Inaugural Council Meeting

On November 19, 2011, Whistler voters selected a new mayor and six council members.

The inaugural council meeting was held on December 6, 2011 at 5:30 p.m. at Millennium Place. The meeting was attended by nearly 200 community members. The mayor and council members were officially sworn in by The Honourable Judge David St. Pierre:

• Mayor Nancy Wilhelm-Morden
• Councillor Jack Crompton
• Councillor Jayson Faulkner
• Councillor John Grills
• Councillor Duane Jackson
• Councillor Andrée Janyk
• Councillor Roger McCarthy

The new RMOW council (l-r): Councillor Jack Crompton, Councillor Jayson Faulkner, Councillor John Grills, Mayor Nancy Wilhelm-Morden, Councillor Duane Jackson, Councillor Andrée Janyk, Councillor Roger McCarthy

The swearing in was followed by the Whistler Singers, who led the assembly in singing the national anthem.

There was an inaugural address by the incoming Mayor, Nancy Wilhelm-Morden, as well as council and board appointments and acting mayor appointments for 2012.

Inaugural Address by Mayor Nancy Wilhelm-Morden

A friend of mine lent me a book to read during the campaign. I guess she thought I had time on my hands. In fact, the only person in our household who touched the book during the campaign was my daughter’s dog, Lucy. She chewed the cover.

I had a chance to read that little red book the other day.  It was written by a French fellow by the name of Stéphane Hessel.  He’s 94 now.  He was a member of the Resistance during the war and a diplomat in his later years.  His book is called “Time for Outrage.”

I don’t necessarily agree with some of the things Hessel advocates but something he said that resonated with me is this: “If you spend a little time searching, you will find your reasons to engage.  The worst attitude is indifference.”

In my life, I have never been indifferent.  And neither has this town.  Whistler and engagement are synonymous.

Tonight’s not the time to talk about the political ramifications and milestones of this election other than to say they are significant.

I do want to say a couple of things. First off, I would like to thank Mayor Ken Melamed for his years of dedicated public service. He has left an imprint in this town and it’s to his credit.

Thank you as well to Councillors Zeidler, Forsyth, Milner, Lamont, Quinlan and Thompson for all of the hard work and countless hours they put in over the last three years. And in particular the work they did with the 2010 Winter Games. They made us all proud to be Whistlerites.

I want to acknowledge as well all of the people who ran for office in this election. They came from across the spectrum and proved, once again, how much we all love this town.

Then there’s the team that’s been elected.  I’ve been a hockey fan since the day I was born. So I look over this line-up and it’s awesome. I’ve got Sid the Kid, I’ve got Bobby Orr, I’ve even got the Sedin twins, only they’re from New Zealand.

I would like to say a couple of words about each of these people. Jack thought that having four kids and running a couple of businesses wasn’t keeping him busy enough. He’s the youngest member of council but has deep roots in what some describe as Old Whistler.

Jayson has been involved in retail here in Whistler for a number of years. He is also very familiar with mountain culture so he brings a unique perspective.

John Grills has raised his family here.  He’s got experience with both the restaurant industry and the commercial landlord business.

Duane moved here with his family 20 years ago. He’s an architect by training and has been deeply involved in real estate development.

Andrée, besides being the mother of two very famous skiers, sat as a school trustee for 12 years. Her passion is sport and education.

Last but not least is Roger who has a lengthy history with Whistler.  He’s been involved with the resort development and management business for decades and brings a wealth of experience in such diverse areas as transit, human resources and finance.

I thought it was important to spend a couple of minutes introducing this group and reviewing the skills and experience they each bring. We have Whistler covered.

Ladies and gentlemen, this is your new team.

In order to take advantage of the talent this team brings to the table, we are going to use an effective and hands on committee system.

Inaugural Address Appointments to Standing Committees of Council

• Finance and Audit Standing Committee - Councillor Jackson, Councillor Crompton, Mayor Wilhelm-Morden
• Human Resources Standing Committee - Councillor McCarthy, Councillor Grills, Councillor Janyk

Although I’m not formally a member of that committee, I will sit in on as many of those meetings as I can.

I suspect most of you are familiar with the top ten things I campaigned on. Now I am but one vote of seven so I can’t presume that my top ten items are necessarily shared by all of my colleagues.

That said, I know I can speak for all of council when I say that we will be getting the message out that Whistler is open for business again.  In that regard, we will be holding a public special council meeting tomorrow at 5:30 p.m. and will be considering resolutions concerning reducing my salary, the illegal space issue and pay parking.

Our next big agenda item will be the budget and we’ve directed our staff to prepare briefing notes to provide to us before Christmas. We want to take the time to do a thorough review and follow a meaningful public consultation process.  I will ask staff to prepare a budget timetable to be presented to council at the first meeting in the New Year.

Then we have some other little items to take care of – like transit, the asphalt plant, the cultural plan, the RMI monies and so on.

These are exciting times in Whistler.  With your help we will strive to be the best mountain resort community we can be.
I thank all of you for coming, a special shout out to my brother Jim and his wife Michelle who came from Kitchener for this.  I thank all of you for your support.  I ask all of you to stay engaged.

Acting Mayor Appointments

The acting mayor stands in for the mayor in situations when she is away or not available.

• December/January - Andrée Janyk
• February/March - Roger McCarthy
• April/May - Jackson Crompton
• June/July - Duane Jackson
• August/September - Jayson Faulkner
• October/November - John Grills

Staff Appointments

Council appointed Ken Roggeman as the Financial Officer and Acting General Manager of Economic Viability.

Council Committee Appointments

Select Committees

• Advisory Design Panel  - John Grills 
• Advisory Planning Commission - Duane Jackson
• Emergency Executive Committee - Roger McCarthy, Nancy Wilhelm-Morden
• Public Art Planning Committee - Jayson Faulkner
• Transit Management Committee - Jack Crompton
• Liquor License Advisory Committee - John Grills 

Partner Organization Appointments

• Squamish-Lillooet Regional District - Nancy Wilhelm-Morden, Jack Crompton (alternate)
• One Whistler - Roger McCarthy
• Tourism Whistler - Jayson Faulkner
• Chamber of Commerce - Andrée Janyk
• Whistler Arts Council - Nancy Wilhelm-Morden
• Whistler Public Library - Duane Jackson
• Whistler Museum and Archives Society -Jayson Faulkner
• Whistler Housing Authority - Nancy Wilhelm-Morden, Duane Jackson, John Grills
• Whistler 2020 Development Corporation - Nancy Wilhelm-Morden, Duane Jackson
• Association of Whistler-Area Residents for the Environment (AWARE) - Andrée Janyk
• Whistler Animals Galore - John Grills 
• Whistler Community Services Society - Jack Crompton
• Whistler Health Care Foundation - Roger McCarthy
• Whistler Bar Association - John Grills 
• Cheakamus Community Forest - Nancy Wilhelm-Morden

Council held a reception at Millennium Place following the meeting, and members of the community came out to meet the new council.

There will be a Special Council Meeting on December 7, 2011 at 5:30 p.m. at Millennium Place. Items to be discussed include: mayor salary reduction, illegal space and pay parking.