CHECKING out the new North Vancouver RCMP detachment, which is currently under construction, are Cpi. Bob Fowell (left), Cpl. Ed Warziel and Sgt. Bob Beaudoin. New RGMP bul lose to complet Sunday, December 8, 1296 ~ North Shore News — 3 $19.5 million Gerry Brewer Building opens in March By Anna Marie D'Angelo News Reporter FOR most people, being in the new North Vancouver RCMP detachment will be a pleasant experience. The airy, high-tech building at the corner of East 14th Street and St. Georges Avenue is slated for occupancy on the three-sturey building, is about 80% nor finishing work still has to be don 2 to Mark Rogers, project coordinator of the on Company. Dominion is the builder of the $19.5 million project. The 68,000 square foot (6,317 sq. m) police detachment is jointly paid for by the the city and district of North Vancouver. The city supplied the land. Construction started in November 1995. “The intent the architect had at the beginning was to make ir as open as possible, but it is also very secure,” said Rogers. Rogers conducted a staff tour of the construction zone on Thursday. About 16 people, including Mounties and municipal staff, put on hard hats before going inside. Sixteen cells are located in the basement of the build- ing up from 10 in the existing police station located across the lane. The cell walls in the new jail are about 15 feet (4.6 m) high. Designers of the building did not put in false ceil- ings in the cells for security reasons. Rogers pointed out that the basement floor is made of a liquid epoxy that doesn’t support bacteria. The ground floor of the building contains commu- nity policing offices, public reception and interview rooms. General duty officers have a desk area that con- tains open space above them extending to the height of the building Also on on the ground floor are a police exercise roan ith a rubberized floor, glass block windows and 2 stereo system. The men’s and women’s large change rooms cach come with asauna. The top floors contain ample space for the plain clothes police sections such as drugs and serious crime. The superintendent, two inspectors and administrative personnel have offices with views. One of the top floors is home to the headquarters for the North and West Vancouver Emergency Measures Program headed by Ross Peterson. The new police building iy designed to meet “post- disaster” standards and will remain fully operational with backup power in the event of a major earthquake. The existing police building was opened in 1961 and was designed for 60 staff members. Another floor was added to the old building in 1968 so that 90 people could work there. Right now, 255 police officers and staff work out of the cramped, outdated building and an annex locat- ed one block away, The new police building contains roughly double the space of the old building and annex. North Vancouver City advertised two months ago for “expression of interest” regarding the use of the old police building site. The municipality will actively seck offers to buy the property soon, according to city spokesman Margot MacFadyen. The zoning allows for * construction of an 18-storey tower. Meanwhile Rogers said that it will take three weeks to get all the furniture into the new police detachment. He said all police and staff in the new building will have underground parking on two levels with more than 180 parking stalls. The new police building is called the Gerry Brewer Building. Gerry Brewer is a longtime North Vancouver resident, active community volunteer and retired North Vancouver City administrator. B® anew high-speed quad chairlift or gondola to the top of Mount Strachan, @ two new quad chairs; @ three new double chairs; Cypress upgrade plan delayed _Uy.jan Nebie " News Reporter ‘A controversial Cypress Bow! devel- : oyment plan will take longer to release than earlier anticipated. : Cypress Bowl Recreations Ltd. president ~ Wayne Booth said environmental studies and an early start to the sk. “eason have delayed an antic- ated lare-Novembe: date for completion of a evelopment plan that includes lifts, runs and service buildings. : “We 2xpect to have it ready to deliver to the . province within two weeks,” he said Wednesday. Meanwhile, B.C. Parks has responded to West Varicouver’s request for information on why the recreation area needs a water ard sewer pipeline with the capacity to handle 15,000 peo- ple a day — far more than the ski-area capacity recommended in a year-old report. B.C. Parks operations director Bob Dalziel said that on some days, the park will attract crowds that exceed Cypress Bowl’s design capac- ity for 8,000 users ar one time. “For environmental protection and public health and satety reasons it would be unwise to not anticipate those use levels in the water and sewer design,” Dalziel said. Park use, he said, is already 15,000 people a MLA says petition will restart bridge process From page| Past experience with the NDP government on the Lions Gate issue provides those favoring, a new cross- ing, with littie optimism. After breaking a few promises regarding release dates for a short- list of options for the Lions Gate . Bridge, the government froze the Lions Gate Bridge Project in June as part of a review on capital spending. A short-list has yet to emerge. Ministry of Transportation and Highways spokesman Jeff Knight said a bridge announcement of ‘spine sort will be made by March 31, 1997, after the capital review is complete. Meanwhile, Dalton and Nebbeling both say the sorry shape of provincial finances dictates that a parmership between public and pri- vate bodies needs to be studied. Nebbeling wants to hear discus- sion about bringing in a private con- sortium to develop the bridge. To entice the developers, the province could turn over land it owns in the Lower Mainland to the consortium to develop in the rapidly growing, region, he added. “It’s a new wav of thinking but I think a worthy way of thinking, or at feast worthy of consideration,” Nebbeling said. In June, Dalton said the recently elected Norch Shore MLAs must put a game plan together with a pre- ferred crossing option and a financ- ing proposal and then pressure Transpurtation Minister Lois Boone to implement it. On Friday, Dalton called the peti the start of an ongoing Lions Gate Bridge process. Dahon added that the safety aspects of the bridge structure mean the 58-year- old Lions Gate must be dealt with. The province said bridge rehabil- itation work totals approximately $500,000 a year, but costs are increasing. This fiscal year $1.8 mil- lion will be spend on the bridge’s rehabilitation. In addition, mainte- nance charges ratchet up bridge costs. Meanwhile, on the other side of the bridge, Vancouver docs not seem to share the urgency for a new crossing. City councillors worry that a new crossing could negatively effect the West End by increasing traffic in off-peak hours. day on peak days. The request for sewer and water capacity for 15,000 had set off alarms that Cypress Bowl Recreations Ltd. may request permission for an operation larger than the one recommended in a 1995 report. That report tried to find a resolu- tion to the 10-year-old dispute between B.C. Parks and Cypress Bowl Recreations Ltd. The two organizations found themselves in a battle over recreation development after Cypress Bow! was granted a permit for a controlled recreation area in the provincial park in 1984. Booth said the resori’s $35 million to $40 million plans will follow the recommendations in Bryan Williams’ report and include: Wa new 100-scat restaurant as part of the upper terminal of the Mount Strachan gondola; new and improved downhill and cross-coun- try trails; @ replacement of temporary trailer buildings in the downhill and cross-country areas with per- manent buildings for food and beverage, gift shop and rentals, a children’s centre and admin- istration; B additional parking, washroom and night ski- ing facilities in cross-country and downhill areas. Local environmentalists worry about the impact new development will have on the park. The Friends of Cypress Provincial Park See Group page 1% Fast friends VANESSA Griffiths (left to right), Jess Houssian, Sarah Harrison and Fiona Barnett fasted Thursday at Collingwood schoo! in West Vancouver. They and about 200 other students partici- pated in a 30-hour fast to raise money for a Bolivian orphanage.