community Plan allows your input into land use, healthy communities and much more.
It is easy to sign-up and very important that we get your input.
Follow council and committee meetings live or archived on the District’s website. Hearing what is discussed in meetings helps a lot in understanding the reasons for the decisions made.
Go to “Your Government” to link to council; let us know your thoughts on any issues that affect you and suggestions for improvements, or if you need clarification on any issues. Please make the District of Squamish’s website part of your routine.
Having lived in Squamish for many years I never expected to see this amount of growth. We have 1,500 units shovel-ready (permits in place to start), 800 of these are ready to start in the downtown in 2017.
There are applications in for another 4,000 units seeking approval.
Another reason to stay informed is to ensure that your neighbourhood welcomes these developments.
Due to the lack of rental space it might also be a good time to build a suite or carriage house. Check out the District’s incentives.
Squamish is such a progressive town; I go to conferences suggesting that it is most important to get on top of leaky pipes, sewer master plans, safe routes to school, food security, homeless shelters and many other issues. Squamish is already leading the way!
I am happy to see more people and businesses shovelling their sidewalks especially in the high-traffic areas. We will be calling the few commercial and industrial areas not complying with the bylaw.
On a final note my bird feeder is so busy with the ground covered with snow that we might want to help the birds out by putting some seed out for them.
- Ted Prior, Squamish councillor
