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Pemberton town hall meeting draws a crowd

Suggestions, questions and uncomfortable truths mark first meeting

By Cindy Filipenko

The current Village of Pemberton administration’s first town hall meeting was a resounding success.

More than 120 jammed the Pony Espresso on June 5 to make their concerns known to Mayor Jordan Sturdy and councillors Mark Blundell, Jennie Helmer, David MacKenzie and Kristin McLeod.

Mayor Sturdy, who fielded the majority of questions in the 100-minute session, opened the evening with a discussion of the VOP’s four pillar Strategic Plan, that emphasizes social, economic and environmental sustainability.

VOP administrator Lori Pilon was pleased with the evening’s outcome.

“We’ve already received constructive comments for the strategic plan,” she said, noting that all input from the meeting and subsequent evaluation/comment forms would be taken under consideration.

“As per the strategic plan, we want to meet more frequently with the constituents. I think we’ll have these kind of meetings at least twice a year, as well as other opportunities to get together to develop real relationships,” said Pilon.

Suggestions from the floor at Tuesday’s meeting ranged from including “Home of the World Champion Layaom Eagles” on the “Welcome to Pemberton sign” to increasing accessibility to One Mile Lake by adding a sidewalk and enhancing transit frequency between Whistler and Mt. Currie.

Some suggestions were dismissed as being too costly. When asked why Pemberton did not have “911” service, Mayor Sturdy pointed out that start up costs were $350,000 and that most cell phones had the capacity to use the emergency number. Likewise, alternative arrangements for garbage and recycling management could be made, but they would be made at a cost.

Asked about the status of the new community centre, the mayor confirmed that the opening would be delayed until February 2008.

“We’re basically on budget. There are some changes of scope that have raised the costs. We didn’t consider the Youth Centre, there’s a water line and a traffic study,” said the mayor.

He added that the original building had been planned for 19,000 square feet and it is now 22,000 square feet.   The projected budget overrun is currently at $500,000.

“We’d like to see a water park and a skate park completed as part of the budget, but if we don’t have the money that will have to wait until sometime later,” said the mayor.

A question about the need for a bylaw officer degenerated into a discussion of dogs in the community.

“I have a dog. I love my dog. My wife sleeps with the dog more than me,” quipped Councillor Blundell.

“But I gotta tell you something, I have a grocery store downtown, and people with babies don’t tie them up in front of the front door.”

He said the problem wasn’t the dogs; it was the people who had the dogs.

“If you walk downtown and live downtown like I do, we have a dog issue and it’s huge. I have women who won’t come into my store because there is a dog tied to the railing. A dog they are afraid of.

“Dog owners have to be accountable.”

Mayor Sturdy pointed out that the eight-hour a week bylaw officer also enforces the parking and noise bylaws.

Another prickly issue was the local economy. While it was confirmed that an economic development officer should be in place by September, many residents raised the question of empty storefronts in the village.

Councillor Blundell was emphatic that filling empty retail in the village was not the responsibility of council and that retail success was largely dependent on having a product mix that appealed to the community.

But the greater issue was the lack of industry, a suggestion from the floor that elicited great support came from lifelong resident Garth Phare.

“We don’t have an industry here. The only thing that’s sort of bright in our future is 2010, which we’re kind of ignoring. We’re hoping that’s going to just drop tons of money here. But if we don’t chase it, it won’t,” said the former council member.

“But what we do have is a support system for that great big monster 20 minutes down the road. We do have beds. And I think if this community wants to flourish we should accept that as a responsibility... Maybe it’s not an industry anywhere else, but it could be Pemberton’s industry. We should be building apartment buildings.

“We have to embrace that’s the only thing we have right now. We can build on being a bedroom community. We can make people want to live here. We don’t have to have everything every community has before we can attract people. We can provide that essential bedroom.” [KB1]  


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