Council Roundup from Tuesday, October 8, 2024 

Looking to get caught up on the Tuesday, October 8 Council Meetings? We’ve pulled together some key stories from Committee of the Whole and the Regular Council Meeting, including:  

• Diving into Whistler Transit’s three-year expansion plan 

• Staff present three options for 2025 Permissive Tax Exemptions 

• Update on summer operations  

For all the details, check out the recording of the full meeting on whistler.ca. 

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More buses, more service hours requested for Whistler Transit 

Council has approved a recommendation from staff for expansion of the Whistler transit system, leveraging pay parking revenue to offset costs. 

If approved by the Province, this investment will add five vehicles and 19,200 hours of operation to the system in 2025 and early 2026. Staff also presented consideration of an additional three buses and 8,600 hours the following year, pending some additional review of operational benefits and priorities. 

Routes 21, 30 and 10 see particular benefit. In year 2, service is also proposed to return to Alta Lake Road in 2026 along with increased hours to the number 6 route, however upgrades beyond 2025 will subject to further staff/BC Transit review. 

“I’m excited about this next expansion. It’s something I know we’ve been waiting for for a long time, and I think this moves us in the right direction as far as our climate targets are concerned,” said Mayor Jack Crompton. “We need to do more, but this really is a positive step. We’re going to continue to make those requests for expansion.” 

In addition to previewing upcoming changes, the presentation reviewed some recent upgrade success stories noting how they are being received within the community. 

Noteworthy highlights included: 

• 44 per cent usage increase of the secure Bike Valet service, offered in three locations to encourage riding to the village and parks; 

• the addition of more secure bike parking and more pay-to-ride Evolve e-bikes; 

• ridership growth on the Rainbow Park and Lost Lake shuttles, most significantly on the Lost Lake shuttle (up 25 per cent); 

• UMO transit app arrival for simple payment; and 

• the bike lane test on Village Gate Boulevard from Blackcomb Way to the bus shelter.  

An increase in 7,650 additional transit hours, or 10 per cent, was already approved this year.  

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Council extends Permissive Tax Exemptions through 2029 

To support Whistler’s community and non-profit organizations, local government considers the provision of annual Permissive Tax Exemptions (PTEs) to exempt those bodies from property taxes. Organizations must contribute to the wellbeing of the Whistler community and be considered an essential component of our social fabric. All 13 of the applicants for 2024 received 100 per cent of tax exemptions for 2025, which represents $567,000 in municipal taxes waived. 

In their report, municipal staff presented three options for Council to consider before awarding these exemptions. The first was a tiered approach, offering 85, 90 or 100 per cent exemptions. The second option was to grant full exemptions to qualified applicants in 2025, then roll out a tiered approach in 2026. The third suggestion was to offer 100 per cent exemptions in 2025 and then review any future changes in early in 2026. 

Other municipalities have started to give less than full exemptions or have set a maximum total for exemptions, staff told Council in response to questions. 

An amended option was ultimately introduced and passed by Council that directs staff to continue to grant 100 per cent exemptions to all qualifying applicants through 2029.  

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Summer operations wrap up 

Summer is sometimes called “construction season” in Whistler, and 2024 was no exception for Whistler’s summer operations program. Taking advantage of the good weather, Whistler knocked off a lot of improvements this year including: 

• the Beverly Lake trail re-route and decommissioning of older sections of trail that ran into grizzly bear habitat; 

• maintaining alpine hiking and biking trails, including the Sproatt Mountain area;  

• the completion and opening of Rainbow Park;  

• Lakeside Park improvements, including repairs required after a water main break the previous winter; 

• landscape and irrigation improvements, including fully in-ground irrigation systems that use less water, and wildflower planting areas;  

• Village improvements that included replacing pavers and refinishing the Olympic cauldron; 

• new “big belly” garbage and recycling receptacles including pizza box bins, that were well received and kept garbage from piling up around full bins; 

• the continuation of the “Park Eats” food truck program with improvements to sites; 

• the replacement of trees around public lands and parks; 

• dock replacements at several parks;  

• Valley Trail buffering and paving including painting directional arrows in busy sections; and 

• the addition of murals to bridges and wraps to electrical transformers. 

Mayor Jack Crompton was especially happy to hear about the Valley Trail arrows. 

“I get that email request in my inbox all the time, and I’m happy to be able to finally say we’re doing that, there are arrows on the Valley Trail,” he said. “I’m so grateful for that work and everything you do. We get better every year.” 

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To attend an upcoming meeting, check out the Council Meeting Schedule. Agendas and Minutes are available online. To connect with Council, consider Presenting to Council, or get in touch with them individually by phone or email.