With ski season on the horizon, Whitecourt residents are beginning to wonder how the Restriction Exemption Program (REP) may look moving forward.
At Whitecourt council’s Nov. 8 meeting, council received a letter from resident Ashley Rose.
In her letter, Rose applauds the Town for supporting the Eastlink Ski Hill in their decisions, and encourages the Town to rethink it’s position on imposing the REP at Town facilities.
This sparked a debate among town councillors as to the future of the REP.
Councillor Serena LaPointe noted she had received several e-mails similar to Rose’s.
“I would say, in the last week, I have been reached out to by somewhere around 25 different individuals on this exact topic,” said LaPointe.
LaPointe also shared anecdotal evidence of communities that are running their facilities under the REP, and those that are not, and would like more information about how it is working.
Councillor Derek Schlosser weighed in, saying he has heard from people on the other side of the issue.
Schlosser tackled the issue from a financial standpoint, wondering how much revenue has been lost by not following the REP.
“I have done the math. I do not think that running at one-third capacity works for our facilities. I believe we are losing money at one-third capacity,” said Schlosser.
Schlosser also added the Eastlink Ski Hill does not follow the recommendations of the Town of Whitecourt or Alberta Health Services, but recommendations of the Canada West Ski Areas Association.
The Eastlink Ski Hill is independent of the Town, and is operated by the Whitecourt Woodlands Winter Recreation Park Society.
One thing several councillors wanted was more information on the subject.
A motion was put forward to have Town administration look at other communities and see how the REP is affecting their facilities, but the motion was defeated.
Under the current health restrictions, if a facility chooses to follow the REP, they can operate with no COVID-19 restrictions, as long as they ask for proof of vaccination, a negative COVID-19 test within the last 72 hours, or proof of a medical exemption. If they choose not to follow the REP, they must operate at one-third fire code capacity, users must wear masks, and maintain physical distancing.
Currently, the Town is following the REP at the Allan and Jean Millar Centre. At the Scott Safety Centre, the REP is being followed for public skating, but not for event attendance. At the Forest Interpretive Centre, the REP is not being followed.
NOTE: An earlier version of this story mistakenly stated that the ski hill is a Town facility. It is not. It also erroneously stated that the motion to have administration look at other communities passed. It did not. XM 105 FM apologizes for the confusion this has caused.
