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Sports: Pitt juniors tame Grizzlies. 33 Fr i d ay, O c to b e r 23, 2 015 · mapleridgenews.com · est. 1978 · (office) 604-467-1122 · (del iver y ) 6 0 4 - 4 6 6 - 6 3 9 7
Cliff Ave. camp finally clear As many as 50 people have been housed By Ph i l M e lnych uk pmelnychuk@mapleridgnews.com
Tim Fitzgerald/THE NEWS
Cliff Avenue is clear. The last tent, one of up to 65 that had sprung up on the residential road behind the Salvation Army, was taken down late Tuesday afternoon. A homeless camp had lined Cliff Avenue on both sides since spring, disrupting homeowners and businesses and creating an eyesore that drew attention from across Metro Vancouver. “I think it’s a really great day,” Maple Ridge Mayor Nicole Read said Tuesday. The city leased space for a temporary homeless shelter in the former Sleep Shop building on Lougheed Highway. It opened Oct. 1 and is operated by Rain City Housing.
Jaelyn Sullivan and other kids ride their bikes on Cliff Avenue on Wednesday after the last tent was removed.
See Homeless, 16
Ridge bails on recreation deal Will end agreement with Pitt Meadows next year By Phil M elnyc h u k pmelnychuk@mapleridgenews.com
Maple Ridge is bailing on Pitt Meadows and going its own way, adopting a “Maple Ridge First” approach to running its parks, swimming pools and ice rinks.
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Maple Ridge decided Monday to end the joint leisure services deal it has with Pitt Meadows next year. “I think it’s time,” Mayor Nicole Read said Tuesday. “It’s something that’s been reviewed and considered over a number of years. Maple Ridge is growing quickly. We have a different need in this community.” A study last year of the partnership, called the joint parks and leisure ser-
vices agreement, found that Pitt Meadows was saving about a million dollars a year because of the partnership, while it was costing Maple Ridge $200,000 more per year than if it was operating on its own. Both cities were trying to work out a deal to even up the costs. But Maple Ridge council decided Monday to exit the agreement. “Right now, for us, we made the decision. There obviously have been some
questions raised by Pitt Meadows in terms of things. It seemed the right time for us,” Read said. The city’s news release mentioned the financial inequity and “given this reality,” Maple Ridge decided to go on its own. Pitt Meadows and Maple Ridge signed the deal in 1994 to share leisure services as a means of saving money. The school district was also included.
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