Update: July 14 - 2:40 p.m.
Lori Pratt, the Sunshine Coast Regional District (SCRD) director representing Halfmoon Bay (Area B) announced she will be moving off-Coast and not seeking re-election to the board this fall.
She made the announcement at the July 14 board meeting, reading a statement about her time on the Coast and as an elected official. She appeared near tears as she finished with the statement, "My hands up to you all," in thanks to her board colleagues.
In response, board chair and Sechelt area rep Darnelda Siegers said, "Now I’m crying too. You have been an inspiration. Thank you."
Housing challenges forced decision
Pratt first spoke about her family’s search for new rental accommodations at the June 9 SCRD board meeting, announcing that if a unit can’t be found, she may be moving away as early as this summer.
“I was planning to run (for a board seat) again,” Pratt said, but noted that she needs to locate an affordable rental home for herself, her youngest child and the family’s pet dog and cat before she can make that commitment. She said she was willing to consider any location on the Coast and used part of her director’s report time at the meeting to request leads on potential places to rent.
The former board chair explained that after 12 years in the same rental residence, her landlord has a family member who will be moving into the property, and that she was provided with notice of that change last Friday.
Pratt said she knew the accommodation rental situation on the Coast was difficult. She said that she was somewhat surprised that with the connections she has built through her job as a realtor and her time spent as an SCRD board director, a member of an affordable housing group and a School District #46 trustee, that she is struggling, just as many others are, to find a place to live.
With the upbeat tone in her voice that has become her trademark, she ended her report with, “That’s Lori’s story.”
