Frankly Speaking

Minor hockey players in Surrey often have to travel to other communities to practice and play hockey, because of a shortage of available ice in Surrey. Mayor Doug McCallum wants to delay building a new Cloverdale Arena, which would have two sheets of ice. The new Surrey council is looking at delaying a number of capital projects, out of concern for the level of debt. These include a new ice arena in Cloverdale, on the Cloverdale Fairgrounds. Clearing of the site has already taken place, but no construction has started. Also on the postponement list are a community centre and library for the Grandview Heights area and expansion of the Fleetwood Community Centre. Several other capital projects also face delay. Mayor Doug McCallum made a lot of noise about $514 in capital debt last week. Yet the debt level is not that high. At present, it sits at $378 million. The delayed projects would add another $136 million in debt. That’s where the $514 million figure comes in. Debt ...

The SkyTrain system in Surrey will finally expand past King George Station, if the new Surrey council has its way. It voted Monday to scrap plans for LRT and put the money committed to it towards a SkyTrain line along Fraser Highway. Surrey has had no rapid transit extensions since 1994, despite a huge influx in its population since that time. Surrey council’s inaugural meeting Monday night was a very different type of meeting. While the usual formality was still part of the meeting, the most important part of the meeting came after the formal swearing in of council members. Council held a “special regular meeting,” where two motions were passed – one to begin the process of changing from the RCMP to a local Surrey police force, and another to scrap LRT in favour of SkyTrain. Both of these motions are a direct result of Mayor Doug McCallum’s successful campaign with the Safe Surrey Coalition. A new police force and a push for SkyTrain instead of LRT were the coalition’s two ...