The year 2014 marks a 100-year anniversary in the history of Squamish. You may ask what happened 100 years ago. That is when provincial legislation was passed which led to the later (many years later, in fact) incorporation of our present district municipality. Some would argue that it does not really constitute a centenary but any excuse for a celebration.
There will be many forms of celebration next year, but one will be the creation of a centennial project. Council recently created the Squamish 2014 Legacy Project Task Force. This is a council committee chaired by Coun. Prior and includes myself and representatives of the Chamber of Commerce, Downtown Business Improvement Association, Squamish Nation and several members of district senior staff. The purpose of this committee is to solicit proposals from the public for a legacy centennial project, review the proposals received and make a recommendation to council for the final decision. We are looking for proposals for capital projects that will serve as a lasting legacy for our community. Grant monies are available from the federal government for such heritage projects up to $500,000 and must be matched by the district. That means that potentially we could be looking at a significant project.
Last week the district posted the terms of the Request for Proposals (RFP) on its website. Interested parties can access it by going to the site at www.squamish.ca and following the links to "your government" and then to "rfp and tender proposals." As set out in the RFP, if there are any questions or clarification needed by proponents, they should contact the District's Director of Engineering, Rod MacLeod, at [email protected].
When the task force met recently to discuss the terms of the RFP, it was decided not to restrict the scope of proposals that may be received. Proposals of any size or for any area of the district will be considered. Proponents should review the criteria of the Heritage Legacy Fund administered by the federal government to ensure their proposals meet those criteria. A link to that can be found in the RFP. Any proposal that is chosen by Council will have to meet those criteria to qualify for the grant funding.
The deadline for submission of proposals is Aug. 21 at 2 p.m. That deadline is necessary to allow the task force to consider the proposals, have presentations if required and to make a recommendation to council for final decision before the deadline for grant applications in October.
Squamish is a creative community and I am looking forward to seeing what ideas we can come up with to celebrate the last 100 years of our history.
