Voters gave their resounding support to sell the Tawatinaw Valley ski hill last week.
Of the Westlock County residents who cast a ballot in the Oct. 16 plebiscite, 1,028 people voted “yes” and 866 said “no” to getting rid of the hill.
Div. 5, which encompasses the ski hill in its boundaries, was the only ward where a majority, 136 to 78, supported keeping the hill.
The plebiscite question asked: “Knowing the operating cost impact of the Tawatinaw Valley Ski Hill on the annual operating budget, are you in favour of selling the Tawatinaw Ski Hill Facility regardless of whether it remains a hill or is used for different purposes?”
Out of all the divisions, Div. 7 had widest gap between those in favour of keeping the hill and those in favour of selling. Just 57 people voted no to sell compared to 133 who said yes.
Meanwhile, Div. 4 had the most overall votes and largest turnout, with 194 people checking off “yes” to sell and 173 disagreeing.
However, voters were divided in Divs. 1 and 3. With close votes in both, the decision in Div. 1 to sell the hill lead by a four-vote majority, 163 to 159, while in Div. 3 it was a 13-vote difference as 108 voters leaned towards selling.
The margin was wider in Div. 2 with 187 voting to sell and 141 voting to keep, similar to Div. 6 which drew 165 “yes” votes compared to 105 “no.”
Incumbent and elected Div. 7 Coun. Dennis Primeau, who was part of the council that decided to hold the plebiscite, said the results showed that a significant number of residents thought the hill was too expensive for the county to keep given its population of just over 7,000.
“The ski hill would work if you had a 100(000) to 120,000 residents,” he said. “I think it’s too big a bite for the size of Westlock County and basically I think the people want money spent on their roads and other infrastructure.”
Although the result is not legally binding under provincial legislation, Primeau said he would stand by the plebiscite.
However, if council also chooses to follow through with the sale, Primeau said it would take time.
“In the near term, we have an operator there who’s going to operate the ski hill for this following winter and council will have to get into deep discussion,” he said.
“For me personally, I’m a firm believer in the democratic process, which fundamentally we went to the people and you can’t get any more democratic than that.
“They spoke and it’s my job to listen.”
