Details on who will own the new Squamish Search and Rescue (SSAR) compound once it’s built have officially been ironed out.
At the June 24 committee of the whole meeting, the Squamish council voted to support SSAR becoming the official owners of the new builds, while the District would maintain ownership of the land.
In March, the District and SSAR announced that the volunteer rescue organization would be relocating from their current base at 42000 Loggers Lane, to a new site built at the Squamish Municipal Airport – Don Patrick Field.
The project, which has been in the works for almost six years, will be completed in two phases: Phase 1 will be a replica of their current compound, with Phase 2 acting as their “long-term dream” home.
To date, work on the site has included tree clearing and well preparation, with building construction on Phase 1 anticipated to begin this month.
Squamish SAR is moving locations because the piece of land they are currently located on has been sold. As such, they have to relocate by July 2026.
They plan to be in their new home by April 2026.
Ownership decision
At the meeting, District staff provided councillors with two options to choose between to determine the building's ownership:
Option 1: The project would be a SSAR-led build, resulting in SSAR building ownership under a land tenure agreement with the District.
Option 2: The project would be a District-led build and District-owned capital asset leased to SSAR as a tenant.
The recommendation from staff was to endorse Option 1.
“In Option 1, we would recommend that SSAR continues to project manage the build, and that building ownership be defined as SAR,” District general manager of public safety Pascale St-Louis said.
“Proceeding with Option 1 would optimize the District's resourcing limit and limit the District's ongoing maintenance costs, perhaps in the future. This option also presents a few clear financial advantages, as it will limit the District's financial investment to $2 million and allow SAR to have greater leverage when seeking [funding] from other donors and other funding opportunities.”
St-Louis said that to date, SAR has benefited from approximately $400,000 in-kind donations, highlighting the value that the community places on the project.
Phase 1 of the project is estimated to cost $2.4 million ($2 million of which is funded by the District), while Phase 2 currently has no funding locked in place.
St-Louis said that SSAR has been engaging with the Squamish Lillooet Regional District (SLRD) in the hopes of securing more funding.
“Lastly, land tenure agreements could include conditions to ensure that the District's investment will be protected from a potential future transfer of the building to a third party without the District's approval,” she said.
“Most importantly, this option will meet desired timelines for building occupancy in early 2026, which means no impacts to critical life safety SAR operations during the busy summer period.”
St-Louis explained Option 2 as a “significant pivot from the current path forward” but noted that it would allow the District to obtain a new capital asset.
“While this could be advantageous to the District, it's uncertain what type of revenue could be generated from this building in the long term, given that it is designed to be fit for purpose, for SAR and we were hoping that this remains their long-term home,” she said.
“This option … may result in project delays as District staff work to take over project management. With this option, it is possible that SAR would also not be able to be rehomed by the end of their lease, which could have detrimental impacts on their ability to operate within the District.”
Each year, approximately 125 calls are made to SSAR, and 40% of those calls occur within the District of Squamish response boundaries.
“They are an extremely skilled group who provide a critical life safety capability here within the District,” St-Louis said.
Council comments
Ultimately, councillors voted to unanimously support Option 1 (SSAR built and owned).
“The pros seem to strongly outweigh the cons in this and anything we can do to support SSAR in getting the job done … to get their building built as soon as possible ...I'm totally on board with,” Coun. Andrew Hamilton said.
Coun. Lauren Greenlaw shared the same sentiments as Coun. Hamilton.
“I just want to take a moment to say thank you so much to the SSAR team for all the wonderful work they do here. Whatever we can do to facilitate them getting up and running in a timely manner is, I think, good,” she said.
Councillors John French and Eric Andersen also supported Option 1, with the latter noting that the $400,000 of in-kind donations from the community proved how much of a success story Squamish SAR is.
Mayor Armand Hurford said he was looking forward to seeing both phases of the facility up and running, but alongside Coun. Chris Pettingill, hoped that the province would offer more support for SAR services.
As a board member of the SLRD, Coun. Jenna Stoner said she would talk to her fellow directors to “find some more money there for this regional service.”
“Thank you so much for all the work that you do to keep our community and those that are visiting safe, both within our district boundaries and extending beyond,” she said.
“I was very appreciative to see that you're continuing conversations with the regional district as well, and as somebody who sits on that board, I'm happy to talk to our fellow directors to find some more money there for this regional service, and continue our advocacy to the province on how they can show up better.”
According to a report to council, District staff will now formalize a Community Capital Agreement (CCA) between the District and SSAR. Once the CCA is finalized, the District will provide SSAR with a license to construct on District land.
“Upon project completion, the District will enter into a lease agreement for the land. In both of these documents, ownership of the interim structures in Phase 1 will be recognized as owned by SSAR,” reads the report.
For more information on the work that Squamish Search and Rescue does, follow their social media page or check out their website.
