SECHELT, B.C. – The District of Sechelt’s 2018 annual report has been released, and Mayor Darnelda Siegers likes what she sees.
“Our council is all new: we got elected in October of last year, so the most exciting part for us is the new strategic goals that we set for this term,” Siegers said. “And there’s a strong focus on economic development, community livability, and housing affordability, and we’ve got a number of projects that we’re really excited about.”
Siegers noted in the past week, the district received two grants which will help towards its strategic plan.
“Both were provincial,” she said. “One was for trails and bike paths along one of the major roads that we are going to be starting to develop this year, and that was for 75 percent of the project.”
The other was a grant of just over $1 million, which will cover 75 per cent of the cost of resurfacing and extending the runway at the Sunshine Coast Regional Airport.
Among the report’s highlights:
- The district received a $10,000 grant to complete the Porpoise Bay Wharf Strategic Document.
- The Trail Ave Design was completed, and council pre-approved the budget for construction in 2019. The roadworks are designed specifically to ensure accessibility.
- According to the report, the expansion of the sanity sewer system, with the help of the Clean Water and Wastewater Fund “reduced dependency on septic fields in Areas A02 and A06 for approximately 150 properties.”
- As part of the development agreement with the ‘Edgewater’ in East Porpoise Bay, Sechelt Parks acquired a new waterfront park, completed with a fully paved and lit 550 m pathway and two new beach accesses.
- And the district provided support for the 40 unit BC Housing Transitional Housing project.
“That was part of the provincial mandate and they’ve been putting these up in all kinds of communities,” Siegers said. “When they identified the people to go into that, 39 of the people that moved in are from Sechelt (and) one is just outside of Sechelt. And we know that the need is even greater.”
The district also underwent the preparation of a rezoning application for the 104-unit Greenecourt affordable seniors housing development.
“It is a mixed cost for seniors – some of it is heavily subsidized, some of it is medium subsidized, and some will be at market rent,” Siegers explained. “And they have a huge waiting list. I think just over 100 units is what they’re building but they have a waiting list of over 200.”
Siegers said the report “really highlights what projects we completed over the last year.”
“The focus is really on updating the policies and bylaws and that work’s continuing this year,” she added.
