Whistler council is changing the format of its meetings in the hope of making them more accessible to the community. Starting with the Feb. 3 meeting, council meetings will no longer include a 3 p.m. Committee of the Whole session and an 8 p.m. regular council meeting. Instead, all council business will be done in one meeting starting at 7 p.m. Committee of the Whole sessions have been where the majority of council’s business is discussed and most presentations are made. The move to 7 p.m. was suggested by administrator Jim Godfrey, who has also suggested steps to streamline the council agenda. Open house meetings on Al Raine’s proposed Cayoosh ski area will be held in Pemberton and Whistler Feb. 10 and 11. Raine has been studying the proposed Cayoosh ski area, north-west of Pemberton, for the past six years. "I don’t think it’s possible to get a ski area approved in B.C. in less than 10 years," Raine said last week. "I’m into it six years now and I hope there’s light at the end of the tunnel." Cayoosh would be considered a "boutique" ski resort, much smaller than Whistler but at a higher elevation and further inland it gets drier snow and more sunshine. A number of environmental and wildlife assessments have been done at Cayoosh; more assessments will be required before the project receives approval. The Whistler Public Library is hosting three public events in the month of February. On Feb. 4 at 7:30 p.m. the library and the People’s Law School will present a free legal seminar on buying and selling a home. On Feb. 11 at 7:30 p.m. UBC political scientist and award-winning author Paul Tennant will read from his works, including his book Aboriginal Peoples and Politics: The Indian land question in British Columbia, 1849-1989. On Feb. 25 the People’s Law School and the library will team up for another free seminar entitled Mortgage Matters. The seminar starts at 7:30 p.m.
