By Gagandeep Ghuman
Published: Jan. 19, 2012
The Triack saga is set to take a positive turn after all, it seems.
In a change of heart, the council has agreed to help Dave McRae find an alternative site for his business.
The council has directed staff to identify operating sites that might be suitable zoned for Triack Resources.
Meanwhile, the district engineering department will continue to probe how the sewer force main was damaged to determine if a third party was responsible.
Meanwhile, the offer to help Triack comes with a warning: There is only so much the district can do to help individual business owners.
Coun. Doug Race said it’s a business owner’s responsibility, not the local government, to find a suitable location for a business.
Coun. Ron Sander said he’s concerned Triack might be expecting more than what local government can or should do.
To the uninitiated in this drama, the district has cut off water to Triack following a massive leak.
Sewer services have also been affected as the district waits for a private main to be reconnected to the district’s outlet sewer.
Both sides have pinned the responsibility on each other, with McRae blaming the district of being vindictive.
McRae feels it’s the district’s job to fix water and sewer to the site, a subject on which both have sparred in various venues.
McRae, on the other hand, doesn’t seem to strike the district as an easy person to deal with.
In fact, the council agenda posted on the morning of Jan. 15 had a staff recommendation to not extend any help to McRae.
That changed by the evening, when the agenda carried an altogether different motion.
Now, the CAO has asked staff to assist Triack in identifying a new long-term location as part of its Business Retention and Expansion services program.
Triack has in the past made an application to move its facility to Centennial Way, but it was rejected.
Meanwhile, McRae informed the council he would have to stop accepting wood waste at the site.
Despite all this negativity, Triack’s relocation could be a good test for our economic development officer, Dan McRae.
Do we have enough employment land available, if a similar industry came to our town? How helpful could our EDO be? How quick could things be turned around?
Triack has thrown an unexpected challenge for the district.
Now, let’s see how Dan McRae runs with it.
HEATHER GEE says
Unnecessary obstacles are always being put in Triak’s way. It’s about time the DoS found a solution for this professional businessman.
Stephen Latta says
This is an excellent business model in a perfect community for it.
The current location could not be much more ideal but hope Triac will
Find another suitable location.
Tara McKone says
Finally! An amazing business that benefits everyone is being recognized. I agree with Heather Gee, it seems this company has received far more than its fair share of problems.
Dave says
It is interesting that this is one of the few businesses which could be classified as “Industry” anywhere near Downtown Squamish and that this is very much on the edge of support from Council and those who might have some axe to grind against Mr. McRae.
Perhaps it is not surprizing that this business is (now was) operating right close to a planned set of high-rise residential projects and all the future planned projects of the Squamish waterfront initiative.
Money talks and Mr. McRae will, no doubt, get the short end of the stick. Such a pity when we do need to nurture secondary industry in this valley.
And, “oh but the noise; we can’t have that…can we; especially where people MIGHT be living?”