While brandishing a 180-signature petition, a director from the Squamish Seniors Centre Society urged elected Squamish officials to push pause on their proposal to move seniors’ dedicated space — but council unanimously decided to move ahead.
On Sept. 6, Nelson Winterburn asked council to hold off on signing a non-binding memorandum of understanding that may pave the way to creating a new seniors’ centre at the under-construction Westwinds seniors’ housing project, which will open in 2022.
The District’s intent is to make The 55 Activity Centre open to seniors and the general public, while making the ground floor of the upcoming Westwinds project the new seniors-only space.
Many seniors, however, have objected, saying that the municipality is kicking them out of a centre that was built specifically for them.
On the other hand, the District says The 55 will still be open to them, but given space constraints at Brennan Park Recreation Centre, it’s necessary for The 55 to be home to some programming for the general public.
Winterburn, along with petitioners, wanted council to take a step back — at least for now.
He called on elected officials to first draft a seniors strategy in collaboration with the Squamish Seniors Centre Society.
“We seniors would hope from this day forward all plans for an MOU, memorandum of understanding, divided seniors facilities, and...programs be tabled until such time as a mutually prepared arrangement, a seniors strategy, indicating what the future might be through a comprehensive effort and how it can fit inclusively in the District’s recreation master plan,” said Winterburn.
“We are certain we can come up with a solution that can work for all.”
The 180 people who signed the petition presented to council shared a similar view.
“We support the position of the Squamish Seniors Centre Society for the creation of a seniors strategy, and that the strategy recommendations be received by council, prior to council taking action on the staff memorandum of understanding regarding the establishment of the seniors’ hub at the ‘Westwinds’ under construction on Third Avenue,” reads the petition.
During their special business meeting, council voted unanimously in favour of signing a non-binding MOU with Squamish Senior Citizens Home Society to pursue a licence agreement and development of a seniors hub at the Westwinds, located at 38275 Third Avenue.
Council also added in a clause that directed municipal staff to come up with a plan to broadly engage with seniors regarding programming at The 55, Westwinds, and Brennan Park.
This makes the motion elected officials passed earlier on Sept. 29 official.
As a result, it appears the District will begin to move forward with trying to secure a space for a new seniors’ hub at the Westwinds.
Municipal staff said that the District needed to sign the memorandum quickly, because it may otherwise lose a chance to provide input into the development of the seniors’ hub.
Elected officials agreed.
“I think it is important, and I agree with staff, that the District indicate its intent to use that space so that the [Squamish Senior Citizens Home] Society can plan accordingly,” Coun. Doug Race said.
Coun. Chris Pettingill said he was nervous about losing the opportunity.
However, he noted that the time agreement on the memorandum, which allows seniors access from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m., was too narrow.
Pettingill said he wanted to address this the next time the agreement comes before council.
Coun. John French said it was necessary to address the fact that seniors felt like their voices weren’t being heard.
“What I was looking for was a commitment on the part of council that we would consult with seniors in Squamish on this issue, and that’s what we got,” said French. “I support the motion.”
Mayor Karen Elliott said she wanted the engagement to be broad enough to reach out to various groups, but also to those seniors who may not necessarily be aligned with a particular organization.
Coun. Eric Andersen said the Seniors Centre Society has been consulting with a wide variety of seniors and has a special status because of its history.
The society was chosen by a previous council to advise the municipality and
was formed by highly-regarded volunteers, he said.
**Please note, the headline was changed after this story was first posted to reflect that the centre is likely to move, not guaranteed to do so.
