Lions Bay ghouls, goblins, fairies and scaries joined the fun at the Village Hall, October 28th, hosted by the Lions Bay Events Committee in another great party for the young folk and their young Halloween at heart parents!

There were ghostly games, creepy crafts and spooky snacks for all the little ones. Thanks to the ninjas and pirates for leaving their ʻweaponsʼ at home and many thanks to the parents for your help in creating and hosting another memorable Halloween party.

Thank you to everyone who attended the Inaugural Meeting of Council and to Judge Jane Auxier and RCMP Inspector Neil Cross attending. Thank you so very much to Staff for both organizing and attending the Inaugural Meeting of Council

I have been, and continue to be honoured to be the Mayor of the Village of Lions Bay. As your Mayor, I can say with confidence that both the Outgoing and Incoming Council have been and are committed to working to ensure the best for the Village of Lions Bay.

Over the three year term, 2008-2011, the now Outgoing Council, through meetings and consultation with the community, has helped significantly in moving Lions Bay forward; while preserving and protecting our unique Village spirit, beautiful natural environment and low tax rate.

Our Aging Village Hall

Over the past Council term our old Village Hall has been the subject of many Council meetings. But after three years where did we end up and are we any further ahead?

At the beginning of the Council term Mayor Broughton struck a Recreation Hub Task Force to explore options for a new Community/recreation hub. If you have been reading the local news you would be aware that after community input and two consultants reports the conclusion was that the current site of our Village and Municipal hall is the preferred site as it is centred in the heart of our community. This dealt with the ongoing question of should a community centre be located elsewhere in the Village.

The information in this article is based on reports presented in public meetings and is the interpretation and views of former Council member Ruth Simons, term ending December 5, 2011.

As reported in the Village Update, Council met, Tuesday, November 22nd, to discuss the British Columbia ʻCommunity Recreation Grant Applicationʼ. This application is due December 28th, 2011.

As Mayor my Portfolio includes the Community Centre. In the transition from previous to current Council, I am working with staff to write the grant and will ensure it is submitted by the December 28th deadline.

It is difficult to imagine in the dead of winter crowded beach parks and parking lots, but it is not too early for the new Council to be considering the many suggestions for improved management of our village parks and parking next summer.

You may recall last September stories in the media of beach users bringing concerns to Council about the impact the higher density of people that included visitors was having at our beach parks. The media found this very interesting and residents in Lions Bay and across Metro Vancouver weighed in. For days our little village was the centre of unwanted attention with reporters walking the neighbourhoods interviewing anyone they could find, dialing random phone numbers and knocking on doors to catch people off guard. Two of the media outlets attended the next Council meeting, their perspiring cameramen and reporters crowded into our little Council chambers anticipating a breaking story about Lions Bay banning visitors. They left with a far less interesting story. So what happened after all this attention?