West Vancouver's public safety building should be built quickly and it should be built right. Putting cops, firefighters, mayor and council on the same plot of land seemed simple when council was getting set to cash Grosvenor development's $36-million cheque for the 1300 block of Marine Drive.
Back then, the prospect of paying for the much-needed public safety building with what seemed like found money tantalized the district's elected officials, a few of whom govern according to two sacred precepts: 1. Don't raise property taxes. 2. Seriously, don't raise property taxes.
Construction on the public safety building is now a year behind schedule and council seems like they'd need Mapquest to arrive at an agreement.
But despite council's division, West Vancouverites are invited to have a fulsome discussion about the building - if they can hear each other over the ticking clock.
The police department absolutely, positively has to get every badge and baton out of Marine Drive by Dec. 31, 2017 to make way for Grosvenor.
With an estimated 18-month construction schedule for the public safety building, that gives council a limited time for public engagement, debate and approval.
Council was split on the development that necessitated the public safety building and split on how to pay for the building, but councillors need to find consensus on this one. This will be the most important structure in West Vancouver and it will stand for decades.
It's now impossible to build it quickly, so all that's left is to build it right.
Tick tock.
This editorial has been modified since first posted.
