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Whistler will ‘cherry pick’ CSP consultants

GBH firm calls council untrustworthy A new process for Whistler’s Comprehensive Sustainability Plan, which involves "cherry picking" consultants, was approved by council Monday.

GBH firm calls council untrustworthy

A new process for Whistler’s Comprehensive Sustainability Plan, which involves "cherry picking" consultants, was approved by council Monday.

But a letter from the principles of the firm that was the popular choice of Whistler residents, and was staff’s recommendation to get the $500,000 sustainability plan contract, calls the municipality discourteous, untrustworthy, disrespectful and a host of other names for the way it has handled the whole process.

GBH Consultants was the popular choice of the 122 members of the public who endured a four and a half hour session Feb. 2 in which four consulting teams presented their proposals for the Comprehensive Sustainability Plan.

Municipal staff also recommended GBH be awarded the contract, providing the firm bring in at least two additional consultants to their team with expertise in resort economics and planning.

However, at least two members of council favoured the presentation by the Centre for Resource Management team, and two more council members were not satisfied with any of the four consulting teams.

As a result, the whole CSP process has been revamped.

"My feeling is if we had started out of the blocks with as many people divided as there were, the whole process would have been in jeopardy," Mike Purcell, general manager of planning and development services told council Monday.

"We want to make as much of the community comfortable (with the process) as possible."

The new approach, approved by a 5-1 vote Monday, will see the plan developed through a process that utilizes the expertise of the various members of the GBH and Centre for Resource Management teams, as well as other experts from outside the two teams.

The municipality paid each of the four consulting teams $10,000 and retains ownership of all intellectual materials presented by the consulting firms.

Purcell wrote in his report to council that "the process of developing the plan is more important than the plan itself."

The first phase of the plan, expected to take up to three and a half months, will involve drafting two discussion papers. The first paper, which will address the characteristics of a successful destination resort community in the Whistler context, will be prepared by Rebecca Zimmermann of Design Workshop. Ford Frick of BBC Consultants, Brent Harley of Brent Harley and Associates, and Shelagh Huston of Oikonomia Consulting, will also be involved.

Information from the first paper will be fed into the second paper, which will attempt to define sustainability in the context of Whistler. Warren Flint of Five E’s Unlimited will prepare the second paper. Frick and Nicholas Sonnata of CH2M Hill Canada, will also be involved.

But invitations to Kathleen Gibson of GBH and Jack Ruitenbeek of HJ Ruitenbeek Resource Consluting to be involved were flatly turned down in the letter which calls the municipality "untrustworthy."

"The letter from the GBH tem is very disconcerting," Councillor Ken Melamed said. "I share their concern with the way council handled this. I think it demonstrates mistrust of the community.

"Had it been close (between GBH and CRM) I could see council stepping in to break the tie, as it were. But it wasn’t close."

Melamed, who voted against the new approach outlined by Purcell, said the original process would have been most expeditious.

"The teams had chemistry. Now we’re trying to cherry pick," he said.

Councillor Kristi Wells preferred the new process.

"We asked the public and staff to pick one group. I think we’ve since realized that process is not going to produce the best result," Wells said.

"This process is going to keep us in control. I’m pleased we’re cherry picking…. I’m very pleased with this approach."

A panel of experts will be assembled and invited to read the discussion papers as they are developed and to participate in an open public forum to review and discuss the final drafts.

Phase II of the CSP will evaluate three possible alternative futures against the characteristics of a successful destination resort community and the sustainability principles identified in Phase I. Phase II would also identify any external factors affecting Whistler’s desired future.

Phase III will identify the preferred scenario together with guiding values and principles, priorities and directions, and specific actionable items and future land use policies.

Phase IV will see implementation of the plan.

Tom Fletcher will be hired to administer the day to day activities of the consultants and co-ordinate their work. Fletcher, who runs his own municipal consulting company, has held various positions, including chief administrative officer of Delta, director of planning for the City of Vancouver, commissioner of planning and development for the City of Ottawa, and senior positions for the City of Edmonton. Among his consulting work he has been involved in policy and strategic planning for the Tsawwassen First Nation, intergovernmental negotiations and planning for the Rapid Transit Project 2000, and leadership and management training and strategic planning for Rafah, Palestine, on behalf of the Canadian International Development Agency and the Federation of Canadian Municipalities.

Alan Dolan, who was a member of the GBH team, will be hired to oversee and advise on the public engagement process. A communications consultant will also be brought on to assist with creating a visible identity for the program, preparing materials for the public and ensuring that the Web site is maintained.