After an in-camera discussion, Westlock County councillors reaffirmed unanimous support for having administration try to open the Tawatinaw Valley Ski Hill on Boxing Day.
Councillors help a special meeting Dec. 16, and after discussing the issues surrounding the ski hill for about 45 minutes behind closed doors, they unanimously passed a motion nearly identical to one that’s already on the books.
“I’ll move that council support administration to carry on with the intention of supporting our young people of Westlock County to open the ski hill Dec. 26, 2014,” Coun. Don Savage said.
There was no further discussion before council approved the motion 5-0 —councillors Jim Wiese and Dennis Primeau were absent.
This motion is nearly identical to the one passed Dec. 9, when councillors moved “to direct administration to work towards a Dec. 26 opening.” Reeve Bud Massey later clarified the plan is to bring in three portables to serve as a temporary chalet.
That plan may pose problems for the county, as its own Land-Use Bylaw (LUB) states that development permits do not come into effect until 15 days after they were advertised — in this case, 15 days from Dec. 9 is Christmas Eve. Massey explained administration applied for the development permit prior to council making a formal decision because “that was what they were going to recommend.”
Immediately after the Dec. 16 meeting, CAO Peter Kelly explained the county will begin erecting the temporary chalet prior to the development permit coming into effect.
“Under the element, there is a clause that anything we do until we pass that time frame, we do at our own risk,” he said. “That’s clear in the bylaw. If, by chance, anything would occur that we don’t meet all the timeframes, we are at risk.”
According to the LUB, if an appeal is made in relation to a pending development permit, that permit won’t come into effect until an appeal has been heard.
One of the units was on site last Tuesday afternoon, and work crews were cleaning up the site of the new chalet.
Kelly said the chalet would not actually open until “we clear all the processes.”
Savage explained council simply wants to see the ski hill open as soon as possible for the benefit of residents.
“We’re just trying to support the young people of our community and get that ski hill going,” he said. “We’ve received hundreds of e-mails from people saying they want that ski hill open.”
Massey said despite the county’s best efforts, the Dec. 26 date isn’t set it stone, but rather is a goal.
“There isn’t a guarantee,” he said. “Every effort will be made.”
