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Council Briefs

Council retreat fosters team building

It will take a strong team to face the multi-million dollar decisions pressing on Whistler’s new council.

Building this team was top of mind at a two-day retreat with senior staff and council at the end of January.

"We had fruitful discussions, we all expressed a desire to work as a high-performance team, we’ve built confidence in that team and we are ready to move forward on our priorities," said Mayor Ken Melamed.

Usually these retreats yield three to five top priorities the council is committed to completing over their three-year team. This time around the priorities are numerous. They are: resident housing, specifically the Rainbow development; completing the master planning for Lots 1/9 in the village and a decision on the Paralympic sledge hockey facility; planning the athletes village; and completing projects already underway, such as the library, the landfill closure, the sewage treatment plant upgrade and the First Nations memorandum of understanding for developing land in the resort.

"We preferred to put all the initiatives that are on our plate which have been mapped out in a… chart and they just sit up there like this big challenge," said the mayor.

"Everybody threw up on the board what projects are on the block… do they stay, do they go, what can we take off. Everything pretty much stayed."

Many projects are linked to very tight timelines.

"The only way we’re going to meet the formidable challenges in front of us is if we work as a team," said Councillor Tim Wake.

Council also committed to improving community relationships, particularly among key stakeholders in the resort. They will do this through improved communications and more consultation.

Senior staff will review the priorities list in the coming months and make recommendations on how to move forward through the Five Year Financial Plan. The budget must be approved by May 15.

Team in place for Lot 1/9 planning

Ten community members will have a key role to play in the future of Lots 1/9 – the proposed site of a multi-million dollar arena.

The task force is charged with helping the municipality determine the best use for this prime piece of village land and see if Whistler can build a Paralympic sledge hockey venue there for the 2010 Winter Games.

Though staff recommended choosing three community members to join the task force, council could not whittle down the 20 applicants. Instead they chose six, representing a broad base of the community.

They are: Drew Meredith, Bill Murray, Kate Power, Anita Cote, Mike Hawes and Kasi Lubin.

The six join representatives from the resort’s key organizations. Whistler-Blackcomb’s Rob McSkimming will be a part of the team, along with Tourism Whistler President Barrett Fisher, Chamber of Commerce board member Greg Newton and Councillor Bob Lorriman.

The task force met for the first time this week.

Meanwhile the municipality has hired Gerald Longson as development manager for the project. Work will begin on several concepts for the site. These will be presented to the public at a workshop/open house on Saturday, March 4 at the conference centre. The community will be asked to evaluate the concepts and offer feedback.

Community wants input on hotel tax spending

At the request of hoteliers and the Whistler Chamber of Commerce council has created a new advisory committee to determine the best use of the hotel tax.

Each year the RMOW receives 2 per cent of the hotel tax the province collects. In 2004 the funds were in excess of $3.3 million.

The money must be used for "tourism promotion, projects and programs" and has in the past been used to fund things such as the free village shuttle.

"Given the critical financial state of Whistler’s economy, WCC (the Chamber of Commerce) believes that this matter must be addressed, and that a HTAC (Hotel Tax Advisory Committee) be established immediately, in order that it is in place to assist Mayor and Council in your review of the 2006 annual budget," wrote Chamber Chair Mike Wintemute.

The budget must be passed by May 15. Mayor Ken Melamed asked for the community’s tolerance over the coming months as resources thin out because of the commitments to the Torino Olympics.

Council asked staff to develop terms of reference of the HTAC and reminded the community that the budget can be amended after it is passed in May.

Homes gain nightly rental status

Twenty-two homes have been added to the nightly rental pool in Whistler.

Council officially rezoned the Snowridge subdivision in Creekside for Tourist Accommodation (TA) on Monday night.

Councillors Nancy Wilhelm-Morden and Ralph Forsyth opposed the rezoning.

Among their concerns was that the rezoning increased the nightly rental pool in a tough economic climate. People are struggling to maintain their nightly rental businesses, said Wilhelm-Morden. At the last meeting council heard from other nightly renters who said occupancy was as low at 30 per cent this year.

But other members of council saw the move as a way to rectify an oversight dating back several years.

Councillor Tim Wake also added that the rezoning would not flood the market with more nightly rentals. The Snowridge owners have always believed they were entitled to rent nightly he said and some of them have done so over the years.

Wake said: "I just don’t think it’s a risk."