I want to send a big thank you to everyone in Whistler. It is never a good time to lose a loved one but I can honestly say I am grateful I was in Whistler.
I received so much support and care from everyone I came into contact with, including many people I didn’t even know. Everyone went that extra mile to make sure that anything I needed was taken care of.
To the people who flew my mum up to Whistler, to the emergency services who worked around the clock, to those who set up and donated to the Rutherford Bridge fund and everyone else who helped me out, I thank you.
Daryl’s service was held in Perth last Friday. It was a celebration of his life with an overwhelming number of people there and a lot of funny and touching stories about Daryl were told.
We then took him to a beautiful island off the coast of Perth called Rottnest and spread his ashes in the sea, where his mother was also placed several years earlier. I’m glad she will be there to look after him.
My thoughts are constantly with Mike’s family and friends and also with all the family and friends of Jamie and Ed. They will never be forgotten.
I will always look back on my time in Whistler fondly and hope that one day I might return to the place where Daryl and I spent our last year together.
With all my thanks,
Anita Denvir
Councillor Well's recommendation and motion for approval of an external operational review of municipal hall is an excellent idea. I highly endorse the suggestion, and commend her leadership, foresight, and compelling logic for such a review. Given the dynamic changes and growth by Whistler since the last external review in 1996, and the immediate challenges that Whistler is facing and will face over the next few years, such a review with practical recommendations is critical.
I sincerely hope that council supports such a motion for an organizational/operational review. It will be money very well spent. It will ultimately make the bureaucracy more efficient and accountable in the years ahead. The community and Whistler in general, will be the better for it.
One suggestion I would make to council, is that the terms of reference include the opportunity for the public to give written input to the consultants within a certain timeframe. There are many insights and observations that the public could contribute that would be constructive and beneficial to the overall review process.
Jack Dolsen
Langley
I am writing in response to the letter of Nov. 7, 2003 written by Florence Petersen in which she expressed her concerns regarding the possible relocation of the Whistler Museum into the Telus Conference Centre. The Resort Municipality of Whistler, Tourism Whistler and the Whistler Museum and Archives Society (WMAS) are aware of the potential concerns and opportunities with this option and will not allow the museum to be compromised or marginalized.
Currently, the RMOW in conjunction with Tourism Whistler and the WMAS have commissioned a feasibility study on whether this site in the Telus Conference Centre could meet the museum’s requirements. At this time, there has been no decision made by the three organizations.
The WMAS board of trustees remains resolved to finding a location that meets our programming needs and "Category A" facility requirements as outlined by the Canadian Conservation Institute. We also look forward to the opportunities that the 2010 Olympic Games may offer.
I would encourage anyone who is interested in helping the museum preserve Whistler’s past to call the museum at 604-932-2019.
Stephen Henderson, President
Whistler Museum and Archives Society
Pave paradise and put up a parking lot
Will somebody please tell me who approved this monstrosity that is just being completed on the Creekside! It’s awful, and it clearly does not give the right message to our visitors, if first impressions mean anything.
For the most part Intrawest’s development has been trendsetting and awesome. This single structure leaves us all with a really bad feeling. Intrawest, you’ve got more class than this. All the positive that you’ve created is set to waste as us locals drive by and as we go to glance over at our beloved Whistler Mountain, we see a wall of ugly pavement. Council, what were you thinking? Can’t we fix this somehow?
And while I’m at it, why on earth would we carve up the central golf course that really gives Whistler its flavour? Employee housing can go anywhere else, at least preserve this idyllic setting which offers visitors and locals alike a temporary moment in heaven as they walk around the golf course and view the unbelievable setting. Let’s give our children something progressive and beautiful.
Paddi Moore
Whistler
Count me out.
The very thought of developing affordable housing on the present Whistler Golf Course property is unthinkable. We sooo enjoy this scenic spot, this oasis next to a busy highway. The view from the top of Blueberry Hill is magnificent. I am sure that the residents living on Blueberry Hill paid extra for this view. I see many visitors stopping and taking pictures from there. It would be insane to build more houses in that area, and believe me it would not solve the problem of affordable housing shortages. People will keep coming and coming.
H. Ruiterman
Whistler
A 6th Future to consider
It's time to give feedback to each other on what we would like the future of Whistler to look like. Since I'm not there I thought I would share some thoughts.
The first scenario isn't even feasible because there is no way that 8,000 employees will be able to afford living in Squamish or Pemberton on Tourism wages. And the biggest concern I have with the other 4 is that we assume visitor numbers to be up to 10 per cent-20 per cent. If we combine that figure with the expected 3,000 new residents (retirees etc.) and all the new employees to service them then we are going to have a tremendous amount of people in the valley. No wonder the big brands are setting up shop here. They see the writing on the wall! The infrastructure, nature, trails etc. will be crushed with the impending wave of people. It was busy enough at these places this summer with the golf course area potentially gone to housing we really will lose valuable green space and space in general in Whistler. Maybe that is OK… I don't know.
Assuming that having another 6,000-9,000 people in the valley on the busiest days is not feasible here is another option.
We can't reduce the number of homeowners moving here or the associated employee growth to service them, we can't stick all the employees in the Callaghan and even if we did, the numbers in Whistler Valley would still be dramatically higher than today. What we can do is limit the number of visitors to Whistler, reduce the expected 20 per cent visitor growth, flatten out the demand and raise occupancy rates by converting TA inventory and prime land to staff housing. The lost tourism business will be offset by the increased business from second homeowners, of course we would balance out the dollar loss with the dollar gain. I wouldn't expect TA owners to give up property for employee housing so in exchange for the inventory or land we could offer owners land in the Callaghan, perhaps twice as much as they have in Whistler, to sweeten the offer. The Olympic village is built in the Callaghan and the housing is used for staff of the new Callaghan Nordic Village, ski touring and training facility.
Callaghan has a thriving economy, the hotels are happy and so are the staff living there.The result: more employees living and working in Whistler, a strong economy, no additional stress on the infrastructure or natural areas in the Whistler Valley, employees living and working in the Callaghan with minimal need for commuting between the two valleys.
Of course Callaghan will get developed, but that is going to happen at some point isn't it?
And just for the record, if this scenario doesn't sound feasible then I like Scenario 2, but building on more of the parking lots in the village and Base 2 as opposed to forested areas near Alpine. Perhaps we can build the Olympic housing at Base 2? I like the idea of putting it on the golf course, but I would rather see parking lots built on as opposed to green space, even if it is manicured.
Dan Wilson
Whistler
"CRUSHED"...is more like it!
It's a shame that we have to pay off the conference centre renovations with one event.
After attending my fifth Crush in a row I was disappointed with this year’s affair, as were many of the attendees that I spoke with. Food lineups were ridiculously long, signage for the vineyards was poor and there appeared to be far too many tickets sold for an event that has always previouslly been first class.
Bring back the Westin venue!
Craig Hollerin
Whistler
Thank you for your support!
On behalf of Tourism Whistler, I would like to thank the entire community for supporting Cornucopia — Whistler’s Seventh Annual Food & Wine Celebration. More than 80 premier wineries from around the world participated in this near sold-out event. Although Cornucopia attracts food and wine aficionados from across the region, local residents and community support remain key to the event’s success.
The new TELUS Conference Centre at Whistler provided a beautiful setting for this year’s opening Crush Gala Grand Tasting. But the overwhelming success of the first large-scale culinary event held in the recently-opened facility also presented some volume challenges, which we have identified and will resolve for all future events!
For those who missed the opportunity to see the new TELUS Conference Centre at Whistler, or for those who would like to come by to meet the management of Tourism Whistler and our Board of Directors, a Community Open House will be held on Saturday, Nov. 22 from 2 to 5 p.m. Please drop by to say hello and give us your feedback!
Barrett Fisher
Interim President
Tourism Whistler
The other day I had heard the most amusing lie. On CBC Radio I was informed that if we were to sell BC Rail, the new operator would be able to provide us with "superior railway services". I am writing this to point out that our current rail operator used to pay for a public passenger train to run every single day.
According to my calculations, the Budd cars travelled about 338,552.41 kilometres annually. That’s enough to travel between Whistler and Vancouver about 7.74 times per day at no expense to the taxpayers!
Whistler Rail Tours, in order to have a fare-friendly passenger train, has gone into business with Via Rail. Via Rail is fuelled by tax from the federal government. If Via Rail provided the same passenger service as BC Rail, we would bankrupt the maple leaf in a matter of months.
It is estimated that the purchaser of BC Rail will generate about $100 million in revenue annually from our railway. That is a lot of revenue that no longer gives anything in the way of a public service. Why doesn’t the purchaser of BC Rail provide Whistler Rail Tours with enough funding to travel 338,552.41 kilometres per year? That’s one of two possible ways to get "superior railway services". The other is just to keep it in public hands.
Bjorn Gimse
Whistler
