The annual Union of BC Municipalities (UBCM) Convention is set to return to Whistler from Sept. 10 to 14.
"We are very proud to be hosting this event at the Whistler Conference Centre and we expect approximately 2,000 delegates," said Mayor Nancy Wilhelm-Morden at the Sept. 4 council meeting.
"The UBCM conference offers an annual opportunity for municipal delegates to come together and discuss various shared interests, and for municipalities to meet with provincial ministers and staff."
The Resort Municipality of Whistler (RMOW) has confirmed nine meetings with provincial ministers on topics ranging from housing and regional transit to FireSmart and tourism funding, the mayor said.
Whistler has also put forward a pair of resolutions for the 2018 conference, relating to the collection of unpaid bylaw fines (asking the province and ICBC to collect traffic-related fines on behalf of municipalities) and unaddressed ad mail (asking Canada Post to include local governments in its list of exemptions for delivering unaddressed ad mail, allowing local government to use unaddressed ad mail to reach their citizens, and; asking Canada Post to develop a system that allows residents to opt in for ad mail rather than having to opt out).
Check back with Pique for more from the 2018 UBCM Convention.
FORESHORE APPLICATIONS ENDORSED
The RMOW is moving ahead with two foreshore applications after receiving council's endorsement on Sept. 4.
One proposes to expand the RMOW's existing licence at Lakeside Park and the other is a new application to enable access to Green Lake.
The Lakeside Park application proposes to double the existing licence area, for a total application area of 113 metres long and 78 metres wide.
At Green Lake, the application proposes a 25-metre-by-three-metre area for a float dock, to be accessed by a foot path north of 9035 Summer Lane.
Councillor Sue Maxwell, who lives in Emerald, relayed concerns from some of her neighbours about things like increased traffic in the area if a dock were to be built.
"I received 16 responses from people saying that they were not in favour of it," Maxwell said. "Based on that feedback from the neighbourhood, I will not be supporting this."
After some discussion, council opted to endorse the application for the foreshore lease and refer the dock project to the Recreation and Leisure Advisory Committee (RLAC) for further review (Maxwell was opposed).
The chosen direction makes sense, said Coun. Jack Crompton.
"Improving parks that primarily serve our permanent community is crucial to the livability of Whistler. We have invested heavily in parks that primarily service our visitors; it's time to do the same for these community parks," Crompton said.
"I agree that there are parking challenges and I would like RLAC to consider those in their deliberation as well."
