With the Official Community Plan and other large developments moving through the approval process, it was easy to miss the District of Squamish Real Estate and Facilities Strategy (REFS) report that was approved at the Regular Council meeting on April 17.
Staff is now in the process of developing an implementation plan.
Without a doubt, implementing this strategy will be one of the most important and challenging tasks of the next council: budget priorities need to be balanced, and creative funding pathways and partnerships need to be developed to get the work done.
In recent years, the District has completed the analysis of its major asset categories including the Asset Management Plan, Liquid Waste Management Plan, Integrated Flood Hazard Management Plan, and Fire Master Plan. These plans help us set priorities, attract funding from senior levels of government and ensure we can deliver services and provide infrastructure in a fiscally sustainable manner.
The goal of the Real Estate and Facilities Strategy is to help our community make informed choices on the acquisition, disposition, and management of land and facilities over the long term.
A few details from the staff report will put the size and scope of this challenge into perspective for our community.
The majority of the District’s facilities are at end-of-life, operating at overcapacity, or are no longer functioning to provide effective service for the community.
The replacement, upgrading, or expansion of these facilities will require an investment of more than $100 million.
To contrast, our land reserve represents about $10 million. There are legal limits to the amount we can borrow, and even if we could borrow the funds, servicing this debt would require significant property tax increases.
Clearly, there is no silver bullet to address this issue. Even knowing where to start is challenging; the list of buildings that need immediate attention include Brennan Park, the Tantalus Road fire hall, our Public Works Office, Municipal Hall, the Youth Centre and, coming soon, the Aquatic Centre and Library.
We’ll all need to lean in on this issue to devise a suite of solutions that make sense.
Some give and take will need to be thrown in for good measure.
If you’re considering a run for council, mandatory pre-reading includes this strategy and its implementation plan along with the OCP and other asset plans: you might as well come into this with your eyes wide open.
And bring your A-game, because, in addition to balancing this need with all of the other priorities in the District, we’ll need folks who can bring critical thinking, sound judgement and the ability to create solutions and drive change, not just criticize.
