The usual suspects range from public transportation to job creation to crumbling infrastructure to the lack of transparency and accountability at muni hall. It's also about a number of other issues that have the potential to generate serious turbulence.
According to the Squamish Vital Signs report, in 2010 the violent crime rate in town was 66.2 per cent above the national average and 36.5 per cent above the provincial average. Property crime here was 51.8 per cent and 14.4 per cent higher than the federal and provincial averages, respectively.
A standard explanation for this discrepancy is that Squamish is a criminal opportunity community because of its location. In other words, the Outdoor Recreation Capital of Canada is a magnet for transient crime. That may be true, but it is also related to the fact that there are almost one-third fewer cops deployed here per capita than the national and provincial average.
The recently published Squamish Long Term Financial Plan tells us that taxpayers will be on the hook for an additional $1 million to pay for RCMP services in 2012. That hefty top-up could result in a few more boots on the ground, but not necessarily. For the most part, it represents the municipality's increased share of policing costs based on our most recent population numbers.
Speaking of spending tax dollars, we've had nearly eight years of district-funded studies, reports, community consultations, contamination tests and cleanup work on the former Nexen oceanfront lands. According to one insider, as much as the mega project has considerable potential, so far the result is a "large, complex, capital intensive, financially constrained, market-dependent and publicly owned" project. In other words, an unstable mixture that needs to be handled with kid gloves by the new council lest they end up in Hurt Locker territory after the whole thing blows up in their faces.
Although the official word from muni hall is that Squamish is open for business, it's time to address the shaky relationship between the district and the investment community.
Last year, for various reasons, the proposed Garibaldi at Squamish four-season resort, arguably the biggest job and tax generating engine to hit the top of Howe Sound since Woodfibre was mothballed, got tossed under the environmental assessment bus.
After receiving overwhelming community support and a majority vote at third reading three years ago, a promising 81-lot, 176 acre equestrian complex in Paradise Valley is still tangled in red tape and recriminations. High-ranking district officials say they've bent over backwards to make it work. The proponents disagree. In the meantime, the ongoing debacle has been hung out like dirty laundry for public viewing.
At the other end of town, the ambitious Sea to Sky Gondola proposal is already running into district-generated flack. According to municipal planners, once the gondola is up and running, it could siphon off customers who would otherwise head downtown. So, in a classic example of ill-advised interference with trade and commerce, the planning department's recommendation is to restrict entry to the facility's shops and restaurants to gondola ticket holders.
As Adam Smith, the legendary 18th century father of laissez-faire economics would say, in his heavy Scottish brogue, "Ye've gotta be kiddin' me, folks."
