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Council orders second look at some high cost infrastructure projects

Council has told staff to take a second look at the budgets of four large infrastructure projects as it struggles to deal with concerns about municipal overspending.

Council has told staff to take a second look at the budgets of four large infrastructure projects as it struggles to deal with concerns about municipal overspending.

"Is this a nice to have or a must have," said Whistler Mayor Ken Melamed, referring to plans for the $2.9 million park at Cheakamus Crossing.

The other three projects sent back to staff at Wednesday night's council meeting are: the $520,000 reconstruction of the Spruce Grove Valley Trail Bridge ($20,000 of which would be spent in 2011, to be completed by 2013), the $423,000 for the 19 Mile Creek pedestrian bridge crossing and $250,000 for construction of Lost Lake trails.

The motion to send the projects back to staff passed with only Councillor Ralph Forsyth opposed. The financial plan for 2011 to 2015 continues to be worked on.

Of these projects, the Cheakamus Community Park gave councillors the most concern. The previous council committed to completing the project but, as Councillor Eckhard Zeidler expressed Tuesday night, it was something they never should have agreed to.

"I think we really shanked this quite badly," he said, adding that it has nothing to do with the current council, but the council previous.

"That this particular expense is on our particular budget at all I think is a bit of a tragedy... This should have been absolutely included in the overall pro forma for the development of that neighbourhood.

"We got this one dead wrong."

Construction for the park is supposed to begin this year, with the whole $2.9 million earmarked for the 2011 budget. Mayor Ken Melamed requested of staff that a portion of that money be used to as further evaluation "of how that project could be phased to reduce the capital."

"We hear it loud and clear, people are concerned about cost escalations of the municipality," he said.

Melamed also expressed concern over the two bridge crossings, referring to the Spruce Grove Bridge as a "nice to have." He requested that the project's $20,000 earmarked for 2011 be targeted to answer whether or not the bridge is needed at all.

"When you look at the location of this bridge and the fact that there's a perfectly good concrete bridge that's good probably for the next thousand years, it really begs the question would it really not be better just to yank the thing out when it's served its purpose?" he said.

"Then decommission the trail, put it back to riparian condition and direct the Valley Trail through Spruce Grove Park and over the bridge, which is where half of the riders and walkers go anyway through the winter."

Councillor Grant Lamont echoed Melamed's concerns, but his most pressing issue was the construction of new trails at Lost Lake Park - noting the irony that he is an "adamant mountain biker."

He said he would prefer to see the funds put toward maintenance of existing trails.

"(It) would be a much better way to spend the money," said Lamont.

CAO Bill Barratt said that "it would be our (staff's) preference" to pull out the concerned projects and move forward with the remaining ones, deferring the four issues to another council meeting.

The list submitted to council was only a proposed list and did not include projects funded through RMI. Nearly all the projects had been previously displayed to the public at the open houses. The funding sources for the projects are a blend of operating and capital reserves, as well as works and service charges and other external sources.

Council also discussed the possibility of mail-in voting at Wednesday's meeting.

Mayor Ken Melamed responded to the 36 letters to council petitioning for mail-in voting for the 2011 municipal election, saying, "Our intention was to adopt this at the right time. It was too early for the last election."

The next election is on Nov. 19. The Local Government Act authorizes mail-in voting but it must be authorized by municipal bylaw.

Manager of Legislative Services Shannon Story is to bring in recommendations for election bylaws in the spring, including one requesting council's approval of mail-in voting.

Melamed said there would be some "increased administrative costs" associated with the program, but it will likely present more opportunity for second homeowners to vote in Whistler elections.

The change may also mean the end of the West Vancouver voting station, said Melamed.

Cheakamus North passes milestone

It has taken 12 years but the Cheakamus North saga has finally found a happy ending.

Council approved third reading for a zoning amendment that would allow for five lots on the lands - three more than they had previously agreed to - in exchange for the 10-year total, $2.4 million worth of partial road construction and future road construction, as well as six acres of park space, worth $800,000.

The contractor, Tim Regan, owner of Vision Pacific Contracting Ltd., told Pique Thursday he has been working for the last 10 years to negotiate a deal with council to find enough value in the land where he can leave "on an even playing field."

He said he was essentially recruited in 1998 to buy the land in order to build employee housing, but after finishing up a "massive planning process," the council of the day didn't support the proposal.

It's been one of the most stressful things he's ever had to deal with but he said he's finally landed the deal in a good place.

"I'm very, very happy to have third reading, I'm very pleased with this council, and I think this is fair," he said.

Once the proposal for employee housing died, Regan began work on his plan B, which was to build market estate homes.