Back to reality?

First I’d like to welcome back the thousands of Sqamolians who went to Mexico or Hawaii to avoid the circus. You missed a hell of a party and we’re glad you’re back.

Personally I had an amazing experience that I will never forget for as long as I live. Were there better ways to spend those billions of tax dollars? Of course there were. But once the bid was announced it consumed our community and it is now gone. Sure the Paralympics are coming and as much as I’m excited to see these people perform, the show is simply not as big.

But what did we learn from the past few weeks? There were many highlights including several Squamish Olympians making us proud. But easily the best and worst part of the games was the transportation. It was the best because we could finally drink in Whistler and get home safely. Lets face it – there are few times in life beer tastes more delicious than after an exhausting day on the slopes. However it is simply not safe to do this and drive. Thankfully for two weeks we didn’t have to drive to Whistler and it was brilliant. Hopefully this taste of heaven will encourage us to find a way to make it permanent. The worst part was VANOC insisting the transportation hub was outside Wal-Mart and not downtown. Many assume it was either due to incompetence or spite but all can agree it was an amazing opportunity wasted. Also in the not cool category was Greyhound charging $40 to get to Vancouver and back.

So what now? Well now hold on to your hats because this corridor just got the biggest advertising campaign tax dollars can buy. The world saw the beautiful surroundings and people in our little corner of the world and they will certainly be coming back. It also helps that just before the games Tourism Squamish unleashed their ‘Spirit of Squamish’ videos that are nothing short of amazing. I’ll put the link to them at the end of this email.

As for council? Well, like everyone else it’s back to work as usual. In this case it’s budget time! So far the process this year has actually been good. Dare I say – understandable and productive. We’re going to have a public meeting if you would like to come out and add your two cents on what should be done with your two cents. The meeting will be March 17th at Eagle Eye theatre in Howe Sound Secondary School.

So that’s about it. I’ll end by encouraging everyone to take in some of the Paralympics because – well because it’s awesome and definitely something worth seeing. In the mean time please don’t hesitate to drop me a line with anything that is on your mind (that’s what this job is all about). As well if you could pass this on to others who may be interested – that would be fantastic.

Have a great one eh’
Bryan Raiser
Councillor, District of Squamish
604.848.9343
braiser@squamish.ca

PS Here’s the link to the ‘Spirit of Squamish’ Tourism Squamish videos. Enjoy…
http://www.tourismsquamish.com/videos

PPS. Hungry for “official” District of S quamish updates emailed regularly? – email communications@squamish.ca to get hooked up.