Sechelt council has approved terms of reference for new committees
A housing advisory committee, to be chaired by Coun. Matt McLean, will look at “establishing policies, programs and initiatives that address a range of housing needs from affordable housing for low income households, affordable rental or ownership options for young families/workforce housing through to special needs housing and care facilities.”
Coun. Tom Lamb will chair the water resources select committee, which will “consider, inquire into, report, and make recommendations to council on: legislated requirements and costs to utilize reclaimed water from Water Resource Centre; potential uses for reclaimed water; recommendations to the Sunshine Coast Regional District related to water supply and conservation,” as well as make recommendations to council on issues related to local water use and conservation.
Coun. Eric Scott will chair two of the new committees, the airport development select committee and the harbour expansion and development select committee.
The airport committee will be tasked with coming up with recommendations on short and long-term plans for the airport and surrounding lands as well as “revenue generation opportunities including grants and partnerships,” development opportunities and governance and management.
The committee is also being asked to consider a “potential airport name change.”
The harbour expansion and development committee will look into “the impact of divestiture from Small Craft Harbours,” as well as the idea of establishing a harbour authority. It will also study short and long-term plans for the wharf and a float plane facility.
Mayor Darnelda Siegers said two other committees she wants to form, on economic development and downtown revitalization, are on hold for the time being.
“We will be having conversations with the Sechelt Chamber [of Commerce] and the Downtown Business Association prior to determining whether or not [the revitalization committee] should move forward,” Siegers said. “We don’t want to overlap the mandates of those two organizations.”
She said the economic development committee is on hold for similar reasons, while district official consult with the Sunshine Coast Regional Economic Development Agency and other groups involved in economic development.
The water resources, airport development and harbour development and expansion committees will be given a one-year term, which can be extended if council feels there’s more work to be done.
Siegers also said, because of the ongoing importance of the issues, the housing committee will not have a term limit.
Now that council has approved the terms of reference, the district will start recruiting community members to sit on the committee. “The shíshálh Nation has expressed interest in sitting on the housing committee and the harbour committee, so I look forward to working with them on that,” Siegers said.
