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Asphalt legal costs to be released

Council reviewing its options after losing court battle
asphalt-plant

In the coming days the municipality will be releasing the total legal costs of trying to move the asphalt plant.

On Tuesday council met in a closed-door meeting to review its options after losing last week's B.C. Supreme Court ruling, which allows Whistler Aggregates owner Frank Silveri to remain at Cheakamus Crossing.

"We are reviewing the judgment," said Mayor Nancy Wilhelm Morden in her mayor's report at Tuesday's public meeting. "We're taking legal advice."

She could not comment on any options that may be available to council.

When asked what the pros and cons are of appealing the B.C. Supreme Court ruling after the meeting the mayor said:

"If we go down the appeal route there's time and money involved so those are some of the considerations that we'll be looking at."

The previous council identified and approved funds for the asphalt litigation.

Go to www.piquenewsmagazine.com for updates as the information becomes available.

GM position cut at RMOW in first stages of restructuring

Municipal Hall is getting an organizational overhaul and the first step was to get rid of a general manager position.

In a press release last Thursday, the municipality announced the policy and program development division has been eliminated, effective immediately. With it goes the general manager position of the division, a position that paid more than $146,000 according to the 2010 Statements of Financial Information. And so long-serving municipal employee Mike Vance is now no longer with the organization.

"I would like to recognize Mr. Vance for his work with the organization on behalf of the resort community," said Mike Furey, CAO for the Resort Municipality of Whistler (RMOW), in that press release.

When questioned Tuesday about the impact of that decision on the hall, with the understanding that more changes are on the horizon, Furey said:

"I'd prefer not to comment on personnel matters at the hall."

The areas reporting to Vance have been redeployed. The Official Community Plan work for example will now be taken over by Jan Jansen, general manager of resort experience.

Further changes to the responsibilities for the general managers' team are still under review. Those will be presented at the next council meeting on Feb. 21.

Meanwhile, Bill Brown, manager of community planning, has resigned and is taking a job as director of development services for the Township of Esquimalt.

Furey said the move is not connected to the organizational review in any way and he was sorry to see Brown go.