Squamish residents can look forward to celebrating their country's national holiday and the completion of the long-awaited downtown O'Siem Pavilion on Canada Day 2011.
During the O'Siem Pavilion design update at a District of Squamish Committee of the Whole meeting on Tuesday (Jan. 4), engineering director Brian Barnett made two promises rarely heard in council chambers - to have the pavilion project done on schedule and within budget.
"We are confident the pavilion will be constructed within budget," he said, adding that the timeline has not changed despite a recent deadline extension.
The extension for stimulus funding projects such as the O'Siem Pavilion was announced on Dec. 2. It extends the deadline for completion of these projects from March 31, 2011 to Oct. 31, 2011, but Barnett said the engineering department isn't taking any chances.
"The project timeline hasn't changed," Barnett said, "but it is nice to know that if construction does slip by two or three weeks, we don't lose the funding."
Council members were happy to hear it. Coun. Patricia Heintzman let out a small "Whoo hoo" and Mayor Greg Gardner was excited to have it done for Canada Day.
"In my mind this will be the focal point of the Canada Day celebration," he said.
The confidence surrounding the project prompted Gardner to propose adding another component to the plan.
"This pavilion was meant to be a celebration of the community's multi-culturalism and considering the pavilion itself is already reflecting our Salish heritage, I thought we should think about involving the Indo-Canadian community," Gardner said.
He suggested building a gateway arch to the park, an idea he and Coun. Paul Lalli had already discussed with the leaders of the Squamish Sikh Society.
Lalli said the idea of an archway "really resonated" with the Sikh Society.
Responses were mixed and several councillors were supportive of recognizing the community in theory, but not necessarily incorporating Indo-Canadian recognition into this specific project.
Coun, Patricia Heintzman and Coun. Corinne Lonsdale felt an archway leading to a park not enclosed by anything might seem a bit odd.
"Is there some other way of recognizing the community?" Heintzman asked. "Unless you build a gateway leading to something, I feel it has the potential to look silly."
Lonsdale echoed Heintzman's concerns.
"Can we not do something like a flag?" she asked. "In my mind a gate sitting in the middle of a sidewalk doesn't really fit."
Gardner clarified that there was no actual gate in the archway, just the arch itself.
Heintzman thought maybe council was being slightly overzealous.
"It almost seems a little contrived, like we're trying too hard," she said. "I love the idea of acknowledging that community, but I think there might be other ways to do it."
Coun. Rob Kirkham also "loved" the idea of recognizing local Indo-Canadian culture, but said councillors should keep in mind that there were several minority cultures in Squamish.
Planner Chris Bishop said looking at themes in all the downtown parks was a component of the Stan Clarke Park planning and added that a Sikh component could be incorporated at that stage.
Barnett added that he didn't think there was enough funding to incorporate the archway into the project, and adding components could throw off the construction timeline.
"I don't think there's funds for what you just described," he said. "This project is meant to be focused on the pavilion."
Gardner responded that he hadn't seen the archway as an overly expensive concept but Lonsdale and Heintzman didn't waver.
"I think we're getting a bit distracted," said Heintzman. "Let's just stick to the O'Siem Pavilion.
"We're in the 11th hour and we need to move forward."
Lalli appeared to take slight offence to the discussion.
"I'm obviously a little sensitive because I am of the Sikh faith," he said. "I don't think this takes away from the pavilion."
Coun. Doug Race suggested waiting to see if there was money left over to build the archway, but said it shouldn't be too difficult to incorporate it into the design.
"It's important - just completely not part of this pavilion."
Staff agreed to incorporate the idea into the district's planning process and review findings with council at a later meeting.
Barnett said the final drawings are ready, the construction design is almost completed and should be ready to put to tender within a few weeks.
"There's a lot of local interest in this project," he said. "We'll be looking to develop resources locally with construction management and materials."
