Council endorsed the District of Squamish Real Estate and Facilities Strategy (REFS) in the spring of 2018. The REFS identifies that many of the District’s facilities may require the replacement or upgrade/expansion in order to meet the community’s current and long-term needs, as many are reaching end of life, have reached maximum capacity, and are insufficient for a rapidly growing community. An investment in excess of $100m has been identified for facilities in need of such replacement or upgrade/expansion.
In order to support the decision making that lies ahead, the REFS identifies strategic principles and an implementation approach aimed at minimizing the upcoming investment into facilities and land and to ensure the District is providing the necessary services to the community in a fiscally responsible manner over the next 25 years.
In July 2019, Council endorsed the District of Squamish Real Estate and Facilities Master Plan (REFMP), which was the next step identified by the REFS.
The REFMP identifies:
The District will commence an unprecedented period of facility analysis, design and construction.The District will require in‐house project management resources immediately to support this process. These activities are anticipated to be focused throughout the next three years and beyond as follows:
Year |
Focus |
Activities |
1 |
Due Diligence |
Final site analysis, partnership and grant funding opportunities, final needs assessments, Disposition Strategy |
2 |
Decision Making |
Options analysis, community engagement and Council endorsements in budget |
3+ |
Project Work |
Detailed design, tendering and construction |
The REFMP included funding illustrations to support future decision making which will require updating to reflect the many external factors impacting the District’s ability to fund future investments including:
The District manages a portfolio of approximately 1,400 acres of real estate, 18 facilities (200,000 square feet) and over 100 tenants, to provide a range of services to the community. District facilities include Municipal Hall, Squamish Public Library, Tantalus Fire Hall, Valleycliffe Fire Hall, Squamish RCMP, District of Squamish Public Works yards, The 55 Activity Centre, Brennan Park Recreation Centre and public parks.
January 22, 2021 at 2:11 PM
District of Squamish Wildlife Attractant Bylaw update aims to eliminate wildlife attractants through stricter guidelines and simplified language
The District of Squamish has updated its Wildlife Attractant Bylaw to help residents better understand and eliminate the root cause of...
January 21, 2021 at 11:51 AM
Waste less, save more: District of Squamish Council moves to freeze 2021 Solid Waste Utility fees for residents with small garbage totes
Squamish residents can now save on 2021 utility fees by making the switch to a small 35-gallon garbage tote size.
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Chad H Mar 4, 2019, 9:03 PM (23 months ago)
Squamish desperately needs a bigger pool and a full service rec centre. As a parent of a young swimmer, I find it disheartening that I can no longer take my daughter swimming between 4-6:30p M-Th. Monday’s and Wednesday’s after school were the only times we could go for a Daddy-Daughter swim...now that’s gone due to lack of capacity. It’s also difficult to get her registered for swimming lessons, as by the time we know if she’s passed her current class, the next set of lessons are booked. This leaves us the option of guessing the outcome and prebooking her, or waiting until the next round comes available. Add to that North of $300/mo for gym memberships for my wife and I, leaves us missing the facilities we had in North Van and the tri-cities area considerably. I understand we have a much smaller population, but when I see the aquatic centre Sechelt has with half the population, it leaves me scratching my head. There are many very large developers with very deep pockets developing in Squamish now. They will be making a lot of $$ here, and bringing many more bodies in to further clog our outdated and underfunded facilities. It would seem to be a no brainer to get them to improve their brand and the community by digging deep. Perhaps it’s time to open Polygon Park, or Bosa Centre...my two cents.
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