The district only has seven months to spend the $375,000 grant to re-build the pavilion and no one seems to know where it's headed. More than a year and a half after Squamish was awarded the grant no work has been done, no one outside the district is allowed to know where or when it will be built.
"It's a mystery to me, it's all top secret," said downtown Business Improvement Association president Eric Armour, who insists the pavilion should be rebuilt in the Cleveland Avenue park named after the original structure.
In November 2009, the BIA discovered the district was considering rebuilding the pavilion on the oceanfrontO'Siem Communi lands instead of the park despite a sign being erected in Pavilion Park saying proclaiming "O'Siem Community Pavilion B.C. economic Stimulus Plan."
Mayor Greg Gardner says a plan is in the works but in camera discussions have been delaying the project's progress.
"We have an infrastructure issue, I will call it, that is being dealt with in camera at this point in time," said Gardner. "It's not directly about the pavilion but it impacts the pavilion project and that is the reason that we don't have anything announced at this point in timer."
He did say, however, that an announcement regarding the new O'Siem Pavilion is expected in mid August and he is confident it will be completed by March.
"It will absolutely be completed by the end of March."
In March 2009 MLA Joan McIntyre, MP John Weston and Vanoc representative Dan Doyle the District of Squamish would receive close to $1 million in federal and provincial funding for economic stuimulus. McIntyre worked very hard to secure a $375,000 Towns for Tomorrow grant to construct the O'Siem Community Pavilion, a shovel ready project meant to boost the local economy though employment.
A year and a half later, Joan McIntyre said the shovel ready concept came because they were supposed to be projects that municipalities had already identified or had been working on in order to kick start the economy immediately.
"That's why there's an end date and that's why the federal government has actually been very rigorous about that," said McIntyre. "They haven't allowed exceptions from that end date."
She said she still presumes the project will get done.
"They still have time so I'm hopeful. I've asked about it various times and I do understand that it's in the works but I can see why everyone wants to see it started up, including myself."
Gardner said that likely the pavilion would be erected in Pavilion Park, but there was no guarantee.
"The grant was only limited to being in the downtown which includes the SODC lands so council has not made a decision on it yet," said Gardner. "There's been no recommendation from staff at this point so no final decision has been made on the location of the pavilion but I believe that the recommendation coming forward will be that it will be downtown."
He dismissed the notion that the oceanfront lands are too barren and too far from downtown to be a viable location.
"It is a long way from any buildings but if it were to be built down there I assume it would be on the waterfront."
McIntyre and others feel that pavilion park is a natural location.
"It's a community choice," she said. "I would like it to be in a logical area where we maximize the benefit.
"I know the downtown is important because they're working on the revitalization of the downtown and that's where the original one was. It seems like the logical place."
Gardner said the question would be put to councillors soon.
