It looks like Squamish is set to get a new park that will commemorate a prominent elected official and resident.
During their Oct. 20 meeting, council unanimously voted in favour of giving three readings to a bylaw that would designate a piece of land in Brackendale, just west of Rayburn Road, as parkland.
The one hectare (2.6 acres) of vacant woodland was donated by the family of the late Nicholas Candy this past spring.
Through this process, the Candy family requested that the property be preserved as greenspace and it was agreed that the District would dedicate the land “park” through a bylaw.
The heavily treed area will be named the “Nick Candy Memorial Woodland,” which bears the namesake of the well-known Squamish resident.
In a statement he read aloud at council, Coun. Doug Race, who was chairing the meeting as acting mayor, noted the contributions Candy made to town.
Race said Candy arrived in town in 1949 and worked as a ranger at Garibaldi Park, and in the logging industry.
Eventually, Candy would start up his own contracting business and worked on a number of projects in town, such as the Darrell Bay terminals, diking projects, the Centennial field soccer and ball fields, Shannon Falls park trails and airport clearing, among other things.
Candy became involved in politics as a two-term District councillor in the late 1970s, and even served as acting mayor for a few months, after the sudden death of then-mayor Patrick Brennan.
He was also heavily involved in many community groups and clubs.
Candy died in 2007 at age 79.
The bylaw that would turn the land into a park is expected to be adopted in the near future.
