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CSP draft of Whistler’s blended future ready for council Council will get a sneak peak of Whistler’s future in its draft form this week.

CSP draft of Whistler’s blended future ready for council

Council will get a sneak peak of Whistler’s future in its draft form this week.

At Monday’s meeting Mike Vance, general manager of community initiatives for the RMOW, promised council they would have copies of the draft future by the end of the week.

After council review it the blended future will then be vetted by a sample survey group of 400 people, who previously committed to complete the review.

The blended future will be held up against the five original futures that were part of the Whistler. It’s Our Future process.

Ultimately it will become the backbone of the Comprehensive Sustainability Plan, the guiding document that will direct Whistler’s planning for the next 15 years.

The blended future should reflect the community’s desire to put additional employee housing between Function Junction and Emerald Estates.

It will be made public in early May. At that time there will be a public open house where the community can provide feedback.

Councillor Kristi Wells did not think one meeting for public feedback was enough at this point in the process.

She wanted to see other ways people could give input and receive information.

"I just want to see the efforts continue in the scope of work and the scope of budget," she said.

Vance said he would continue to be involved in outreach programs with various community groups like AWARE and the Whistler Arts Council.

Resort visitors to get a new Whistler welcome

Less than half of Whistler visitors find the arrival signs in the resort good to excellent.

That statistic is just one of the reasons why the Whistler Welcome Strategy is in the works.

Since last summer a task team has developed a number of recommendations that could be implemented as part of a new strategy.

They include:

• validation surveys of guests;

• a Whistler South Information Centre;

• a Village Host Program;

• arrival areas at Gateway Loop and Creekside;

• a presence at the Vancouver International Airport; and

• way finding information including common visitation guides.

"The strategy really focuses on some gaps in the arrival experience in Whistler," said Brian Barnett, general manager of engineering and public works, who presented the task team’s work to date at Monday’s council meeting.

Barnett highlighted two areas of the task team’s work at the meeting.

The team has been exploring options for the Whistler South Information Centre in two locations, one just south of the Callaghan Valley entrance and the other at Brandywine Provincial Park.

The centre would be an opportunity to orient guests and set the expectations for arrival in Whistler. It would also be a place for activity sales.

Barnett also touched upon the Village Host Program, which would be designed along the same lines as Whistler-Blackcomb’s Mountain Host program.

He said the municipality is pursuing this program in partnership with the 2010 Olympics. The Olympic organization is looking to develop a volunteer base for the 2010 Games.

The strategy is still in the development stages and the task team will meet on a monthly basis to find funding to help support the initiatives.

Municipality needs community-wide participation for energy plan

Council will not adopt the latest municipal management plan dealing with air quality, energy and greenhouse gases because so much of the work is outside the realm of the local government.

Brian Barnett, general manager of engineering and public works, presented the plan on Monday night, asking only that council receive the Integrated Energy, Air Quality and Greenhouse Gas Management Plan.

He explained that the municipality consumes only about three per cent of the energy the community requires.

If Whistler is to be successful in implementing this plan he said it must be a community-wide effort.

The plan will be a guiding document to help steer Whistler in a specific direction.

"Clearly, Whistler’s goals to maintain air quality and reduce greenhouse gas emissions can be met if the community becomes effectively engaged in this plan," wrote Barnett in the information report to council.

The next step will be to establish a stakeholders group to develop an implementation plan.

Fireworks light up debate

A discussion about fireworks sparked another debate about sustainability among Whistler councillors this week.

This time instead of parking lots, council debated the sustainability merits of Canada Day fireworks.

A request for $5,000 from the Whistler Chamber of Commerce for the July 1 firework display came to council on Monday night.

Councillor Nick Davies immediately voted to give the chamber the money.

But Councillor Ken Melamed asked for a caveat that would see the chamber review the fireworks through The Natural Step system conditions in an effort to look at a more sustainable way to celebrate Canada Day.

"There are alternatives... less damaging to the environment than fireworks," said Melamed, pointing to an excellent laser show that was displayed during the World Ski and Snowboard Festival in a previous year.

As he has said before, Davies argued that any issue could be cloaked as either sustainable or not sustainable.

"This is a resort," he said.

"Fireworks give a festive atmosphere."

Melamed said he wasn’t suggesting the laser show was more environmentally friendly than the fireworks; rather he was just asking for a review.

He managed to sway Davies to his side.

"We need to start thinking about doing these analyses," said Melamed, adding that’s what the municipality committed to do when council endorsed The Natural Step almost three years ago.