The White Gold Utility Undergrounding Project was cancelled by Whistler Council at the July 5 meeting because the updated total project cost estimate exceeded the original project petition value of $5.5 million.
Council chose to cancel the project, rather than complete another petition of White Gold neighbourhood property owners as the new project estimate was $9.2 million, inclusive of grant funding.
“When property owners in the White Gold neighbourhood first proposed this project in 2019, the costs under consideration were much lower. With the estimate now growing by 67%, Council no longer feels that this project is in the best interest of the neighbourhood,” says Mayor Jack Crompton.
“This is the only process available to residents to pursue this type of project, so Council deemed it necessary to proceed with the initial investigative process. With this decision made, I would now encourage the residents to move forward together and to continue in the respectful manner with which this outcome was achieved.”
The White Gold Utility Undergrounding project, a resident led project, was initiated in September 2019 via a letter to Council expressing a collective interest to proceed with the project. At the time, 85 of the 160 White Gold property owners were in favour of the project.
The Resort Municipality of Whistler (RMOW) hired a project manager to organize the original petition and manage the engineering design and construction process. Through this work, it was determined the project would cost $9.2 million in 2022 costs, after application of a BC Hydro Beautification Grant. The increase from the original estimate was due to a combination of factors, including inflation, supply chain constraints, and current fuel costs.
Council also passed a resolution to postpone repaving the neighbourhood, following patch work done for the 2018 water main upgrades.
For more information, view the Council package.
