Snowbus service denied by commission
The municipality will continue to support a young entrepreneur and his dream of alternative bus service between Whistler and Vancouver despite a recent ruling by the Motor Carrier Commission that takes the Snowbus off the road.
The Snowbus service operated for three months last season, charging travellers $29 roundtrip from Vancouver to Whistler. The young proponent of the idea, Joktan Elbert, wanted to provide a cheaper alternative to Greyhound, where a roundtrip ticket costs $43. The service was geared to the younger traveller and it was an attempt to break through the monopoly on the bus service in the Sea to Sky corridor. Greyhound is currently the only scheduled bus service through the corridor.
Recently the MCC shut down the Snowbus but Elbert will not be defeated in his goal.
"I am not going to quit and I will make this happen," said Elbert.
"We will work strenuously to improve the financial/operational side of the business by providing greater details inclusive of a comprehensive safety plan."
Elbert said the MCC made its decision based on its mandate to promote safety on the highways, among other things.
At Monday’s council meeting Elbert asked Whistler council members to support him again in his reapplication to the MCC.
"We have supported you in your numerous attempts to get this going and I don’t see why we wouldn’t support you in the future," said Councillor Ken Melamed.
Councillor Kristi Wells added: "As you are learning, the bureaucratic side can be a little challenging... It’s a learning process that’s for sure."
Chamber looking for big jump in grant-in-aid funding
The Whistler Chamber of Commerce is asking the municipality to increase its grant-in-aid funding by $115,000.
In previous years the chamber has received $35,000 from the municipality’s grants-in-aid fund. This year they’re looking for $150,000.
Ian Davis, chair of the chamber, outlined the reasons for the need for more funding at Monday’s council meeting.
He pointed to the demand for increased services from the chamber, like a summer Spirit Pass program. This pass would act in much the same way as the winter Spirit Pass, giving employees discounts on some of the local amenities.
Another recent change guaranteed to drive up costs is the move from the Creekside location to the new Gatehouse building in the village on March 1.
"The chamber has enjoyed a very long and very free ride (in Creekside)," said Davis.
They will now have to pay for their new facility, as well as staff it.
And most importantly Davis said that the chamber expects a significant growth in tourist visits once they "move to the centre of the universe" at the Gatehouse.
Roughly 35,000 guests were served in person annually at the Visitor Information Centre in Creekside. This number is sure to increase at the Gatehouse.
"It’s very hard for an organization like yours to depend on an annual grant-in-aid," said Councillor Kristi Wells after the chamber’s presentation.
"I would like to see council consider it as a more permanent grant."
Forest Service to cut and burn trees to fight mountain pine beetle
If you see smoke on the horizon just north of Whistler in coming weeks you’ll know the battle against the mountain pine beetle has begun.
Fire Chief Bruce Hall told council that the beetle is slowly working its way from Pemberton down the valley and the only solution is to cut and burn down the brown infected trees.
The B.C Forest Service has designated a line from Cougar Mountain to Wedge Creek north of the municipal boundaries as a place to try to stop the advance of the beetle.
Hall said the only way to effectively kill the beetle is to cut and burn the infected trees. It is dangerous to transport the trees because larvae can fall off and begin a fresh attack. Winter is prime time to get rid of them however, because the beetles tend to be dormant.
Although most of the infestation is outside municipal boundaries, there are some beetles in trees both on public and private land within the municipality.
"Emerald is probably the area that we are going to look," said Hall.
Homeowners with infected trees on their property will be contacted and encouraged to have the trees removed by the B.C. Forest Service.
Trading info with the French
It has been 25 years since Mayor Hugh O’Reilly was in Val d’Isere, France but within five minutes of arriving there again he had bumped into an old ski buddy.
"I had such a great time," said O’Reilly, who is nursing some sore legs after three days on the Val d’Isere slopes.
The mayor was invited to the French ski town to tell Whistler’s story. As it turned out, he learned a lot himself about the French town’s transition since he lived there 25 years ago.
"I came away feeling I’d learned as much as I’d shared with them," he said.
That the town has been totally revitalized since he was last there is evident everywhere. The people checking tickets are friendly young kids instead of the local farmers that were there during the mayor’s time.
English is very prevalent nowadays. And the village has been revamped to the core.
Val d’Isere hosted part of the Albertville Olympic Winter Games in 1992. Although those Games were fairly fragmented, the ski town benefited from the Olympics legacies.
They received road improvements, new infrastructure in the form of snowmaking machines and a new 350-seat congress hall.
"And obviously all the branding and recognition," said the mayor.
The quick trip was a stroll down memory lane for the mayor. It brought back fond memories of teaching under the table, washing dishes at a restaurant and starting his first small business selling baseball caps while he was a young ski bum.
