Local sports and community organizations will soon get some slight relief thanks to the Resort Municipality of Whistler’s (RMOW) Community Enrichment Program (CEP).
Though the CEP—which traditionally offers small grants to a wide range of community groups—was redirected specifically to social services at the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic, $50,000 will now be made available for other organizations.
The change is just one element of a budget amendment introduced and given first three readings at the July 21 council meeting.
Also included is a brand new project to begin water and sewer servicing work for employee housing in Cheakamus Crossing’s Phase 2.
The total estimated cost of the project is $5.8 million over three years, but “there is potential here for 73 per cent grant funding. We will have clarity on the actual availability of that grant amount by year end,” said director of finance Carlee Price, in a presentation to council.
“For the purposes of that grant application, the RMOW will provide financial backing for the remainder of the expense, and will recover this cost from the developer of those properties.”
The RMOW unveiled its preliminary plans for Cheakamus Crossing Phase 2 (with a target of at least 550 rental units and a move-in date as early as spring 2021) at an open house in late 2018.
But the budget amendment’s main drive is formalizing the adjustments introduced back in May as a result of COVID-19 (see Pique, May 7: “Whistler stays the course on 2.8% tax increase”).
While still a far cry from the January outlook, the municipality’s finances have shown signs of promise since the last update to council in May, Price said.
“I’d note that the tourism recovery, while gradual, is indeed underway, [and] we will continue to maintain the strategic spending on visitor-facing infrastructure,” she said.
“And I’d also note that the increasing visitor volumes mean additional volumes of work relative to what we expected back in May. [But] generally speaking, non-tax revenue is in a recovery mode.”
Municipal and Regional District tax revenue expectations—trimmed significantly in the May update—have been left as-is in the new amendment, while things like parking and transit fares as well as permit revenue are being adjusted upward.
The net result is that the RMOW’s in-year pressure on reserves eases, Price said.
“You’ll recall from the May 5 amendment that we were seeing significantly lower contributions to operating reserves than we had planned in the original budget—that pressure eases with these changes, meaning a lesser draw on the operating reserve and a quicker return to a healthy balance in that particular fund,” she said.
Looking further afield, the RMOW is targeting a 2021-2024 window for a return to 2019 reserve levels, Price added.
“In the case of the operating reserve, it does remain available to correct dislocations that can result from things just like a global pandemic,” she said.
“So the reserve is serving its purpose, but it will need to be rebalanced over a number of years as we look forward.”
Also a good sign is the health of permit revenues, which came as a bit of a surprise, Price said, adding that it might be indicative of a reasonably healthy construction environment in the resort.
“These can be significantly swayed by individual large projects, but there’s reason for a bit of optimism there,” she sad.
The budget amendment reflects the RMOW’s most current understandings of its revenue outlook, Price pointed out—and if recent history is anything to go by, more changes can be expected.
“These could at any point change if, for example, we go back into lockdown, if something negative as far as the community management of this pandemic changes,” Price said.
“These are all subject to further revision and we do commit, again, to keeping the community informed of what our current expectations are.”
Budgeting for 2021 will be underway shortly, she added, “so conversations around priority projects and longer-term expectations, particularly on the reserves—that’s sort of a TBD, stay-tuned piece of the puzzle.”
PAVING CONTRACT AWARDED
Also at the July 21 meeting, council awarded a contract for Whistler’s 2020 paving work worth $506,495 to Alpine Paving Ltd.
The work includes upgrades to Main Street, Nesters Road and Lorimer Road, the Meadow Park Sports Centre parking lot and portions of the Valley Trail near Lost Lake and Crabapple Drive.
In addition to new asphalt, work on Main Street includes redoing curbing and crosswalks as well as improving accessibility, said capital projects manager Tammy Shore in a presentation to council.
“So that will be a really nice road to re-do and upgrade; as you know it’s a very busy road,” she said.
“All the businesses on Main Street will be contacted by a member of the project team to let them know about the schedule and take in their feedback.”
The contract award came after a controversial decision at the June 9 council meeting to begin sourcing asphalt for local projects from the plant in Cheakamus Crossing (see Pique, June 11: “Whistler votes 4-2 to change asphalt procurement policy.”)
As part of the resolution to award the contract, council also directed staff to explore a new partnership agreement with Alpine Paving to pursue safety improvements, including paving the access road to the quarry to help manage dust and noise.
“It will also include installing a screen berm to help the visual effects from Cheakamus Crossing to the asphalt plant,” Shore said.
In response to comments from Cheakamus residents about air quality, RMOW staff will be doing an assessment of the location of the current monitoring station to ensure it’s in the best location, she added.
Staff will also be compiling information on air quality, the number of days the plant operates as a result of Whistler’s paving work, and the result of dust and noise abatement measures to bring back to council next year.
Alpine Paving’s bid was about six-per-cent lower than the RMOW engineer’s estimate, which Shore attributed to decreased trucking costs.
“It is in around what we were expecting if we were to source the asphalt from Whistler,” she said.
