The new owners of the building that was once best known as the courthouse wants the building to go back to what it was and the owner is willing to give the provincial government half a year of free use of the space.
Ed Vernon and Ammi Tepper own the building on Second Avenue and according to Vernon, if the provincial government doesn't take the space there are others who will rent the vacant rooms.
Squamish mayor Ian Sutherland has been negotiating to bring a court facility back to Squamish since his first days in office. He picked up the lobby effort when former mayor Corinne Lonsdale decided to step down from the position of mayor.
The provincial government closed the local courthouse and moved its functions to North Vancouver despite protests from Lonsdale and the council of the day.
Sutherland said negotiations are ongoing and another meeting to discuss the situation is slated for early December."The province isn't interested in going back into the same building," said Sutherland.
The mayor indicated the location of a courthouse in Squamish, if Squamish is granted a courthouse again, is not high on the province's priority list right now, he said.
Vernon argued the old location makes a great deal of sense because the infrastructure needed for a courthouse already exists inside his building.
To make the location more attractive to government, Vernon said he is willing to install a new heating, cooling and air exchange system into the building.
"The district desperately needs the courthouse back," Vernon [email protected]
