SBAB Letter to Council - Banff Refreshing Concerns
Please see below a note from Rob Seeley, Chairman of the SBAB Board of Directors:
The SBAB does not want Banff refreshing to become another summer project and recent events prompted an SBAB Advocacy meeting and letter to Mayor and Council. The project was scheduled to be completed on June 27. Extending these timelines due to numerous concerns and the financial impact to our business community has the advocacy committee and the SBAB worried. This has been a flagship project, and at the end of the day one that I hope we can all be proud of to share with other municipalities.
It cannot be understated, the cost to the impacted businesses and the understanding that this undertaking was originally agreed to be completed in a single season with a finalization date of June 27th. This date was recently outlined as no longer possible, the contractor is unavailable in the fall and extending the time lines to the spring of 2009 at an additional cost of between $200 - $300 K was rejected by the Block captains. The consensus from them is to get the project finished. A significant push and understanding needs to occur, with agreements in place, to complete the major components and street closures ASAP while maximizing around-the-clock work days and manpower. We need to hold the contractor and town to time lines and require your feed back and support when we go to Council.
Regards,
Rob
Please see below also the letter drafted by the SBAB Board to be delivered to Town Council.
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27th May 2008
Dear Mayor Stutz and Council
Please accept this letter as open correspondence on behalf of Town Council.
We write on behalf of our 70 paid members, representing over 100 businesses and over 1200 employees in town, and no doubt echo the sentiments of many others.
We have become aware that the one year ‘Banff Refreshing’ project with subsequent Spring completion is now projected to carry on into a second summer season and beyond.
The current state of the travel industry requires us to rely ever more on Provincial traffic, yet we cause ourselves to be a less than attractive alternative with the chaos that ensued the last long weekend. (You may or not be aware that traffic was backed up to Highway 1 at the west end of town)
As major contributors to the public purse, our members can not afford a second season of disruption. Time is of the essence to be in a position to present a construction free Banff for the summer.
With Canada Day falling on a Tuesday, we would expect that Friday June 27 will be the start of a very busy weekend leading up to Canada Day. It is fundamental that current works and cleanup be complete by June 27th as promised by the approving Council. To clarify we require that all work stop on that date. We leave it to you to prioritise the works up to that date, and if required, resume in the fall.
It would be prudent to leave both the mid-block crosswalks, final paving and other incomplete works to the fall. Given the fact that the crosswalks are, as yet untested this allows for less waste if they prove to need further consideration when the summer usage is analysed.
We believe the main concern is to finish the Wolf, Caribou and Buffalo intersections, given the amount of assets Standard General are allocating to the task and the curing times involved, this would probably be all that could be completed up to that date.
The balance of the works could then be scheduled for the fall or even the spring of 2009. Our members are aware that this would incur additional costs and feel that, having borne the brunt of the losses last year those costs should be shared equally by all of the taxpayers.
As time is of the essence your immediate attention is required. We are ready to meet with you at your earliest convenience.
Yours truly,
Small Business Association of Banff
PS It should be noted that it seems premature to schedule a celebration of the completion of the project at this time.