Don't let the silence fool you.
Though the gloves are not yet out in public, the election lines are quietly being drawn in living rooms and small tête-a-têtes throughout Whistler.
A battleground is beginning to take shape beneath the barely concealed tension that has for months been festering at the council table.
But the tough work, the real work, is still not done.
Before this council calls it a day, there are critical planning documents to adopt, a new staff leader to be chosen, and a decision once and for all on the pay parking strategy that has dogged the town.
In just the last two weeks alone council met eight times for workshops, regular council meetings and closed door sessions, trying to check some of these items off its list.
Summer 2011 will be full of important decisions, not the least of which is: am I going to run again in November's election?
"It's been fascinating listing to my mind churn and weigh the decisions back and forth," said Mayor Ken Melamed. "It really is week to week. I can see myself taking both paths, trying to visualize both paths and evaluate what makes the most sense."
So with four months left of his term, one that may mark the end of his almost 15 years in local government, Mayor Melamed touched on some of the key tasks left to complete.
Updating the OCP - Official Community Plan
He calls it the "number two" policy document at the hall, second only to Whistler2020. It's the OCP. And it hasn't been updated for more than 15 years.
"The thing about it that has a high value is the check-in with the community to make sure our priorities and our direction are right," said Melamed.
The year and a half process to update the OCP has essentially confirmed that the community is on board with the policies long articulated in Whistler.
"To me, this has been a reaffirmation of our commitment and our direction," he added. "We really haven't heard anything that says we should be doing anything radically different. But there's a sense that we could be doing everything better. We have more to work on. That process never ends: the process of reinvention, staying current, tapping in to new opportunities where they arise."
Council is holding workshops to go through the finer details of the plan, which is slated for adoption by the end of the summer/early fall.
Finishing the Organizational Review
To address this need to do things better, council committed to an organizational review of the hall, essentially going through the workings of the organization department by department with a fine-tooth comb. This has been going on for about eight months now with Neilson-Welch Consulting.
The need for this review was highlighted again with the recent release of the Statement of Financial Information (SOFI) report at the end of June, said Melamed. That report detailed the salaries of the top municipal employees, among other things.
"The reaction is always predictable: why are there so many people being paid so much?" said the mayor. "It brings attention back to this issue: is the cost of government too high? If it is, what can you do about it and how does it influence my future. People are concerned about it."
He added that the consultant has identified some areas that can be tweaked and is working through the logistics of implementing some of those options.
Delivering the Parking Strategy
Another consultant has been hired to find some resolution to the ongoing pay parking debacle. Council voted to delay the strategy, which was set to be implemented on June 1, that would have seen a pay structure of more than $13 for daily parking in the day lots. All free parking there would be eliminated.
The mayor said he had hoped to close the chapter on the pay parking story.
"But, you know, Whistler has a tendency to agonize over these issues; we like to take our time."
He admitted to missteps along the way.
Now, however, it's time to wrap it up, make a decision and implement it. The consultant, David Hill from MMM Group, is working with council and the community to find resolution to the issue by the end of the summer. One workshop has been held with community groups, another is planned for next week.
Further tough decisions for council could result. The delayed pay parking strategy was designed to bring in $2 million in municipal revenues. Changes to that structure likely mean changes to the 2011 budget.
Finding a new CAO
Work is also underway to find a new municipal chief administrative officer. Council is in the process of interviewing candidates. Like the parking strategy, the mayor said he hoped to have hired someone by now, but the search is ongoing. In the meantime, Bill Barratt, CAO since 2005, officially finished work on July 5 and Bob MacPherson, general manager of community life, is the interim CAO until a replacement is hired. Search firm Caldwell Partners has been tasked with the job of narrowing down the candidates but council will be conducting interviews this summer.
Resolving the Asphalt Plant
A majority of council already set the ball rolling to resolve the asphalt plant issue in court. In May it issued a cease and desist order to the plant's operator, Whistler Aggregates. Much to the dismay of the Cheakamus Crossing residents, the plant has continued to operate this summer.
"What the lawyers have said is perhaps in October we would have a ruling," said the mayor, when asked about the asphalt plant. "That is what it is. We have no control."
Council and staff have been advised not to comment further because the matter is now before the courts.
Securing Resort Funding
This summer council will also be working to firm up a five-year plan with the province for Resort Municipality Infrastructure (RMI) funding. This funding is a critical piece of the municipal budget, accounting for $7.5 million in 2011 alone. A signed agreement for the next five years will detail how much Whistler will be getting, and where it will likely spend that money.
"We both want to have the comfort and the security of having a five year signed agreement," said Melamed. "It provides the security on the transfer of funds."
And so, as the heavy work continues against the backdrop of the election, Melamed is not immune to criticism.
"There are a lot of people that say 'your time is done, we need new blood.' ... So the first thing that personally you have to get over is: fear of losing is not a reason for not running," he said.
"I'm already mentally prepared for that... So what it comes down to is: what do I think is in the best interests of the community, what do I have left to do?"
