Seawatch
Sechelt’s chief administrative officer says the district is acting on recommendations in two recent reports from Thurber Engineering on the sinkhole situation in the Seawatch subdivision along Gale Avenue North.
There have been several incidents dating back to 2012, the most serious in February 2015 when the formation of a sinkhole forced a family from their home and resulted in one unsold home being declared uninhabitable. New deflections have appeared in the road recently.
A resident of the neighbourhood raised the issue during the public question and answer period at the June 20 council meeting, after residents were sent the reports on May 30 and June 18.
CAO Andrew Yeates responded that the district is moving ahead on recommendations around new signage and rerouting of the road, but further investigation is on hold while they wait for engineers and equipment to be available.
“We’re still trying to get a drilling rig and Thurber Engineering to come out and do more investigation in person,” Yeates said.
Several issues around the sinkholes are the subject of ongoing legal action between residents and the district.
Bella Beach renovations
Coun. Mike Shanks shared the results of a little amateur detective work with his fellow councillors June 20.
Shanks said he’d been getting some questions about the work underway at the site of the Bella Beach Inn, so he decided to find out what’s happening at the hotel, which was built in 1983.
Shanks said he spoke with the manager, after being referred by one of the hotel staff, and found out the owners’ plans include reopening the restaurant next month as well as rehabilitating the landscaping and renovating the interior.
Crews have been at work over the past few days giving the building a bright new exterior paintjob.
The Bella Beach owners also have a request to make of the district.
“[The manager] indicated he had some concerns, and so do the owners, about traffic along the highway and [said] it would be nice to have a sidewalk there,” Shanks said.
“The owners would like to have a meeting sometime in the future with council and senior staff in terms of outlining what their plans are… It’s an older motel and the last few years it’s lacked maintenance and a lot of people haven’t been staying there and they hope to turn that picture around.”
