When I was growing up in Ontario back in the '50s I was drawn to a film genre called the cliffhanger, usually presented in serial format during Saturday matinees at the local theatre. At the end of each episode, the audience was left with an unresolved plot twist, or a main character in a dangerous situation. Then, as the screen faded to black, the message "to be continued" appeared.
Now, more than 60 years later, those cinematic excursions provide a valuable platform from which to view a town where the wheels could at any given moment be on the verge of either turning, or coming off.
Let's start with the ongoing Squamish Oceanfront development drama. According to one report there has been "worldwide interest" in this multi-use beachfront property. So far the identity of those interested parties remains a mystery. Apparently we will have to wait until next year for that revelation. Meanwhile, the first major repayment on the $9.41 million debt is due next May. The suspense grows.
The municipal budget process never fails to take us into cliffhanger territory. Every spring, residents are faced with the metastasizing spectacle of their annual taxes increasing by six per cent, or eight per cent, and more recently, double-digit levies. This year council has added a new plot twist by instructing staff to come back with an implausible zero per cent muni tax hike option for 2014. Get ready for some compelling political theatre next March and April.
Plans are afoot to convert the former Woodfibre site into a liquefied natural gas facility. Last month the Asia-based Pacific Energy Corp. applied for an export licence from the National Energy Board. But there will be a serious challenge from various environmental groups concerned about the prospect of heavy industry returning to an area that has seen its share of pollution. Things could get messy on the LNG front.
Speaking of Howe Sound, company officials from Powell River Slipstream are suggesting their high-speed, 200-passenger vessels are an ideal transit option for Lower Mainland-bound locals seeking an alternative to the daily commute on the Sea to Sky Highway. Then again, B.C. has played the fast ferries card before, with less-than-stellar results. Will there be a different narrative this time?
The granddaddy of cliffhangers around here has been the Garibaldi at Squamish all-season resort proposal. The final decision on whether GAS passes environmental muster and whether the community is ready to embrace the project is still blowing in the wind. According to company officials, if all goes well, spades will be in the ground by 2015. This ambitious venture has kept locals on the edge of their seats for the better part of two decades. Stay tuned for the next episode.
