There may be a more uniform look to maintenance throughout the village this year as the municipality takes over maintenance of Village North. The municipal Parks Department has always been responsible for collecting garbage, cleaning the cobblestones, landscaping maintenance and the hanging flower baskets in the original village, as public spaces in the village are under municipal jurisdiction. However, in Village North the property lines from each development parcel extend out to the middle of the pedestrian walkways. What is commonly seen as "public space" is in fact privately owned and until now has been maintained by the various property management companies. Landscaping, cleaning and garbage collection at the Town Plaza buildings, for instance, may be done by a different company than does the same duties at the Delta Village Suites or at the Tyndall Stone Lodge. The municipality will take over the Village North maintenance duties this spring in order to bring a uniform level of service and appearance to the entire village area. "Visitors don’t know that one area is different from another," said Mayor Hugh O’Reilly. "The whole thing should be seamless." The municipality will fund Village North maintenance this year at a cost of $107,284. The Hotel Tax will be used to fund the additional maintenance cost. Cleanliness in Village North is an issue that also concerns the Commercial Core Committee, a group which includes local business owners and representatives of the Whistler Resort Association. The committee has written to the municipality regarding general cleanliness in Village North as well as the proliferation of rolling clothing racks outside of stores and newspaper stands throughout the village.
