The District of Sechelt will spend up to $70,000 on technology upgrades to council chambers that will allow live streaming of meetings to the public.
Council voted in favour of the expenditure at its Aug. 5 regular council meeting, with councillors Noel Muller and Darren Inkster opposed, both citing high cost as the reason.
Originally council had set a $35,000 price cap to upgrade only the audio system in the council chambers, hoping to add on video streaming in the future. However, a July request for proposals revealed the cost for audio upgrades to be closer to $50,000.
“Upon review of the submissions it became apparent it would be best to complete the full upgrade in one phase,” a report from applications and systems analyst Beverly Ehlbeck said.
After investigating various options, Ehlbeck came back to council Aug. 5 asking for permission to spend up to $70,000 for council chamber audio and visual upgrades, which would include a camera, a web-streaming device, improved teleconferencing capabilities and an easy to use interface.
Ehlbeck said a cheaper system could be purchased, but the District would need to hire a tech person to operate it.
Sechelt Mayor Bruce Milne said the $70,000 expenditure was “a small price if we can actually get streaming, which is long overdue in Sechelt.”
He noted the cost was less than one per cent of Sechelt’s total capital budget and that “we won’t be touching probably 20 per cent of our capital budget this year, so I think it will be money well spent even if a bit rich for some councillors.”
SCCF money
Council may take a closer look at eligibility for Sunshine Coast Community Forest Legacy Fund grants after two groups were awarded funds that at least one councillor was opposed to.
Last month the West Sechelt Playground Enhancement Committee was awarded $30,000 for their natural playground project, and on Aug. 5 the Davis Bay - Wilson Creek - Selma Park Community Asso-ciation was granted $75,000 for repairs to their community hall.
Coun. Doug Wright said neither grant should have been given as the playground sits on School District No. 46 property and the school district has not invested any funds. The community association has money Wright said could be used for the repairs.
“Here we are again sitting in front of council, making a recommendation to spend our money instead of theirs, and that’s wrong,” Wright said.
He noted that “at some point in time” he’d like to make a motion to discuss the criteria for legacy fund grants. Coun. Mike Shanks agreed.
“We need to sit down with the community forest legacy people and determine criteria, because time and time again we seem to be facing these issues where monies are available, and we don’t see any contribution on the part of those organizations,” Shanks said.
“It’s a discussion that we should have sooner than later.”
Political signs
The District of Sechelt is reminding people to be aware of their sign bylaw when placing political signs during the lead-up to the Oct. 19 federal election.
Political signs don’t require a permit but must not have a sign area exceeding one square metre and cannot exceed 1.8 metres in height. Signs also are not allowed to be illuminated and must be placed a minimum of 0.3 metre (one foot) from any property line or public highway.
Political signs relating to the election must be taken down no more than seven days after general voting day.
See the sign bylaw in its entirety at www.sechelt.ca.
Davis Bay float
The float has now been removed from the end of Davis Bay Pier due to safety concerns. The float was towed away last month and stored at a facility near Langdale at a cost of $3,000.
Sechelt council is looking into ways to make the float safe for use next summer but will not return it unless a solution can be found.
The float was closed in July after a staff report by superintendent of parks and public works John Mercer showed it was a safety hazard.
“The float collides with the pile hoops and this causes it to make abrupt movements,” Mercer said in his report. “There is a risk someone could fall down the ramp and a risk someone could fall into the water off the float. Should someone fall down in the area of the pile hoops, they could be severely injured in the pinch points.”
Concern for the safety of the public prompted the District to close the float, and it was later removed when a solution onsite couldn’t be found.
