Snow Clearing
The Town of Gibsons, which got hit with the bulk of the snowfall during the recent storms, is going to be reviewing its snow removal bylaws in the new year.
The current bylaw requires property owners to ensure the sidewalks in front of their homes or buildings are cleared. The Town looks after roads (except those maintained by the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure) and sidewalks fronting Town-owned property.
One resident used the public question period at the end of the Dec. 20 council meeting to complain about the state of the sidewalks along Gibsons Way.
Town planner Andre Boel, whose department oversees bylaw enforcement, said they made an effort to get the word out that it was up to property owners to clear sidewalks and Town staff did some extra work. “We had slow pick-up on people actually doing something about it,” he said. “But I do understand the parks crew cleared [sidewalks on] School Road at one point. There were a couple of other sections where we did some additional work.”
CAO Emanuel Machado said staff have been reviewing what did, and didn’t, work during the recent snowstorms, and will be returning to council with recommendations to update the bylaw. Machado also said there will be limits to how much snow removal the Town can take on. “Our municipal insurance association would have a tough time supporting us in venturing out to clean every sidewalk in town because we inherit the liability,” he noted.
Street Signs
Just ahead of the Dec. 20 council meeting, Mayor Wayne Rowe presented copies of street signs to former mayor Lorraine Goddard and descendants of the Wilander family, some of the town’s early Finnish settlers, to mark the naming of streets in their honour. Wilander Lane and Goddard Road are in the Parkland subdivision in upper Gibsons.
Andy and Anna Wilander came to Gibsons in 1905 from the Finnish community that had established a commune at Sointula.
Lottie Campbell, wife of the Wilander’s grandson Bruce, said she remembers Anna’s stories of those early days in B.C. “She was the first Finnish woman to go over to Sointula. She went with 14 men, which she cooked for and looked after – planning for 15 more family groups to come out and 15 children… It was quite a story.”
Rowe asked Goddard, who was mayor during the establishment of the Gibsons Marina – a controversial move at the time – if she had any advice for the current council. “You have to do it for the town, and the greatest number of people. Not the half-dozen who are protesting… You have to make decisions and you have to decide on what you truly think is best for the town,” she said.
Change of SCRD Director
Councillors Jeremy Valeriote and Silas White will be switching duties at the Sunshine Coast Regional District (SCRD). As of Jan. 1, Valeriote will take on the role of the Town’s SCRD director, with White acting as the alternate. White has been director for the past two years, and Valeriote was alternate.
“Coun. White has served the Town extremely well [at the SCRD],” Rowe said. “He has, I think, brought about some changes in the way processes work up there and I think he has advocated very well on behalf of the Town.”
