It’s been an extremely productive four years, both at the District of Sechelt and at the Sunshine Coast Regional District, where I’ve sat for the last three years as Director, including being honored to spend a year as Vice-Chair of the Board. Some of the things we’ve accomplished together as a Council and as a Board are:
- A new operations centre took eight years, but it was our Council that finally got that project going, with an estimated completion of spring 2023.
- Our zoning bylaw is from 1987, with over 300 amendments, but we as a Council managed to get a refresh underway, with a new bylaw to be adopted in the beginning of October.
- The Silverstone long term care facility? Controversial, but the delivery of public health is a Provincial matter and they said this is how it was going to be provided. Thanks to our current Council, that project is well under way on Derby Rd.
- Our airport runway has been in dire need for many years, to the point where it was becoming unsafe to take off and land. Thanks to Provincial and Federal funds, we have a newly refurbished (and extended) runway, at no direct cost to the tax payer.
- We just passed a new set of short term rental regulations, that while far from perfect, will go a long ways towards giving our neighbourhoods back to our residents.
- Sechelt has over 200 units of rental and supportive housing about to be under construction downtown, and we’re in a position where people are coming forward wanting to build more.
- We took several opportunities to use grant funding to invest in our downtown, including a new stage and gathering place in Hackett park, upgrades to Wharf Avenue, to Trail Avenue, and to Inlet Avenue, to improve pedestrian safety and encourage a more healthy lifestyle.
- We’ve found new funding in conjunction with our community partners to deliver additional resources in the form of a homelessness coordinator, a rental incentive coordinator, and an additional RCMP member to serve our community.
- We piloted a street patio program, which we’ve recently made permanent, to provide additional places in our downtown for people to gather and visit.
- As an organization, the District of Sechelt applied for and received more than $14 million in senior government grant opportunities. Funding everything from airports to sidewalks to park upgrades to bike trails.
- The WRC is one of the largest consumers of water from the Chapman system. Thanks to improvements to the groundwater well on the property, we have a reliable source of water for residents, watering our parklets, and still have enough left over to reduce potable water use by 33% inside the WRC.
- The SCRD is nearly complete on the Church Rd well field, which will provide water to solve 50% of our current supply deficit. Additional wells are being pump tested at Langdale (you can see them when you go to the ferry, in the upper parking lot). In addition, a well field at Maryanne West Park will ensure that groundwater is a fundamental component of a safe and reliable drinking water supply for many years to come.