Did we elect a collection of empty Gore-Tex jackets to sit at the municipal council table, or as they say in Alberta, a crew that is all hats and no cattle?
With less than a year before we go to the polls again, more than a few members of this community are suffering from a bad case of voter regret and are taking to social media to voice their displeasure.
Many observers are convinced this administration is being strong-armed by opportunistic developers intent on exploiting every available patch of turf, at the same time as housing prices continue to soar into the stratosphere.
Squamish resident Jean Cameron had this to say on The Chief’s Facebook page: “Who cares any more. This council is not listening to the people who voted them in.”
District officials recently announced sensors are being installed on streetlights to collect data ranging from traffic congestion to air quality. After reading about that initiative Mike Benke, another local pundit, posted the following message online: “I’d be happy if the muni could just replace the burned out bulb outside my house. It’s been out for almost two years. My property taxes meanwhile have increased by around 40 per cent in that same amount of time. By all means though, let’s form a well paid committee to study this pressing issue.”
There is a perception in some circles that council is underperforming, especially when it comes to infrastructure and essential services. That list ranges from not enough parking downtown and a lack of sidewalks throughout the community, to an ever widening affordable housing and daycare facilities gap. Demand for stepped up policing to thwart the rising tide of property crime is also growing.
Additionally, it appears to long-time Squamish resident Bianca Peters, the District’s bylaw enforcement department is “woefully understaffed. “Our priorities are out of alignment,” she says.
Many council watchers are troubled by the exodus of an alarming number of residents. By now it is common knowledge that Les McDonald, the owner of The Copper Coil Still & Grill, is heading to Ontario because he has been priced out of the Squamish housing market. In a letter published in The Chief he told readers “for those of you who have grown up here, invested your lives here, I hope you can work with council and the District and make some important and lasting changes that will put families before real estate developers and corporations.”
But before we tumble too far down the disillusionment rabbit hole let’s remember that, for the most part, this is a well run community in the throes of an unprecedented growth spurt and some of the more high profile issues are beyond council’s control.
Still, after three years in office, many observers are starting to wonder if this assembly is past its best before date.
