District of Sechelt council chambers and foyer were filled to capacity Wed-nesday, July 8, with a vocal and emotional delegation seeking to stop road construction scheduled to begin this month on Laurel Avenue in Davis Bay.
"This is a quiet neigh-bourhood where kids play safely on the street," said spokesperson Dane Char-boneau in a press release provided prior to Wed-nesday's meeting. "There are no sidewalks here so children and neighbours have to walk on the street. The public process for this project has been flaunted. The District committed itself in writing in the 2007 Vision Plan for Sechelt to consult with neighbourhoods on transportation. We were sent notification that work would begin. This is not consultation."
Before the delegation presented, Laurel Avenue resident Yvette Fleming became quite emotional as she told council that the delegation organizers had not contacted her about their concerns or a petition. She said she has been vocal over the years in wanting council to know she is in favour of Laurel being connected between Ridgeway Drive and Salal Road.
Charboneau then read a prepared statement on behalf of those against the 46-metre road allowance being paved that would give through-access from Havies Road to Chapman Road, creating a secondary route through Davis Bay.
Multiple times, he cited parts of the vision plan and official community plan and said the District was in contravention of them, most notably, in their lack of public consultation.
District chief administrative officer Rob Bremner said in an interview July 9 morning that the public had consultation at every open house held during budget negotiations.
"Every capital project was up for the public to question. And many did," Bremner said. "It's been a dedicated road since day one. Sometimes council has to make some tough decisions, and this is one of them."
Bremner said notification of every single road works project in the District is not sent out to citizens as it would be too cumbersome an endeavour, but it has been no secret that the Laurel Road allowance would some day be paved.
Charboneau said because there are no sidewalks or street lighting on Laurel, safety will be a big issue.
"It's always had that rural kind of design," added Bremner. "Unless there's a shutdown on [Highway] 101, I don't think they'll see much more traffic."
The delegation had seven expectations of council that led with to "postpone indefinitely all plans" to develop the Laurel Avenue road allowance.
Coun. Warren Allan was not shy in voicing his wish to see Laurel connected. He said many of the delegation's arguments could be used equally for reasons why the road should be paved, safety being first.
Bremner said construction is scheduled to begin the end of July, but council could choose to further discuss the matter at the July 15 council meeting.
Accessibility
The Sechelt Accessibility Challenge projects have been chosen.
After many committee meetings, the group has decided to spend the $40,000 from the Union of B.C. Municipalities Age Friendly Communities grant and 2010 LegaciesNow Measuring Up grant to host a workshop on accessible design for contractors working on new residences and buildings. The Coast Community Builders' Association will collaborate with them on the project.
The second project is in partnership with the Sunshine Coast Regional District (SCRD) to construct illuminated and accessible bus stops and a storage facility for packages.
In the third project, the committee is teaming up with the Rotary Club of the Sunshine Coast-Sechelt to put in a new surface at the Marine Gateway children's playground that will provide easier access to equipment. They are currently taking quotes for the project, said spokesperson Christien Kaaij.
The committee will begin new meetings in November and continue to look for funding to address other project ideas.
Library hours
Monday hours at the Sechelt Public Library will be maintained through the next budget year, but council was wary about the future.
"I don't think any other function or department has received a 10 per cent increase every year," said Coun. Ann Kershaw.
She said while the library is a deserving area to fund, council could not afford to overlook others in need.
Coun. Alice Janisch, who sits on the library committee, said taking into account the $10,000 council already gave to the library for Monday openings in the first quarter and the one-time offer of $9,000 from SCRD Halfmoon Bay director Garry Nohr, the library needed $8,250 to make up the rest of the year's funding to remain open on Mondays.
Bremner said the money could be taken out of any surplus funds at year end, and if there was not enough money there, it could be taken from a reserve fund.
B&Bs
Bed and breakfast operators in the District may soon be able to offer three rooms to guests on their premises. At the April 8 committee of the whole, a delegation of B&B owners asked council to consider the change, as many were already offering the third room service based on demand.
Ray Parfitt, director of planning, said in his report that "the current industry standard across the province" seems to have changed from two rooms to three.
He said staff supported the change with suggestions that B&B owners provide adequate parking and to ensure they have enough sewer capacity and garbage disposal, new fees would be attached to those who choose to offer three rooms.
Details in the wording of the recommendations needed to be tweaked and the information will come before council at a future meeting before final decisions are made.
Arrowhead
Coun. Alice Lutes made a motion that council give a $2,000 grant-in-aid to the Arrowhead Society that made a delegation to council at the June 24 committee of the whole.
Bob Smith, chair for Arrowhead's board, told council the club that provides services to adults with mental illness was out of money, that the house they operate from was sold and the new building on Dol-phin Street that has become a partnership between several groups including the District had been delayed yet again. The old RCMP building contains asbestos that must be removed before construction can begin and negotiations over a lease agreement with BC Housing are pending.
Lutes' motion will be readdressed at council meeting on July 15.
