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Municipality pays for new WAVE bus

Council has approved a new bus for the public transit system, which will increase frequency and reliability and expand the service to Spring Creek.

Council has approved a new bus for the public transit system, which will increase frequency and reliability and expand the service to Spring Creek.

Due to the provincial funding freeze on BC Transit, the cost of the expansion to the Whistler and Valley Express Transit System (WAVE) will fall almost entirely on the municipality’s shoulders.

The new bus will cost more than $83,000 and the money will come from the municipality’s general fund.

Though council approved the fleet expansion, there were concerns at Monday’s meeting about the municipality’s future costs for public transit.

Councillor Ken Melamed, who takes the bus to work every day in the winter, said this is just the first step in a move for the province to pull away from its transit obligations.

"This is a slippery slope," he said.

"The people of Whistler need to wake up to what this means."

The options are already on the table said Melamed. The municipality will either have to cut transit services or raise taxes and increase/introduce parking fees.

Councillor Nick Davies, doing some quick calculations at the council table, proposed the municipality could fund the cost of transit entirely through increased taxes. He predicted a $20 increase on his own tax bill.

But Melamed said it’s about more than picking up the tab; it’s about the "complete abdication" of the province’s responsibility to public transit.

BC Transit currently picks up roughly 46 per cent of WAVE costs, with the municipality paying the rest.

But BC Transit predicts a funding shortfall of $75,000-$150,000 to maintain the current transit service in Whistler for the next year. The municipality will absorb this cost.

Councillor Kristi Wells, chair of the Transit Management Committee, recognizes that in order to keep increasing riders on the transit system, the municipality has to keep up the service.

She said the municipality has to look at a more dedicated funding source or lobby the provincial government to ensure funding continues for the service in the future.

Melamed said that with Whistler’s commitment to sustainability, the resort could spearhead the charge to lobby the province to keep up its commitment to transit. Public transit is fundamental to the operations of the municipality he added.

Currently WAVE has the highest ridership of 69 municipal transit systems in B.C., the highest riders per capita and highest rides per hour in the province as well as the lowest cost per ride.

Municipal staff are currently evaluating the expansion of the service hours during the spring and summer season to meet growing demand. This will cost about $84,000 and will be brought forward as part of the 2004 budget. If approved the service could begin as early as the spring. The new bus is expected to be part of the service in one year’s time.

With the fleet and service expansion and the BC Transit shortfall, the municipality could now pay an increase of $242,000 to $317,000 annually.

The fleet expansion and the proposed service expansion are expected to increase ridership by 120,000 by late 2006, bringing the total annual WAVE ridership to 3 million.

Consulting company chosen for resident housing site study

Council has approved a $30,000 comparative study of potential resident housing sites in the valley.

Jensen Resort Planning, a local consulting company, was chosen from four potential candidates as the best company to conduct the study.

Over the next two months Jensen Resort Planning will examine sites within Whistler for resident housing developments. The study will compare the merits and obstacles of each site as well as assess what is required to overcome any obstacles.

The Whistler Housing Authority provided the consultants a list of potential Crown land and public land sites as well as private lands. Sites on that list include Parking Lots 6, 7 and 8 and the Whistler Golf Course as well as private lands like the Zen lands, the Boot Pub and the Cheakamus North site. The consultants can include any additional sites they think may have merit for resident housing.

Jensen Resort Planning is expected to present their findings to council by mid-February.

Healthy Communities Committee seeks official status

The Healthy Communities Committee has asked to become an official committee of council.

Dr. Stephen Milstein brought the request before council on Monday night when he presented the case for official status.

More and more the committee, which is dedicated to continuous improvement of the social, physical and emotional health of Whistler, has been asked to speak on behalf of the community he said.

The group is treated as though it has formal authority but it doesn’t and this gives them some unease.

"We’re kind of out there on a limb," said Milstein.

As a council committee, Healthy Communities would continue as normal, meeting quarterly throughout the year and would not place any financial strain on the municipality.

Its mission would stay the same. The group would continue to develop and facilitate a network from different community sectors to improve the social and emotional health of the community.

While councillors support Healthy Communities, Ken Melamed said there have been discussions at the council table to roll back the number of council committees.

Councillor Kristi Wells added that being a council committee could be a little more onerous for Healthy Communities because there would be more rules and regulations.

Council voted to refer the matter to staff for a short report, which will be presented back to council for a decision at a later date.