Squamish's infamous log books might be put on display next month.
Council voted in support of a motion Tuesday (June 1) that called for an investigation into the possibility of putting the massive art pieces on display over the Canada Day long weekend.
The art works are being produced by artist Glenn Greensides at the Al McIntosh Squamish Days Loggers Sports Grounds.
He is creating 14 log books that will tell the history of the west coast forests. Each log book will have a roof and a panel representing a page in the history of the forests.
The log book issue was brought before council by the Select Committee on the Arts. The committee discussed the log books at its May 26 meeting.
The committee recommended that council review the contractual obligations with Greensides and look into making the log books and the artists studio available for the public to view over the long weekend in July.
"The art committee members are worried the books won't be displayed," Coun. Sonja Lebans told the members of council on Tuesday.
Mayor Ian Sutherland said the issue of reviewing the contract is a personnel manner that had to be dealt with in-camera.
The mayor then suggested that council pass a motion directing staff to investigate a possible permanent display location for the log books. He thinks that the parking lot of the former downtown No. One fire hall might be a possible location for the log books. Along with that, he wanted staff to make recommendations on launching a forestry museum in Squamish.
According to Sutherland, money that Squamish can apply for is available right now from Western Economic Diversification.
Coun. Corinne Lonsdale pointed out that a log book park society was created a few years ago. She said that an agreement is in place to locate the log books at the Loggers Sports grounds.
Council voted in favour of the motion to move forward on finding a permanent home and the creation of a museum. Council also voted to support putting the log books on display next month.
According to Greensides' website, his art work is just phase one of a larger project for Squamish. Greensides envisions a forestry theme park in the community.
"Some of the other attractions will include a 500 seat outdoor amphitheatre that will host both, exhibitions and training sessions for Loggers Sports, Native Dance, Mountain Biking, Rock Climbing, Kayaking and more," Greensides reports on the internet site.
The original contract with Greensides called for the books to be completed by December 2002.
One of the things that slowed down the project is the shortage of timber on the west coast. He and the district hoped that some of the materials for the project would be donated. Getting the donations, according to a February 2003 memo from administrator Kim Anema, was a real challenge that needed to be addressed.
In the past, the project has come under criticism for being behind schedule.
