Tag: Resort Municipality of Whistler

‘Skiing is a Sunset Industry’‘Skiing is a Sunset Industry’

December 6, 2022 Whistler MuseumWhistler Museum 0 Comments

Have you ever been told something wouldn’t work, and then tried it anyway? Luckily for everyone who enjoys Whistler, that is exactly what the early council and planners did when they were told that Whistler would never be a destination resort.

Before the development of Whistler Village, when the lifts only went from Creekside, a moratorium on development was put in place to prevent haphazard development across the region until a community plan could be completed. By 1973 speculators and developers had started to buy land throughout the valley with plans for hotels and commercial developments, individuals hoping to strike it rich by personally creating a destination resort on private land. With a background in community planning, Bob Williams, then Minister of Lands, placed the moratorium on commercial development until further studies could be completed.

Initial investigations in 1974 recommended the development of a community with a single town centre on crown land near the then-garbage dump. This site was recommended due to the close proximity to both Whistler and Blackcomb Mountains and because it was crown land, thus providing more control over the development than if the town centre was developed on private land. Absolutely critical for the success of Whistler, the report prepared by James Gilmour also recommended that a special form of local administration govern Whistler, with more planning control than a typical municipality to ensure that the resort met the expectations and needs of the province. Following this, the Resort Municipality of Whistler Act was introduced in 1975, and the first local council elected and sworn in that same year.

The site of Whistler Village in 1979. The incredible growth of Whistler has certainly gone against the opinions of many experts who believed the conditions were wrong for a destination resort. Whistler Question Collection.

Continuing as per provincial government recommendations, the community plan was developed and shared for community consultation in L’Après in January 1976. After much friction and to-and-fro, the community plan was approved and the council could get on with planning the Whistler Town Centre. In 1977/78 consultants were brought in from around North America, including Stacy Stanley, SnoEngineering and others, to examine trends within the snow industry. The team of expert consultants examined trends, tracking baby boomers and came to the conclusion that “one of the sad things about skiing, is that it is a sunset industry”.

According to Jim Moodie, one of the project managers from Sutcliffe, Griggs and Moodie, there were some other big strikes against Whistler that they were warned about. “Some of the reports looked at Whistler and said ‘as a destination resort you’re in trouble because Vancouver isn’t an International Airport. You’re at the end of a really crappy road. And you’re in a coastal climate zone where it rains most of the time’. We said ‘yeah, that’s cool, but we’re going to have a ski resort’.”

Skiing on Whistler Mountain when there were two t-bars at the top. Expert consultants in the 1970s predicted that the popularity of skiing would only decrease in the future as the population aged. Whistler Mountain Collection.

Despite these reports, the council was unfazed. On the 21st of August, 1978 over a hundred locals and visiting members of the press celebrated the beginning of construction for the new Whistler Village Town Centre. As well as driving the bulldozer to turn the first soil, Mayor Pat Carleton chaired a conference for media personnel where he noted that “one of the best ski area resorts in North America isn’t good enough for me…To be number one just takes a little longer.” And so it did. Whistler was voted number one ski resort in North America in 1992 by Snow Country Magazine, starting a flow of accolades and number one rankings.

Even the experts could not predict the future, with snowboarding, freestyle skiing and mountain biking all adding to the numbers and allure of our destination resort. Today the tourism challenges facing Whistler are very different to the days when we worried that no one would visit.

Pat Carleton and Whistler’s movers and shakers showing the BC Provincial Government around the village under construction in September 1980. Whistler Question Collection.

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A WAG TaleA WAG Tale

September 27, 2022 Whistler MuseumWhistler Museum 0 Comments

WAG celebrates its 40th birthday this year and the professional operation has seen dramatic changes since its humble beginnings in 1982. Known and loved throughout the community, Whistler Animals Galore Society, better know as WAG, was started in 1982 by Dorothy Sabey and Debbie Chow.

In 1986, the Whistler Question described WAG as ‘the barebones troubleshooting agency by which Sabey and her colleague, Debbie Chow, handle lost or stray pets.’ Initially WAG relied almost entirely on the hard work and generosity of these two women. They did receive a grant-in-aid each year from the municipality, however it was only $250 to cover all expenses including gas, telephones, and spaying animals. While awaiting adoption, dogs and cats were cared for in Dorothy and Debbie’s homes, and sometimes the pound held animals a week beyond the usual limits if their homes were already full.

A photo from the Whistler Question on the 7th of November 1991. ‘Lisa Smith and Kelly Baldwin visit the cats who are still awaiting homes. Last week WAG had 55 cats in the facility built for 15. This week the situation was a bit better but they still have their hands full’. Whistler Question Collection.

WAG continued to rely solely on volunteers until 1996, when a paid program coordinator was hired. Before this the future of WAG had looked uncertain as there were only four volunteers remaining and they were becoming burnt out. The new system did not fully get off the ground, however, before the coordinator quit two years later. David MacPhail spoke to the Pique about how WAG had been on the brink of closure again in 1998. “The coordinator had quit and I was the only one left on the board. I was basically left to turn off the lights and go home,” McPhail said.

At that time, WAG had no shelter, no volunteer program, little publicity and relied solely on foster homes for the animals in its care. The municipal budget used for medical assistance was also beginning to dry up. Trying to turn things around, Kristen Kadis was brought in as a new coordinator, and that year the first annual Dog Parade started as part of the Whistler Ski and Snowboard Festival.

Things sure did turn around. In August 2000, WAG was given the bulk of the shelter work from the Resort Municipality of Whistler (RMOW) in exchange for the use of space in the building. Prior to this, the pound was largely separate from WAG and operated by municipality animal control officers, predominately Kimberly Lord. Jody Stockfish, who was brought on as another WAG coordinator in 1999, said at the time, “Having a central facility, rather than the traditional fostering system, will make a huge difference to what WAG can achieve. It also gives WAG’s core of 15 to 20 regular volunteers easy access for cleaning and walking duties.” The work of WAG was also recognised by the municipality, who increased their grant-in-aid to $10,000. Then in 2001, after years of legal to-and-fro, WAG was awarded charitable status, making fundraising much easier.

The shelter that WAG initially worked out of (above) was better than nothing, but the comfort of volunteers and animals greatly improved when WAG got its new purpose built facility in the Public Works Yard. Whistler Question Collection.

While the having control of the shelter was a huge improvement, it was still cold, cramped, near impossible to separate all the animals, and a flood risk. Paul Fournier remembers when the shelter was threatened by rising water, while he was the WAG Chairman in the 1990s. “We had over 30 cats, and we had to find cages for these cats and move them up to a farm in Pemberton. I don’t know if you have ever heard an angry cat, but when you take 30 cats and you put them in cages and then you stuff them in the back of my cargo van, you’ve never heard a sound like that.”

Another regular WAG fundraiser was photos with Santa, often held on the Citta’s patio. Here Scott Barr and his dog Angus pose for their picture with Santa. Whistler Question Collection.

The new shelter officially opened in the Public Works Yard in 2005, and today we have a shelter to be envious of. While much has changed over the 40 years, WAG’s focus on animal welfare remains the same.

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Whistler at 22% Interest – Part 2Whistler at 22% Interest – Part 2

July 5, 2022 Whistler MuseumWhistler Museum 0 Comments

Find Part 1 here.

When the financial crisis of the 1980s hit Whistler even the prime real estate at the base of both mountains did not make it through unscathed. Dick Gibbons and Jack Cram were partners in Fitzsimmons Condominiums and Stoney’s Restaurant, where La Bocca is today. With a completed Whistler development under their belts, they were approached by Whistler Village Land Company (WVLC) about potentially purchasing the unfinished project where the Carleton Lodge now stands.

The base of Whistler Mountain in 1981 showing the Carleton Lodge under construction. The Pan Pacific Whistler Mountainside Hotel can be seen on the right. The base of the mountain looks a bit different today! Arv Pellegrin Collection.

At the time the foundation was partially complete and it was anticipated that this building would be a day lodge and gateway for both Whistler and Blackcomb Mountains, however WVLC’s finances were dire and there was not enough money to finish the project. Dick recalls a conversation with Neil Griggs, President of the WVLC “I don’t want to exaggerate this, he literally begged us to finish the Carleton Lodge. I seem to recall he had tears in his eyes.”

Together with additional partners, they negotiated a deal wherein they agreed to finish the project on the condition that if they were unable to sell the 32 condominium units for a certain price the development permit charges would be refunded. Throughout the build the architect, building contractor, and many partners felt the financial strain. By the end of the project, Dick Gibbons and Ken Mahon were the only two left to finance and run the show.

Dick Gibbons and Gilbert Konqui in 1981. It was all hands on deck to get the Carleton Lodge and The Longhorn completed. Whistler Question Collection.

When the Carleton Lodge was finally completed in November 1982, few residential units sold and Dick Gibbons ended up running The Longhorn because nobody else would buy it. The unsold residential units were transferred to the people involved in the development according to their investments, and development permit charges were refunded as initially agreed after the court got involved.

When Dick Gibbons was asked how he was able to balance his finances while many in Whistler could not, he said, “Being a little more risk adverse than some others might be was good for me at times and bad for me at other times because you miss opportunities. I sold quite a bit of real estate when the market had its peak in Vancouver because I thought it pretty much couldn’t go any higher.” Obviously real estate in Vancouver did eventually increase, but selling these real estate investments left Dick in a more comfortable position when interest rates skyrocketed, although it was still a difficult period.

Signs for The Longhorn and Nasty Jack’s can be seen while the Carleton Lodge is still under construction in 1982. Arv Pellegrin Collection.

Interest rates had an impact throughout all of the Whistler community. Bruce Watt, who had been a patroller since 1974, decided his family needed better financial security which led to him getting into real estate, a career he has loved and where you will still find him today. On the other hand, the ugly unfinished Village led realtor Drew Meredith to make “the mistake of running for Mayor in 1986” (his words, not mine) where he served for two terms.

While similar circumstances led to very different decisions, a consistent sentiment when talking to long-time locals about this time is that they would not want to do it again. The Village was started just in time, a year later and it may never have happened.

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Whistler at 22% Interest – Part 1Whistler at 22% Interest – Part 1

June 28, 2022 Whistler MuseumWhistler Museum 4 Comments

In the early 1980s, just as the development of Whistler Village was starting to boom, the economy bottomed out and interest rates skyrocketed. Whistler Village was left with 27 unfinished lots as owners, developers, and contractors were going bankrupt at unprecedented levels. Remembering the mess left behind as construction halted, Drew Meredith said, “Imagine standing in Village Square looking up towards Mountain Square and all you see is half finished concrete foundations with rebar sticking out of it. Rusty, dirty rebar. The stroll was there but on both sides of the stroll was just chaos. Very tough to sell that to anybody who wants to come for a holiday.”

Construction in Whistler Village halted when the economic crisis of the 1980s reached Canada leaving many lots unfinished. Eldon Beck Collection.

Canada’s inflation had accelerated throughout the 1970s, reaching over 10% in 1980. To curb inflation, the Bank of Canada raised interest rates to a peak of 21%, however inflation remained high. During this time interest rates for home loans reached 22% and Canada went into a recession. To top it off, in November 1981 the federal government ended the Multiple-Use Residential Building (MURB) program of tax credits. With multiple-use residential on the second and third floor of every building, much of Whistler Village was constructed with the understanding that MURB would provide tax incentives for investors. With the MURB program coming to an end many investors poured the foundations quickly to make use of these incentives before it was too late.

While some developments in the new Whistler Village had opened, most were just a foundation as the economic crunch really hit. Whistler had prioritised small developers in the building of the Village and many struggled to continue and could not pay their land taxes.

Aerial view of the construction in Whistler Village, December 1980. Whistler Question Collection.

The Whistler Village Land Company (WVLC) was a non-profit arm of the municipality incorporated in 1978 to oversee the sale and development of the Village. As land was sold, the WVLC would use the income to pay their liabilities, including loan repayments and development costs for municipal assets, notably the Arnold Palmer Golf Course and the Resort Centre intended to host a pool and ice rink (eventually the province dictated that the Conference Centre would be built instead). However, in the early 1980s when more lots were placed on the market they would not sell. To further financial woes, in July 1982, only 60% of taxes were paid to the municipality on time and they could charge a maximum of 10% on late payments, less than the bank’s interest rates. Between 1981 and 1982, the municipality’s capital budget was almost halved from $1 million to $650,000 and in 1982 municipal staff took a 2.5% pay cut.

With finances in dire straights, WVLC staff were let go and WVLC operations transferred to the municipality. With debts of approximately $8 million, no way to pay them, and creditors knocking, concerns were mounting that the banks would repossess assets worth far more than the loan amount. Banks could then sell these lands independently to developers, while the government would get nothing for the sale and still have to pay liabilities.

Bringing in the big guns. New Mayor Mark Angus takes Lands Minister Anthony Brummet and Assistant Deputy Lands Minister Chris Gray for a tour of the rebar with WRA Executive Director Earl Hansen in January 1983. Whistler Question Collection.

Whistler went to the provincial government for assistance. On January 6, 1983 it was announced that Whistler Land Company Developments, a new Crown corporation, had acquired the assets and liabilities of WVLC for $1. Government studies showed that all outstanding debts would be paid with future land sales and continued development would create many jobs, plus the expected revenue from tax and tourism. While there was uproar at the time about a taxpayer bailout, the provincial government went on to recoup far more than the initial investment through the land sales of Village North, and today Whistler brings in 25% of BC’s annual tourism revenue.

Looking at some of the unfinished construction in Whistler Village. Whistler Question Collection.

Hear how some of the Whistler community dealt with the economic crisis next week in Whistler at 22% Interest – Part 2.

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