Whistler's new council is wasting no time getting down to business.
Two days after their swearing in ceremony, mayor and council convened for a special meeting at municipal hall on Thursday afternoon.
On the agenda were three items: That council direct staff to strike a new governance committee with a mandate to do a public engagement review; that a new development corporation using similar terms and private sector experience as the Whistler 2020 Development Corp (WDC) be formed, and; that council direct staff to strike a strategic planning commission.
"The WDC focused primarily on Cheakamus Crossing and Olympic housing. We want to consider a mandate that would include all municipal land," said Mayor Jack Crompton of the new development corp, adding that former WDC chair Eric Martin has agreed to help manage the transition.
"It will take some time to establish the corporation, but we're asking municipal staff and contractors to carry on with the momentum they've built (on Cheakamus Crossing Phase 2), and the new corporation will be the beneficiary of all of that work."
As for the strategic planning commission, Crompton said he sees it as a broad-based, long-term strategy for Whistler.
"We want to look five, 10, 20, 30 years down the road," he said.
"We want to not just look at housing but also consider education, healthcare, daycare, recreation, aging demographics—we want it to be high level and strategic."
The next meeting of council is Tuesday, Nov. 20 at 5:30 p.m. at the Maury Young Arts Centre.
Pick up next week's Pique for more.
