Squamish's Oceanfront is poised to become a major Olympic celebration destination in 2010. The District of Squamish has been in negotiations with the federal government, and the B.C. government for Vancouver Olympic Organizing Committee's (VANOC) use of 20 acres of property along the Howe Sound, said Mayor Ian Sutherland this week. "In an ideal world it could be a great location for a live place, a place where people can come and gather and watch events in real time," said Sutherland. "People can use that as a place to go and be entertained and have fun and enjoy the community in a festival like area."Although a decision for the land's use is still a ways off, it's certain the cost of such an endeavour will fall at least partially on the province and the federal government. But it's still uncertain what the cost to the district will be."Having the piece of land is one thing but we need to make sure you have the services to go with it, the infrastructure and everything else," said Sutherland. "Maybe we provide the land and VANOC or the province or some other entity provides some of the hard cost it needs to make it all happen." The other possibilities for the property would include a staging area and transfer point for transportation vehicles and housing for volunteers and employees. The Squamish Oceanfront Development Corporation (SODC) is tasked with developing a master plan for the property's use, but 2010 plans won't conflict with SODC's planning since there's a long way to go before that process is complete, said Sutherland. "When you look at the time frame available [for Oceanfront planning], it's reasonable to expect that there would be quite a bit of land available during February of 2010 for VANOC and the community to work together on as a plan."But the community is not yet privy to the Oceanfront possibilities for 2010, and Sutherland is asking SODC representatives to stay quiet on the issue when in the public eye. During a strategy session Tuesday (March 18), Sutherland interrupted SODC chair John Turner's discussion on the land's possbilities for 2010, asking that he remain quiet on the issue."I'm going to bring some suggestions to council in the next week or two on how we can deal with that," he said."I consider myself muzzled again," laughed Turner.Although infrastructure will be part of the 2010 proposal, long term benefits derived from VANOC's use of the property hasn't been part of the planning process, but it also shouldn't be discounted, said Sutherland. "It could be something that's a temporary structure or maybe a temporary structure that turns into a more permanent structure down the road," he said. -with files from Laura Hendrick
