Valemount Council approves Resort Development Strategy

By Abigail Popple, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, RMG

Valemount Council approved the Village’s 2025-2027 Resort Development Strategy at their meeting last Tuesday, January 28th. The strategy outlines the Village’s goals for the tourism sector over the next four years, and includes a plan to fund infrastructure projects proposed by local organizations.

The strategy is part of the Village’s application to the Resort Municipality Initiative, a program administered by the Ministry of Tourism which funds infrastructure projects for small, tourism-based municipalities.

The Village is applying for $664,000 in funding from the Ministry, said Director of Finance Lori McNee – the same amount which the Village applied for during the last round of funding. In total, the Village received 18 applications for funding from the initiative, totalling $1,176,871, according to McNee and CAO Anne Yanciw’s presentation. 13 of these were infrastructure projects, and five were proposals for events such as Winterfest, held annually by Tourism Valemount, Yanciw said.

At a December 12th Committee of the Whole meeting, Council decided to split this money among 16 different projects. 11 of these are infrastructure projects, while four are event proposals. Successful applicants for infrastructure projects included: 

  • The Rocky Mountain Racing Association, which is installing trackside lighting, shipping containers to use as concession stands and info booths, and a pavilion 
  • The Valemount and Area Recreation Development Association, for maintaining bike and snowmobile trails
  • The Valemount Community Sports Day Association, to purchase goods such as a bouncy castle and dunk tank
  • The Valemount Learning Society, to install an interpretive kiosk at the Cranberry Marsh canoe launch
  • The Valemount Marina Association, to build two shelters
  • The Village itself, to continue upgrading the village entrance sign with garden beds and lighting, to install a swing set and wheelchair-accessible picnic table at the playground, and to create an Indigenous display at the museum
  • The Yellowhead Outdoor Recreation Association to maintain hiking trails and improve Mt. Terry Fox Road.

The four events approved for funding are Tourism Valemount’s annual VALEfest and Winterfest events, the Valemount and Area Recreation Development Association’s fall Bike Fest, and the Yellowhead Outdoor Recreation Association’s Mount Robson Marathon. 

Additionally, $45,000 of the funds will be set aside for administrative fees. In an email to The Goat, Yanciw said a significant amount of time is needed to administer the strategy, and those funds will be used to offset that time. The Village was eligible to apply for $60,000 for administrative fees, she added, but chose to reduce that amount.

Mayor Owen Torgerson asked McNee and Yanciw for more details on the maintenance projects.

“About 40 per cent of available funding was put towards maintenance,” he said. “Can you speak to how this granting stream differs from other granting streams that may or may not allow specific maintenance funds?”

Yanciw said most grants are not meant for maintenance, but focus on capital infrastructure projects like building improvements. Funding from the Resort Municipality Initiative is useful for projects such as trail maintenance, she added.

Council moved to receive the presentation, and passed a resolution to approve submitting the strategy to the Province.

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