Not all of Sicamous council was onboard with proposed amendments to the phased development agreement between the district and developers of the Old Town Bay Marina.
The amendments were presented by district chief administrative officer Kelly Bennett at the Oct. 12 council meeting. Bennett explained the amendments were minor in nature and, therefore, under the Local Government Act, they could be approved through a motion in council.
In February 2016, the District of Sicamous entered into a phased development agreement (PDA) with numbered company 443602 BC Ltd, for development of Twin Anchors 276-slip marina and boat launch facility in Old Town Bay. That agreement included the addition of a public boat launch which, at the time, was estimated would cost the district $280,000.
Since then, Bennett explained in a report to council, staff and the developer have been working together to provide further clarity in several sections of the agreement, “as well as finalize surveys to ensure accuracy.”
On Oct. 12, council received a recommendation from staff to approve amendments to the PDA. Among the changes: a change to language around when the boat launch can be accessed (seasonal operating hours of the marina); addition of an indemnity clause in favour of the developer; a requirement that the district maintain liability insurance for the public areas; and “adding language to allow pulling vessels and conducting minor repairs on the traffic circle adjacent to the public boat launch by the developer.”
Among questions and concerns raised by council, the amendment regarding use of the traffic circle for commercial repairs received the most deliberation.
Coun. Malcolm Makayev called Twin Anchors’ Todd and Greg Kyllo “great corporate citizens” who have helped the community grow. And while he didn’t disagree with letting them use the boat launch to move boats in and out of Shuswap Lake, he argued the traffic circle is part of a public road that should be maintained for public use .
“I support Twin Anchors using it for commercial use for pulling commercial vessels in and out… but to use a public road to do maintenance, I’m not so sure if that’s a good idea,” said Makayev. “I’m not so sure if our insurance would even cover that for a private enterprise, to use a public road allowance to do maintenance in there.”
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In response, Todd Kyllo explained when the traffic circle was initially constructed, it was too small and couldn’t be used to turn boats around. So the developer gave up land to make the traffic circle bigger.
“So basically, we’re just using our land when we pull off to the one side that we donated to the district to make the traffic circle bigger,” said Kyllo.
When it came time to vote on the amendments, Coun. Ryan Airey was opposed.
“Upon reading the agreement, I couldn’t help but think we probably wouldn’t be authorizing a use for parking and repairs on any of the other boat launches…,” commented Airey before the vote, adding the agreement is not specific about what constitutes a repair or how long a boat can be parked on the public traffic circle for repairs.
“I really feel like it’s been a little difficult to do my due diligence,” said Airey.
In response to Airey, Coun. Gord Bushell explained there is currently plenty of room for him to maneuver his truck and pontoon boat into the lake while a boat is being worked on in the traffic circle.
Coun. Jeff Mallmes pushed for approval of the agreement, concerned with the amount of time it has taken already.
“I think this agreement has been worked on by (former district CAO) Evan Parliament and now Kelly, and finally it’s going to get ratified and I guarantee that if it doesn’t happen tonight… you’re going to be a long time in the future before you do it,” said Mallmes. “And it’s gone on long enough. It’s an asset of the District of Sicamous, the boat launch…”
lachlan@saobserver.net
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