Squamish saves $1.6 million thanks to new quarry
Squamish has a new quarry, and so far it’s saved the District about $1.6 million.
Mayor Karen Elliott said the municipality applied to the province and got a mines licence for Lot 69, which is close to the airport.
“That piece of land was leased to other operators over time, and then we realized it’s actually a great source of gravel,” Elliott said.
“Now we’re using it as a gravel source for the vertical expansion in the landfill and also for our dike upgrades.”
She said normally the fill would have to be found elsewhere, which can be a costly task.
The District was granted access to the quarry around April 2017, but details regarding the venture were only made public on Nov. 20, after closed council meeting items were released.
It’s routine for council decisions on land deals to be discussed in private.
No more alcohol at fire hall
Council banned alcohol in the firehall in March, according to recently released details.
Mayor Karen Elliott said in 2008, the lounges in the firehall were leased to the firefighters association.
“Over time best practice in terms of physical health, mental health, stress management — it’s just come to be realized that alcohol is not really conducive to supporting those three things,” she said.
“We felt it was important to align District practices with best practices.”
Authorities are looking for other ways to help firefighters, she said, such as a critical incident team, mental health programs, and even yoga for firefighters.
“It’s a much healthier way to deal with job-related stress,” Elliott added.
The decision was made in a closed meeting of council months ago, but the item was only revealed on Nov. 20.
It’s typical for council to close meetings when personnel issues are being discussed.
