Halfmoon Bay director and Sunshine Coast Regional District (SCRD) chair Lori Pratt took a moment during last week’s board meeting to defend directors’ decision to review the Coopers Green Hall replacement project following an announcement the district had received a large federal grant for the initiative.
At a July 30 board meeting, directors passed a committee motion requesting staff to consult with Area B community residents about the “location and siting and the proposed scope” of the Coopers Green Hall replacement project “relative to the Coopers Green Park Management Plan, taking into account the Coopers Green boat ramp.”
But before they voted, Pratt addressed comments she said were made regarding the July 23 committee decision.
“The comments focused on how I did not do my job as the Area B representative, that I should have done better to fight for the project as-is, that the consultation had already been completed and that I needed to impress upon other directors the importance of this project.”
Pratt said it was the board’s responsibility as elected officials to look at the entire picture. “We are not in a business-as-usual situation,” she said, citing “ongoing cost pressures” brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, water scarcity and the impending landfill closure. “We need to reconsider projects.”
She added: “I’m happy with the discussion we had and contrary to receiving messages of the ‘pathetic nature’ or ‘the worst possible outcome,’ I believe our board to be informed and reflective of the need of all residents and respectful of all challenges we are facing not just in Area B but across the Coast. I believe this recommendation is in the best interest of all residents and I am happy to see it move through.”
Directors had made the July 23 decision to review the project in consultation with Area B after receiving an Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program grant, announced earlier this month, which would cover 73 per cent of the project to a maximum of about $2 million.
A revised “Class B” estimate puts the cost of the project at $3,088,020 plus or minus 15 per cent, if started in the first three months of 2021, and not including site improvements such as parking and septic, according to a staff report.
Staff estimated $800,000 would need to be borrowed to complete the project, covered through taxation. Directors also confirmed with staff that the grant provides some flexibility on the project size, location and scope, though it must be located in Halfmoon Bay.
Staff also reported that “several comments by phone and email” questioned the tax increase and scale of the project, as well as the Halfmoon Bay Community Association’s “intense interest” to move ahead with the project as-is.
In a statement on behalf of the Halfmoon Bay Community Association sent to Coast Reporter after the board’s decision, president Terry Knight noted the recent grant approval followed six years of planning for the new hall, and that “excitement ran high,” especially among the group’s 385 members, after the announcement.
“Disappointment followed as it was thought the last piece of the puzzle was completed, however SCRD concerns and issues were raised but they are not unsurmountable,” Knight said.
He said the association “will continue to work with SCRD staff to get the project underway,” adding that the most recent hall design “resulted from many layers of community consultation. It included the Coopers Green Park Management [Plan], several surveys, open houses and a task force made up of a cross section of area residents as well as a representative of the Sechelt Indian Band. This input confirmed the need for a new hall. One that included greater capacity, a commercial kitchen, accessibility and located on the site of the present hall.”
The association, through its fundraising committee, has raised $245,000 for the hall.
Fundraising director Don Cunliffe told Coast Reporter he was“frustrated” by the outcome, since the staff report did not contain “details that could have made the decision a little different.”
Cunliffe also referenced the Coopers Green Park Management Plan, which indicates a community desire to replace the hall with a bigger one at the current location.
He noted a construction-level estimate would have provided a more accurate figure, as would further discussion of in-kind donations, volunteer labour and the potential for increasing the association’s fundraising commitment beyond $300,000, in addition to community amenities.
“If the board members had understood the process and what was done and how we reached here, the decision could have been made much differently,” he said.
“We need to get it back on the rails.”
