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Michucl ecker

Newsroom Editor
mbecker@usnews.com

A North Vancouver City councillor is
taking issue with a recent trip taken
by council and staff to Harrison Hot
Springs Resort.

Coun. Bob Fearnley was among those
attending a $4,000, two-day retreat to Harrison
Lake on July 18 and 19. But Fearntev said the
meetings didn’t pan out the way they were ini-
tiafly presented to him.

Said Fearnley, “What was billed as before we
Went was that We were going to be setting pri-
oritigs as far as spending. We have a lot of capi-
tal projects coming up. We have more projects
than money and we were supposed to prioritize
spending. Thar’s the reason why I attended. I
had to be there for thar.”

There are many big-ticket items under con-
sideration by council. Among the unfunded pro-
jects on the wish list:

@ Lonsdale corridor improvement — an esti-
mated SI million to $4.5 million;

@ parks master plan and parks redevelopment —
$1.35 million a year;

B plaza at the foot of Lonsdale — an estimated
$500,000 to $1 million;

WV upgrades
parks’ toilets

Deana Lancaster

News Reporter
dlancaster@nsnews.com

SHINY-CLEAN and
pleasant-smelling —
two qualities everyone
likes to see in a public
washroom.

The dark and dingy biffies
at John Lawson and
Dundarave Parks in West
_ Vancouver dou’t quite make
the grade when it comes to
public facilities. Not only are
they old and grubby, they're
inaccessible or poorly accessi-
ble for people with disabili-
ties.

Replacement of the bath-
rooms and the concession
stand at Dundarave has been
on. the municipalicy’s Parks
and. Recreation department
agenda for more than a
decade,

Last. Monday, council
received a staff report that
suggested spending an ¢::-

mated $375,000 to replace the bathrooms and concession at
Dundarave Park and $275,000 co replace the facilities at John

Lawson Park.

According to the report, public washrooms are expensive to
build because, among other reasons, equipment and construc-
‘tion materials must be able to withstand a high volume of pub-
lic use, vandalism, and people tracking in sand and mud.

_ The new facility at Dundarave is to include increased stor-
age space for the concession stand as well as a “sun terrace” for
dining. At John Lawson, the new building will include a gaze-
bo with a rest area, a community information kiosk, drinking

fountains and a telephone stand.

West Vancouver resident Katherine Steig spoke up at the
meeting to question the suggested location of the new build-

lor ¢

Wednesday, August 2, 2000 - North Shore News - 3

Dt Sprin

NV City yet to determine spending priorities

© library expansion
-— $7 inion esti
mated;

@ multi: purpose cen-
tre — 97.6 million
estimated:
Presentation
House museum —
$5.3 to $9.4 million
estimated:

a Presentation
House theatre —
$3.3 million to $4.5
million estimated;

B Presentation
House gallery —
$1.5 million estimat-
ed;

B multi-use sports park — an estimated
$500,000;

Benvironmental program — $120,000 per vear
estimated;

HB community energy system — $1.5 million
estiniated:;

B Lonsdale ree centre renovations — $2 million
to $5.5 million:

B 150-space parking facility — $1 million to $2

Fearnley: “f had a
lovely room...”

million estimated:

B tire hail expansion:

replacement — S$]

million to $3.5 > mil-

ion estimated.

“We didn’t address

that at all. For exam-

ple we spent all of

Wednesday morning

looking at different

policies as adopted

by the city and decid-

ing which ones we

were going fo scrap.

This sort of thing

could be done in a

workshop in city hall.

We didn’t require fancy rooms in Harrison Hot

Springs. We're talking mundane things.”
Included on the policies list:

B advertising;

aldermanic correspondence;

® apartheid-tree zone;

B lost and found bicycles:

B clearing of blackberries;

B banners;

@ budget;

Bell: “...not the perk
it sounds like.”

| Going the distance

STEVE Duyvewaardt (left), Debbie Collins and Shane Collins posed before swimming 10 kilometres from Sandy Cove to Kitsilano Beach
Satiirday afternoon. The inaugural Pacific Breakers Rough Water Crossing was ccnducted under international rufes without wetsuits, For the
record, Shane Collins wore an ultra-thin “sharkskin” body suit, which is permitted by swimming's governing body FINA. See page 29.

of

Deana Lancaster

News Reporter
dlancaster@nsuews.com

len car hi

PATRONS of Park Royal were
shocked to see West Vancouver
Police pursue a stolen vehicle

through the shopping centre’s

WV Police nab

suspect after car
and foot pursuit

bumper, and then crashed again, this

time into a BMW.

B cemetery reservations,
@ciw colaurs.

“Phad a lovely room in ong of the towers,
looking out over the dake with a king size bed.
We had wondertul meals. There ace some fairly
eapensive projects facing us. [fs one of the high-
est priorities for this term of council, We were
supposed to be prioritizing them and we didn’t
do it. We just talked about which projects were
on the books,” Fearnley said.

But Coun. Bill Beli detended the tnp to
Harrison, Bell said most of the time away was
spent establishing a process for cerermining
spending priorities. “In that way it was very
fruitful. You have to keep in mind that there is
so much going on in Lower Lonsdale that it’s
overwhelming to staff and council.

“We didn’t get to the nitty gritty of spending
prionties. Lean understand Bob's frustration
with this. From my perspective it was frustrating,
but it was a responsible way to go about it. Bob
is playing the outsider role on council. When
you go there, don’t participate to the fullest and
then criticize what happened, that’s wrong, You
can be a rebel and be constructive,” he said.

Bell said the retreat, which included the city's
senior department heads was anything bur < hol-
iday. “To sit in a hotel room with no windows
and away from your family for a day and a half
— it’s not the perk it sounds like.”

tector cts

' NEWS photo Paul MeGrath

is four others

North Vancouver. resident Joseph
DeBono was walking on the seawall with
his children and witnessed the spectacle.

“I didn’t know what was going on,
this guy ran right past us and the police
tackled him right there. I couldn't
believe it.”

According to DeBono, the suspect
was a young white male, about 19 or 20

ing in Dundarave Park. She said she'd prefer to see the build-
ing north of the train track and the Beach House restaurant.-

“Why take up that beautiful park with lavatories?” she
asked.

Kevin Pike, director of Parks and Community Services, said
the washrooms are within the park for convenience.

“There are lots of small children there... when they say
they have to go, they have to go right cow.”

Council referred the plans and design development draw-
ings to the Advisory Design Panel for comment.

parking lot yesterday after-

noon.

At about | p.m. those cating lunch
on the patio of the Bread Garden
watched the male driver of a white Jeep
Cherokee attempt to drive up the ramp
to the ujper parking level and collide
head-on with a Toyota Echo, Instead of
stopping, he continued to accelerate u
the ramp, pushing the Toyota off his

He had already struck at least two
other vehicles, including an unmarked
police cruiser.

Officers chased the driver to the
south side of the shopping centre and
across the Capilano River where he
abandoned the SUV, jumped into the
mouth of the river and swam back to
Ambleside Park.

One police officer swam after him.

years old. He was wearing shorts with-
out a shirt and bleeding from: several
injuries. ‘
“It was realiy quite dramatic,” De
Bono said. ‘ :
At feast one person was injured. The
teenage female passenger in the Toyota

‘was taken to hospital by ambulance.

West Vancouver Police could not be
reached to press time to confirm details.