With the summer break looming and an election in the fall, discussion has turned to which council members will run for re-election and who might run for mayor.
Although most council members said they are still undecided, their comments gave some indication of decisions made or to be made.
Mayor Greg Gardner said "being mayor is a large commitment of time and energy" and is undecided yet as to whether he will run for mayor in the 2011 election.
"I have not made a decision at this point in time whether I'll be running for mayor in the fall - I intend to make that decision before the summer break, which means before the end of July," said Gardner.
Gardner said continuing his role as mayor is appealing because that stability at the council table will help move several key projects along.
"I think there are a number of ongoing initiatives that are important for the community that perhaps would benefit from continuity - initiatives such as the Service Squamish Initiative, the SODC development and Squamish Nation relationship issues," he said.
Despite his uncertainty, Gardner said it's not too early to start thinking about the election.
"I would encourage people to start thinking about the election and the candidates that might be running," he said. "People who are interested in running should start exploring the opportunity and people who wish to have certain candidates run for mayor and council should start thinking about supporting potential candidates."
Gardner said he was unaware of anyone running against him, but said, "that would not be a significant factor in my decision."
According to Coun. Rob Kirkham, the person running against Gardner might be him.
"I have been giving a great deal of thought about running for both mayor and council in the next election," said Kirkham, who has been on council for three years.
He said his "only reservation about running again is the challenge of maintaining a balance in my life between my responsibility to my community, my job and my family."
At the moment, however, Kirkham remains undecided. He said he's proud of the current council's accomplishments and does want to continue to serve the community.
"I believe that I have the experience and background to provide valuable counsel on the policy setting and leadership of ?our community," he said. "Leadership is about submission to duty, not elevation to power."?
Most council members reiterated Gardner's and Kirkham's concerns about balancing council commitments with family and work.
Coun. Paul Lalli, who had been on council off and on for almost 10 years, said he has made a decision but isn't publicly announcing it at the moment. However, he said he was not planning to run for mayor.
"My wife and I have talked about it and I have made my decision, but I do want to respect the fact that I'm still a councillor," he said. "So rather than making an announcement right now I want to make that announcement in September.
"I want to respect the fact that there's a lot of work to be done."
He said his time on council has been important to him.
"You always want to give back to a community and that's something that's close to my heart and something that we as kids in our family were raised on," he said.
"Not only Squamish but Canada's given us a lot. My parents were immigrants to this country, so giving back was very important and they instilled that in us."
Lalli did have some words of warning for those debating whether to run for council.
"I send this out to anybody who's thinking of running - anybody with a young family needs to think twice about it. It's a big commitment, it's a lot of work and your family has to be 110 per cent behind you," said Lalli.
"That's one of the biggest setbacks. From my perspective family comes first, community comes second. If they can go hand in hand that's great, but it's difficult."
Coun. Bryan Raiser, who is just completing his first term as a councillor, is also undecided.
"I really want to and I certainly feel like I have a lot to offer Squamish, especially now that I know what I'm doing, and I'm more comfortable," he said.
"I'd hate not to do it but I've got some serious decisions to make on where I'm going to be in the next three years with my family so"
Raiser's No. 1 reservation is the council salary, and he's made no secret about his desire to change it over the years.
"I don't want to say officially it's the pay thing but that's pretty much it," he said. "It's huge."
Raiser said that before he became a councillor he was unaware how hard it would be to make changes happen.
"It's equally challenging and rewarding. We've done some really, really great things but when I started I had a list of things I really wanted to do, I put them into, 'I'll probably do this,' 'this I'll never do' and 'this will be easy' and I was completely wrong on almost all of them," he said.
"There are a few things I thought were complete no-brainers - of course we're going to get a trail crew, how can I in three years not get a trail crew? But it didn't happen," he said.
"And the council pay being a barrier for civic-minded people running to serve their community. I thought for sure that would be possible to change, but no, that didn't work out either."
Coun. Patricia Heintzman, who is in her second term as a councillor, expressed the same frustration with the bureaucratic process as a whole.
"One difficulty - and it's nobody's fault other than the system - but it just seems like things happen very slowly," she said.
"It's definitely a challenge to keep your perseverance when you seem to be having the same conversations year after year. I think we've done a lot of groundwork in the past 2 and a half years to make things so that they're a little more streamlined, but I guess time will tell whether we've been successful."
Heintzman said she hasn't decided yet whether or not she'll run, but it's on her mind.
"I'm definitely thinking about it. I've been trying not to think about it but everyone keeps asking so it's been hard not to," she said. "I just have to decide if professionally and financially I can do this for three more years."
She said being on council is often a personal sacrifice.
"It is a sacrifice financially and a challenge to dedicate significant time to another career when you're trying to do this so it's just something I have to decide personally," she said.
"Not to say it's not worth it; it's totally worth it. It's just a personal decision whether or not I can do that."
She also hasn't ruled out running for mayor, and admits several people have asked her to run.
"It's a big commitment and I just have to make sure I'm making that decision for personal reasons not to appease people who want me to run," she said. "I need to make sure I'm doing it for the right reasons and I'm willing to make that commitment to all the aspects of the role - the good, the bad and the ugly."
Coun. Corinne Lonsdale, who has experience both as mayor and councillor, said she wouldn't be making any declarations yet but emphasized the importance of the current mayor declaring a decision early on.
"When I ran for mayor I did announce, each time, early on," she said. "I think that is important as some need that info to determine if they wish to run for the top spot. I say that as those who support the existing mayor may not wish to oppose him.
"On the other hand, if the mayor is not going to run, then those very people need to organize."
Lonsdale said she would announce her decision, as she has for the past three terms, in late August or early September.
"When it comes to a councillor position I see pitfalls in announcing early or late," she said. "One becomes somewhat of a lame duck if they announce they will not be running and one could peak too soon if they announce early."
But she did not give the impression her time on council was drawing to a close.
"I have been privileged to serve our community as mayor and councillor for 25 years," she said. "I will never say never to running for mayor or councillor. Circumstances will dictate.
"I still have the passion."
Coun. Doug Race said he has not yet decided on his political future.
