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Whistler U proponents may quit

Municipal staff directed to evaluate potential of post secondary facility and report back in spring 2013
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Concept crushed? Proponent of Whistler University says Council's decision to further delay zoning could be fatal to the project. plan submitted

The issue of post-secondary education in Whistler is finally getting to the thesis stage, but it could be at the expense of Whistler University.

The Resort Municipality of Whistler's (RMOW) decision to start a formal nine-month exploratory study into the feasibility of post-secondary education may kill off plans for Whistler U said the agent for the developer of the project Doug Player. The decision to do the study came at the regular council meeting on Tuesday, June 19.

"I don't know whether we'll continue, I guess that's all I can say right now," Player said in an interview the morning after the vote.

Council directed staff to take the next nine months to start the groundwork on evaluating proposals and gathering community input.

At the meeting, Mayor Nancy Wilhelm-Morden noted that the two current proponents for post-secondary models, Capilano University and Whistler University, had already offered extensive research, groundwork and presentations and this means, "that it's time for our processes to catch up with theirs."

"It's probably going to be the biggest decision that this council makes in this term. And we have to do it right... we absolutely have to follow our due diligence," she said. "I think if you look at what this council has done so far, we hadn't done any of those things... so we have to have the time to gather enough information to make the decision that will best benefit this community."

This means there will be no quick conclusion or decision on what post-secondary education will look like in the resort, certainly not quick enough for Player, who believes the decision has created a two-year delay for WhistlerU.

"I thought six years was long enough... It's a strange place to put this, two weeks after the (Official Community Plan), and I'm not sure what the plan is there," he said.

"I think council is very sincere. We've had our reasons to wonder about the motives of the staff... what can I say. I'm not sure why they need the full nine months to do the process."

Player left the meeting immediately after the vote and spoke to the developer, John Zen, who owns the land put forward as the proposed campus site.

"We do have options, and I think we have to (review them). We had a brief discussion (after the meeting)," Player said.

At the meeting, Councillor Duane Jackson noted that the potential for post-secondary education was currently wide open, and reserved judgment on the various options for Whistler.

"It allows the community to not just be limited to a discussion about some of the applications, but also to look at what is going on in the world in terms of developments in post-secondary education, and what other things that we could consider here in the community that ties in to education and diversification," he said. "I look forward to some of that feedback as well."

Councillor Roger McCarthy referred to his own experience of seeing post-secondary education at a U.S. ski resort town where he once worked.

"The change in the community was phenomenal. I think the potential of what this brings to the community in terms of a culture shift... is a really big impact," he said.

The two main rivals in the bid to vocational "Experiential Learning" programs, which might be offered in Whistler, are each suggesting variations of programs and courses in Tourism and Hospitality, Culinary Arts, and other subjects and services, including a private high school and amenities.

Passing a recommendation submitted by Mike Kirkegaard, the RMOW's manager of planning, council agreed to "direct staff to undertake the planning and community engagement process outlined in this report to develop a strategic framework" for pursuing "education opportunities."

This will include appointing an education taskforce of "people with a range of relevant experience in education and economic development," and hiring a part-time project manager because council staff is unable to take on the bulk of investigation work into the proposal.

Council agreed that the rationale and challenges needed to be closely analyzed — including public consultation — with the aim of returning the issue to council after a nine-month process is completed in March 2013.

Previous proposals from both Whistler University and Capilano University made up the background information for Kirkegaard's submission.

It also included a study into post-secondary education opportunities for Whistler prepared by Academica Group, a Canadian research-based marketing consultancy focused exclusively on the higher education sector.

For the study, which was commissioned by the previous council for $46,000 and submitted to the RMOW in June 2011, Academica Group investigated the feasibility of various proposals and the potential impact on the community and Whistler's market share.

It ultimately recommended that Whistler consider establishing an Institute for Experiential Learning, bringing students to Whistler to learn from its top chefs, top hoteliers and from one of the biggest and most successful ski resort operators in North America.

The consultancy interviewed 20 stakeholders in early 2011, including former Mayor Ken Melamed and former councillor Chris Quinlan, RMOW staff, Whistler Blackcomb's senior vice-president of operations, Doug Forseth, Barrett Fisher of Tourism Whistler and other local and B.C. post-secondary academic representatives.

All stakeholders agreed there was "significant interest and real potential benefits" from developing a post-secondary institution in Whistler, and is something that would allow "the RMOW to stay true to its brand."

Perceived economic benefits included student spending, employee recruitment, retention and development, improved occupancy and customer service, and increasing diversity at the resort.

In his presentation, Kirkegaard said that in order for council to ultimately make informed decisions, it would be important to address fundamental questions, including what opportunities are explored, how costs and risks for the project are measured, and identifying alternatives.

Community engagement, he added, could involve anything from a town hall/community forum meeting, to online questionnaires and random surveys.