Port Moody will soon be illuminated by part of the Necklace Project, an inter-municipal public art project designed to link 10 Metro Vancouver cities.
Elevated mosaics will be installed in five locations throughout the city. The largest piece — a six-foot-diameter round mosaic framed in steel — will go outside the Port Moody Arts Centre.
Additional locations will highlight historic points in the city, including the first school site (now Moody elementary), the telephone exchange building and the city’s first bank, both on Clarke Street, and at the Port Moody Station Museum, at Rocky Point Park.
The project’s theme is illuminance, defined in a staff report as “light’s capacity to produce visual stimulation or clarity.”
Other participating cities include Coquitlam, Port Coquitlam, Maple Ridge, Burnaby, New Westminster, North Vancouver, Richmond and Surrey.
The $50,000 cost of the project has previously been approved by council and is funded from the city’s artwork reserve.
Other PoMo news:
FOR RENT?
Port Moody lost four units of rental housing after council approved a strata conversion application for a Buller Street building.
The building, located at 123 Buller St., is a four-unit multi-family structure. The owner had previously applied in 2010 and 2011 for permission to change it to a six-unit building but was refused both times.
A staff report stated the conversion of four units wouldn’t significantly affect the existing rental stock, which consists of 409 units at 11 properties throughout the city.
Council members weren’t entirely convinced, however, with Coun. Gerry Nuttall suggesting the city should develop a policy to protect existing rental units.
“In the next 20 years, this is going to be fought one housing unit at a time,” he added.
Councillors Rick Glumac and Rosemary Small voted against the application.
WATER WORKS
Moody’s aging Alderside Road water main will be replaced at a cost of nearly $560,000.
Built in 1962, the water main has been breaking more frequently lately and needs replacing. The project includes replacing about 1,100 m of cast-iron water main, 66 service connections and seven hydrants.
The contract was awarded to Ponte Bros. Contracting Ltd. for $556,594.
Nearby residents will be notified twice, one month and one week before construction, which may require temporary driveway blockages.
Another contract, this one valued at nearly $313,000, was awarded to Mission Contractors Ltd. for the Heritage Mountain secondary school retaining wall project.