moving forward

[seasonsgreetings]

Sparkes, I said 50-65% YEARLY average, not summer. I was including April, May, October, November and the first two weeks of December and January when pretty much everyone is struggling to get their first floor filled. That said, there certainly has been a marked growth in summer visitors over the past two years and I think we are all feeling the benefits of that. I’d love to see the summer season expand to the same amount of time that we actually have warm weather, instead of just the 8 week influx we currently get.

In addition to my earlier point about the speed of the accommodation construction in town, we are also experiencing a huge issue locally with housekeeping staff. I can think of at least 7 businesses that are currently looking for housekeepers. Anyone know how we are going to fix that issue with all the new accommodations we are expecting to see over the next few years that will need to be cleaned? And where are those $9 ph housekeepers supposed to live when winter accommodation is pushing $500/month?

What I would like to see is some kind of organised voice in Fernie that is going to look after issues like this, and others, including low income housing for low income workers, grass roots employment incentives, promoting small business and stopping future big box stores that are going to be a blot on the landscape and push smaller businesses out. Prime example is Kootenay Market folding just two years after Extra Foods went in. Canadian Tire and Marks work warehouse are sure to follow suit – I’m not saying I won’t shop there, I need to save a buck just like anyone else, I just hope we don’t have to lose the likes of IGS and the small autobody places as a result.

I don’t think the DMO is going to get involved in any of this – does anyone else care enough about these issues to do something about this with me?