Former Langley City Councillor Gayle Martin Granted Freedom of the City.

Gayle Martin (left), handing out napkins at the 2019 Breakfast with Santa.

The Freedom of the City is the highest honour a municipality can grant to a person in acknowledgment of their distinguished service to the community. City Council rarely grants the Freedom of the City, and it can only be awarded by a unanimous vote of Council.

Besides acknowledging an individual’s outstanding and exceptional service, it allows that person to vote in any Langley City election for the rest of their life, no matter where they live.

Langley City Council conferred the Freedom of the City to former Langley City Councillor Gayle Martin.

Among many other things, Gayle Martin served as a City Councillor for 32 consecutive years. She is the longest-serving elected representative in the history of the City.

Council will officially present the Freedom of the City to Gayle Martin at the March 20th Langley City Council meeting. The presentation will start at 7 pm in the Council Chamber at City Hall (20399 Douglas Crescent.) It is open to all members of the public.

The following is the motion that conferred the Freedom of the City to Gayle Martin:

WHEREAS Gayle Martin has served on Langley City Council for 32 consecutive years from 1990 to 2022, longer than anyone else in the history of Langley City Council, and sat on countless internal and external committees, task groups, boards, and working groups over this period;

AND WHEREAS Gayle Martin has been an avid volunteer in the community. She was a founding member and past president of Soroptimist International of the Langleys. She held many roles with the board of directors of the Greater Langley Chamber of Commerce including serving two years as president. She is a committed volunteer at the Gateway of Hope where she is also a member of the community council. She has volunteered for St. Joe’s soup kitchen and Critter Care Wildlife Society;

AND WHEREAS Gayle Martin played an instrumental role in numerous community building projects during her tenure that were transformative for Langley City, some of notable achievements include the Downtown Langley Master Plan and public realm project, Sendall Gardens upgrading, City Park upgrading, Innes Plaza Renewal project, Casino/Convention Centre/Hotel development, 204th Street Overpass project, Langley City Fire Hall No. 1 construction, Douglas Park Spirit Square project, Al Anderson Memorial Pool Expansion project, new cenotaph at Douglas Park, McBurney Plaza Renewal project, Timms Community Expansion project, creation of the Langley City: Nexus of Community visioning document, and approved countless numbers of development applications that created homes for many and brought economic prosperity to the community;

AND WHEREAS Gayle Martin served on the Metro Vancouver Board of Directors representing Langley City for 29 years and played a pivotal role in shaping the region;

AND WHEREAS Gayle Martin served on the Lower Mainland Local Government Association Board of Directors for many years and served as the President during 1994- 1995 term, representing local governments’ interests dealing with Federal and Provincial jurisdiction and to come together, share their experiences and take a united position on policy-making;

AND WHEREAS Gayle Martin served on the Fraser Valley Regional Library (FVRL) Board of Directors for 16 consecutive years and served as the Vice Chair for two years and Chair for four years. As Chair, she was instrumental in leading FVRL through the pandemic, as well as in the advocacy work for provincial funding at the UBCM conferences;

AND WHEREAS Gayle Martin, with her knowledge, expertise, and historical knowledge, has mentored, guided and provided invaluable advice to many incumbent and new members of Council;

AND WHEREAS Gayle Martin met with various Ministers and officials at senior levels of government over the decades lobbying for the implementation of initiatives, programs and projects with supportive funding that would ultimately benefit Langley City and its residents as well as various community groups and the people that these groups served;

AND WHEREAS Gayle Martin held fast to her belief in fiscal responsibility to the residents and business owners of the community over three decades, by ensuring that taxation increases were kept at reasonable and acceptable levels;

AND WHEREAS Freedom of the City is the highest honour that a city can bestow upon an individual;

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED THAT in appreciation and gratitude of her dedication in serving others, Langley City Council, confers the Freedom of the City of Langley on Gayle Martin.