Editor:
I picked up my copy of the paper Friday and had to pinch myself. Is this really happening? Sechelt is finally getting its second director at the SCRD board table?
Add to this the fact that BC Ferries is running hourly service to the Sunshine Coast (albeit temporarily), and it’s like a dream come true. I thought Christmas only came once a year.
When I was on Sechelt council years ago, I met with then Transportation Minister Kevin Falcon and suggested the idea of hourly service (and 24-hour sailings) and was told the idea was not feasible Well, here we are – smooth sailings, it can be done! No lineups, hourly service and far less pain and suffering.
When I was on the SCRD board for Sechelt and vice chair of the finance committee, I brought up the fact that soon Sechelt would surpass the 10,000 resident population threshold and be granted its second director. What a lonely place it was representing Sechelt at the SCRD board, knowing that budgets would pass even if Sechelt voted against them (which we did once when I was alternate director for Sechelt).
Sechelt taxpayers pay more per thousand dollars (the mill rate) than many parts of B.C., including West Vancouver, partly because rural areas outvoted the municipalities on budget issues. Sechelt pays the lion’s share of policing on the Sunshine Coast, for example; Sechelt also pays the highest percentage towards the recreation function.
No longer will the taxpayers of Sechelt be under-represented at the RD board. As the old saying goes, two heads are better than one – and now, finally Sechelt will have two voices at the RD, which will be hard to ignore. In the end, hopefully this will lead to a lower tax burden for the property owners of the District of Sechelt. Hallelujah!
Sechelt’s second seat at the RD board table will be permanent; sadly though, hourly BC Ferries sailings will not be. Then, once again, those who advocate the idea of a fixed link will be clamouring for a bridge. It’s like rolling a stone uphill – the sluggish wheels of progress seemingly take forever to turn on the Sunshine Coast.
Keith Thirkell, Sechelt
