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In recent weeks there has been much talk in the media and the coffee shops regarding our town’s position on being a host for the 2010 Winter Olympics.

In recent weeks there has been much talk in the media and the coffee shops regarding our town’s position on being a host for the 2010 Winter Olympics. It seems to me that in the rush to get on the list, a very simple element was overlooked, either in blind stupidity or mere ignorance. This simple element was: What does the community think? Never mind all the hucksters and financial benefactors who don’t live here and whose sole interest is making large bundles of cash. They will not be dealing with the deep sociological scars that may or may not arise from this venture. They won’t experience the inconvenience of having their town ripped apart from within by the inevitable behind the scenes deal making that is the status quo at IOC headquarters, who will apply tremendous pressure.

Why don’t our mayor and council come out from behind the curtain and speak with the community? Not only in regards to the Olympic issue but for countless other concerns that deeply matter to all who make Whistler their home. Get out there and hold some public meetings and speak to everyone in the community, not just those who you feel comfortable with.

There are some huge issues attached to the Olympics, now more than ever since the events of Sept. 11, and we can’t stick our heads in the ground because it really happened. The issues are Security, Transportation and Need.

On the first point of security, we will experience a police state for all to enjoy before, during and after the Games. It will make New Year’s in the village look warm and snuggly. I don’t particularly want every terrorist on the planet marking Whistler 2010 on their calendar and placing every man, woman and child in harm’s way.

On the second point of transportation, we can see how one good snowfall can close the highway and rail line for hours. We already experience a lack of parking and gridlock on the roads from a busy ski day, never mind half the day skier lot being taken up by TV satellite link trailers and huge media and VIP compounds.

The third point of need is the most difficult point to address as it has to do with our community’s own identity and our economic future. Whistler is already a very large economic machine for our region and province and placing this additional pressure may be the very thing that kills the golden goose. How many of our loyal visitors will feel shut out in this new era, never to return again?

I would probably benefit financially from the Games being here, since I work in the events management sector and there would be lots of opportunity for me. However, I am will to forego this short cash injection should the whole Olympic program not fit within our community’s long-range plans.

Grant Lamont

Whistler

I was amused by your article comparing Whistler with Aspen (Paying the price, Pique Nov. 9, 2001) which I read on your Web site when I was in Aspen. I have been fortunate to be a 26-year part-time resident of Aspen and a 12-year part-time resident of Whistler. I have seen lots of changes as both places went through their growth issues. But before your readers decide to fly to Aspen to see if the condominiums use bricks made from gold – "…a condominium (in Aspen) is US $1.16 million (CDN $2.5 million…" – I think some clarifications are necessary.

A two-bedroom, two-bath deluxe rated 1,200 sq. ft condo in the best 26-year-old 145-unit development in Aspen (The Gant) sold last week for $560,000 US ($875,000 CDN). The Gant offers two swimming pools, three outdoor Jacuzzi's, a full exercise facility, three clay and two hard court tennis courts, a recently renovated ($1 million) conference facility, ski out location, private shuttle vans for drop offs to lifts or restaurants and concierge service for the guests. Although this is more than an equivalent condo in Whistler, the difference is significantly less than was suggested by your article.

The property taxes for this unit in Aspen last year were $1,156 US ($1,700 Can). Property taxes for a CDN $875,000 1,500 sq. ft., three-bedroom townhouse in Whistler were CDN $4,926. Why is this so?

While I realize that comparisons with the Aspen political system are unfair – different culture, different taxing possibilities, different health care system and other social systems that benefit Canadian residents – some benchmarking of the political process is enlightening. So let’s look at some numbers running the city. Do we overpay our councillors? In Aspen the mayor is paid $27,900 US (CDN $41,000) per year, the four Aspen council members who will be elected in 2003 will be paid $20,400 US (CDN $30,000). Whistler’s six councillors make CDN $12,000 each per year. The total budget for Aspen council in 2001 is $276,096 US (CDN $431,000), shared equally among the five politicians. A case can be made that our hard working politicians are way underpaid for the work they do at finding a balance in the community, or maybe we have too many of them.

The council in Aspen oversee a general fund operating budget of $13,107,830 US (CDN 20,164,000).

But here is the kicker. A whopping 70 per cent of the municipal revenue of Whistler comes from property taxes. In Aspen only 21 per cent of the budget comes from property taxes, 45 per cent comes from sales taxes, 15 per cent comes from charge for services. The balance comes from miscellaneous taxes, licenses and permits, intergovernmental transfers, court fines and miscellaneous revenue.

The municipality needs to find creative ways of increasing municipal revenue without increasing property taxes. Would Whistler residents be even more interested in promoting the Olympic bid if the muni could get agreement from the province to put in place a resort tax similar to Aspen’s to help support the Whistler bid, and in the long term, reduce resident property taxes similar to what happens in Aspen? This is a once in a muni-life time opportunity for all of us.

Having a referendum on the Olympics without defining possible opportunities for all of us is meaningless, and worse may cause us to lose the opportunity to improve the long term for residents and workers in Whistler. How can we possibly make an informed vote on the Olympics without assessing the opportunity with the question? Councillors please don't waste our time and money by allowing a referendum until you have done the work necessary to explore all the opportunities possible for us.

Tim Hucke

Whistler/Aspen

This letter was addressed to MLA Ted Nebbeling.

In response to letters and articles written over the last few months regarding the highly questionable water diversion hydro projects already existing and proposed in the Squamish, Whistler, Pemberton corridor, we have a few points to add and questions to ask.

On streams and rivers between Harrison Lake and the Upper Lillooet watershed there are currently 23 proposed power projects and at least 90 applications being processed. This overwhelming exploitation of the area’s rivers and streams by private companies to make a fast buck leaves one with a feeling of great unease. According to the Vancouver Sun (June 17, 2001), "power companies are hoping to capitalize on record high power prices" and "small projects can generate big money" for their developers.

The public is fed the usual pablum of green power, jobs at the sites and even contributions to the local coffers. However, no one should get use of 100 per cent of a river’s water volume at any time of the year, at the expense of fish, insects and wildlife. What will be the cumulative effects on our local watersheds, on the environment and on our access to recreational uses in these areas?

Once this avalanche of projects is in place who will do the environmental monitoring and how often will it be done? How many years will lapse, when the system is overburdened with projects to monitor? How will changes to rivers and their surroundings be compared to the river in its untouched state? In an existing project, such as the Soo River, it seems that reviews of water management and assessments of stream ecosystems is not to be done for another 10 years.

Economic conditions change and companies come and go but we in Pemberton will be here for a long time to come. We feel that someone has to speak up as stewards of our wonderful river systems. If these proposed projects were better publicized, the general public, whether they be hikers, kayakers, fishers etc., would be appalled at what is being planned.

It is not too late for those who are making these important decisions to stand back and look at the consequences of this power project frenzy and make some informed, sound decisions that will ensure that the viability of our rivers and streams will be the number one priority, now and in the future.

Sharon and John Tschopp

Jeanette and Doug Helmer

Pemberton

Your Opening Remarks of Nov. 30 (Give Whistler health care workers their raise) are justified, to say the least.

Having been a patient on two occasions, once with two dislocated shoulders and one time being diagnosed by the doctor when I had a chest pain – I was rushed by ambulance to Lions Gate Hospital and then to St. Paul’s Hospital, where I underwent surgery for a triple bypass – I owe my life to the Whistler Health Care Centre and its doctors, nurses, staff and ambulance workers.

The centre is there 24 hours a day and without it I don’t know what Whistler would do.

The Whistler Health Care Centre should be part of Whistler’s bid for the 2010 Olympics, and at no added cost to the Olympics.

The health care workers are demanding an increase. They deserve it now, not later. Since they got such a negative answer from the board I guess the only answer for the nurses is when one of the board or the minister is admitted to say, "Sorry, we are not specialists in untying knots and we do not have jurisdiction to do so until we go back to the ministry, and that may take a year or two."

Sandy Martin

Whistler/Pitt Meadows

A Friday night in November, the guides from the Canadian Voyageur Canoe Company in Pemberton went to a concert in Vancouver. What’s so special about that? Where the tickets came from! The owner-operator of the outfit just handed them to us and said, "I can't come along, but you guys have a good time."

Well, we did! We cruised the streets, danced around, closed the bar and had a general good time in the city. Laird even wore his nice shoes.

There are some generous people to work for out there, and we appreciate them. Thanx Mario, if you had seen us, you would've had a good time too!

Lise-Anne Beyries

Pemberton