Ken Hewitt, who was instrumental in the success of the Kananaskis Grooming parking pass last winter, has provided an update on where the surplus funds will go.
The list below shows an excellent and constructive use of the surplus funds, and I’m surprised they were able to do this much with the money. I hope the WiFi at Pocaterra hut will result in some very timely reports from skiers.
2020-21 Kananaskis Parking Funds
During the 2020/2021 winter season, funds from the sale of parking passes and public donations enabled Nordiq Alberta to reimburse Alberta Environment and Parks (AEP) for the cost of ski trail grooming, and we were left with a surplus of funds to further sustain and enhance ski trails. In March, readers of the SkierBob blog contributed suggestions for the use of the surplus fund, and this post provides an update on the fund uses to date.
Over the summer, a small committee from Nordiq Alberta and AEP have considered a variety of proposals and moved ahead with funding a few specific projects. The funds were accessed to
a) Provide a new trail signage system at Mt. Shark which will be installed this fall,
b) Build signage tools for use in other cross country ski areas of Kananaskis, primarily Peter Lougheed Park,
c) Purchase of new grooming equipment for Sandy McNabb and Bragg Creek
d) Acquire a new snow machine to replace the aging equipment at Ribbon Creek.
e) Install wifi in Pocaterra Hut (still in progress – see photo)
Suggestions for grooming of new or older de-commissioned trails were considered but, in the end, NOT funded since such activities would not be sustainable in the long term with the one-time funding currently available.
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A reminder, my blogging days are essentially over. With ski season almost here, any trip reports henceforth should be posted on SkierRoger.
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The anti-demcoratic UCP Kananaskis entrance fee tax was pushed by special interest groups that obtain funding from the government. For these groups to support the UCP Kananaskis entrance fee tax looks like a major conflict of interest to me. The tax is being used for lining Conservative Party supporters pockets while keeping the less wealthy out of the region. This is exactly what the Kananskis entrance tax supporters want as the population increases along with trail use. This is a typical economic barrier put up to keep the less wealthy out. It sure is not a part of the Alberta Advantage. The Kananaskis is no longer a region to be used universally by all people which is disgusting and a form of dicrimination.
Lots of the money for the Kananaskis tax is being wasted on unnecessary new expensive signs, advertising on big bill boards, hiring more people to check for passes, wasting money on broad band internet service, wasting money on new snow cats and so much more. This is not what economic conservationism looks like. This is what elite government waste looks like.
Extraction of resource revenues in the Kananaskis region should have been utilized to direct funds to keep the Kananaskis universally free for all to enjoy, not just the more wealthy. Revenues from Nakiska Ski Area, the golf course and other businesses should also have been directed to keep the Kananaskis universally free for all rather than have those revenues go into the Provincial government’s general revenues.
The UCP Kananaskis entrance fee tax was poorly thought out and shoved down our throats in a highly undemocratic way. This is not what democracy looks like. It is what authoritarianism looks like- China dictatorship style.
To those involved in the decisions on where to use last winter’s parking funds – well done!!! We will all benefit from these improvements.
Question: will the UPC government seek input from Nordiq and other x-c ski clubs for their input as to where the 2021-22 K-country improvement funds will be spent. I certainly hope so…
Again, thank you for your input, expertise and accountability.