After a difficult time enforcing sign bylaws in the run-up to last fall's municipal election, the city of Port Moody has established an election task force to examine issues related to signs and voter awareness.
The task force will review current sign rules and propose improvements based on aesthetics, safety, enforceability, costs and staff resource allocation.
Members will include experienced and first-time council candidates, three citizens, the 2011 chief election officer and a bylaw enforcement officer.
Other Moody news:
HALL CONTRACT
Port Moody has awarded the architectural contract for the new main fire hall to Chernoff Thompson Architects.
The design team has also assessed the site layout and come back with several concept options. In addition to the layout plan proposed by the fire hall task force, the team has come up with four additional options, each with several minor variations, for a total of 16 possible layouts within a maximum building size of 20,000 sq. ft.
Guiding the decision process are several principles, including maximizing the site's development potential and minimizing environmental impacts, and taking into consideration safety and vehicle movement plus best response times and deployment strategies.
The next steps include presenting council with a preferred design sometime in the next two to three months before issuing final design approvals and awarding the construction contract.
Council narrowly approved the new $11-million fire hall last June. The three-storey building, to be located on a piece of land at Ioco Road, Newport Drive and Knowle Street, is expected to be complete in the summer of 2013.
It will have space for adding an eighth fire truck should the city require it in the future.
HE GETS A PASS
Port Moody resident Bruce Landon has been going to the rec centre five days a week since it opened in April 2008 and last week that dedication paid off.
Landon was the one-millionth visitor, netting him a lifetime rec centre pass.
He has been taking part in PoMo recreation programs for more than 20 years and stepped up his regimen after suffering a devastating stroke four years ago. The stroke left him bedridden and unable to speak but Landon's commitment to recreation has taken him from wheelchair-bound to independently mobile. He has also made great strides in his speech.
Mayor Mike Clay gave Landon the lifetime pass at the Jan. 10 council meeting and said Landon is a "great example of how Port Moody is able to support a healthy and active lifestyle."
