The beginning of construction on a new, state-of-the-art fire hall isn’t the only reason for optimism and excitement within the District of Logan Lake.
Mayor Robin Smith says continued expansion of a large-scale residential subdivision, plans to expand the community’s industrial park in a joint agreement with the Lower Nicola Indian Band, a quarter of a million dollar upgrade to the municipal campground and the pending passage of the district’s budget — which is expected to keep any tax increase under two per cent — is all exciting news for Logan Lake residents.
“We’ve got a lot of things going on for sure,” said Smith, who was first elected to district council back in 2008 and is now serving her first four-year term as mayor after being named acting mayor back in 2012.
The first phase of the Iron Stone residential subdivision has been completed and most of the 16 houses that were built have been sold, said Smith.
Construction on Phase 2 of the subdivision is now underway with the model show home recently finished and another home close to being completed, she said.
The plan is to build another 18 homes as part of Phase 2 over the next couple of years, said Smith.
“Things are going really well,” she said. “I think all but two of the homes that were built as part of Phase 1 have been sold and we’re hoping for the same kind of response as Phase 2 develops.”
There are long-term plans to continue expansion of this subdivision into Phase 3 and 4, but that won’t take place for at least a couple of years and not until all of the homes in Phase 2 have been sold, she said.
“We’re trying not to get too far ahead of ourselves here and make sure that the homes we’re building have a market and are being sold,” she said. “Once those homes are close to selling out, we can start planning for further phases in the subdivision.”
The district also recently completed a $250,000 upgrade of the Logan Lake Municipal Campground that included installing Internet access, full electricity to all sites and expanding the family campsite area, said Smith.
The district has also entered into an agreement to further develop the Logan Lake industrial park and Smith expects expansion news about exciting new projects to be forthcoming from that agreement in the coming months.
Finally, Logan Lake district council finalized its 2016 budget, said Smith.
“Our goal is to keep any tax increase under two per cent and I’m quite confident we will reach that goal,” she said.
The tax increase for 2016 has been set at 1.9 per cent and the bylaw will be voted on for adoption on Tuesday (May 10).
Smith admitted it’s an exciting time to be a resident of Logan Lake.
“We’re excited for sure … there’s a lot going on,” she said.
