Coun. Eric Scott, chair of the Sechelt’s harbour expansion and development committee, told his fellow councillors Dec. 9 that the committee has now completed a site visit to the Davis Bay wharf with members of the Davis Bay-Wilson Creek-Selma Park Community Association.
The association passed a resolution in November asking council to impose a ban on all fishing and crabbing at the wharf, with a review in 18 months.
Council put the issue over to the harbour committee to make recommendations.
Scott said after the site visit, which lasted about an hour and a half, “there were some items that we’ve agreed to disagree on,” but there was a general agreement that more education and advocacy with the Department of Fisheries and Oceans was needed.
Scott said he’ll bring written recommendations to council in January.
Baillie bollards
Sechelt council confirmed a committee decision to make the removal of traffic bollards on Baillie Road in West Sechelt permanent at the Dec. 18 meeting.
The decision was deferred for two weeks to allow councillors to get more feedback from the neighbourhood.
Several councillors reported back that the message they heard was that most people supported leaving the bollards out.
Coun. Matt McLean said he appreciated the extra time to hear from residents, but believes that Baillie Road is a public road that should be able to be used by the public and he could “see no reason to block if for the exclusive use of residents.”
Some residents maintain, as expressed in one email to council ahead of the meeting, that “at no time was Baillie Road planned as a through road, regardless of its stated design capacity.”
Residents who wanted the bollards to remain also questioned the validity of the traffic count taken after the bollards were removed that showed an extra 30 to 40 vehicles per day were using the road, which is designed to handle around 900 vehicles per day.
Community grants
Sechelt council has approved six groups for standing, multi-year grants from the Community Investment Program (CIP).
Five groups have existing grants that are set to expire on Dec. 31, 2019, and all reapplied, but council had already decided not to deal with Victims Services through the grant program and make its funding part of the RCMP budget.
There were eight total applications.
“What we had before us were applications that were all pretty great,” said committee chair Coun. Brenda Rowe. Not wanting to leave out applicants that fit the criteria and also having enough money that new groups could benefit, she said, was the main reason the committee recommended a budget increase of just over $14,000 for a total of $120,987.
The three-year standing grants approved Dec. 18 were:
• Restorative Justice Program of the Sunshine Coast, starting with $10,200 in the first year.
• Sunshine Coast Arts Council for $8,500 in 2020, growing to $9,500 in 2022.
• Sunshine Coast Community Resource Centre Society for $22,000 this year and dropping to $15,000 in 2022.
• The Sunshine Coast Community Services Society – Youth Outreach for $26,287 in 2020, climbing to $27,887 in 2022.
• The Sunshine Coast Festival of the Written Arts for $5,000 per year for three years.
• Transportation Choices Sunshine Coast for $1,000 per year for three years.
Council voted not to consider a $500 grant for the Coast Recital Society until all the other one-year grants come up for discussion.
