Officials are hoping to get their hands on 500,000 federal dollars to pump into a Squamish birthday project.
At the District of Squamish's April 9 Committee of the Whole meeting, the Squamish 2014 Legacy Project Task Force consisting of the District of Squamish, Downtown Squamish Business Improvement Association (BIA), Squamish Chamber of Commerce and Squamish Nation was set up with the aim of securing a legacy grant. The grant would be for up to $500,000, with the municipality matching federal funds, district spokesperson Christina Moore told council.
It is focusing on a capital project that they can budget for next year, she said.
The task force will review capital projects to submit for the grant, said Robin Arthurs, the municipality's general manager of corporate services. The group will then select the best overall submission based on a criteria identified in the call for proposals, she said.
The project will be a part of the 100th birthday of the renaming of the town from Newport to Squamish. Activities and events will be planned throughout the big year, Moore said.
The Downtown Squamish BIA already has a submission ready, its executive director Christine Bennett said. The organization's proposal calls for a park to be built adjacent to the Mamquam Blind Channel at the end of Victoria Street. It would include a waterfront walkway and a launching dock for kayaks, paddleboards and canoes, Bennett said.
The BIA's proposal has the potential to spur economic growth in the downtown core, she noted. It would connect Squamish's heart to the waterfront and create a green band stretching from Stan Clarke Park, through Pavilion Park to the new waterfront area.
We also talked with Squamish Nation and they are quite keen in the pathway and the dock there, Bennett said.
There's a lot of interest in the Mamquam waterfront at the moment, she said. This month, West Vancouver developer John Doyle announced he was restarting the Mireau proposal a 61-unit apartment development that would be built beside the channel. Part of the proposal includes also includes a waterfront walkway.
There are a lot of things in the works, Bennett said.
