A Q&A with prospective councillor Kelly Dye

“I have been a proud resident of Sun Peaks and Whitecroft since 2002,”  Dye wrote to SPIN via email. “My wife, Yolanda, and I have raised our two daughters, Olivia and Ava, in this incredible community. Over the past 20 plus years, I have been deeply involved in our community. From running our local men’s golf night, volunteering at the school, to my current role as president of the Sun Peaks Alpine Club.  I have been fortunate enough to spend the last four years serving on our municipal council, and I would be deeply grateful for the opportunity to continue serving during the next term.”

“As a member of the working group focused on the future of our health centre, I firmly believe the path we are on is the correct one to ensure reliable, long-term medical services for Sun Peaks.

I completely understand and validate the frustrations felt across the community. The process has moved much slower than any of us wished or expected. However, we now have a board of dedicated individuals who care deeply about the state of healthcare in Sun Peaks and the surrounding areas. 

As a council, we can actively support the centre in several practical ways:

Facility support: Continuing to provide a rent-free facility to keep operational overhead low.

Administrative aid: Offering structural and administrative backing as the health association grows and finds its footing. 

Provincial advocacy: Consistently fighting for financial support from our community as well as higher levels of government. The truth is that Sun Peaks residents pay a significant amount of taxes that get funneled to provincial and federal governments. The funding re-invested back into our mountain community does not always match our contribution. We must continue to fiercely advocate to get the provincial support and resources we rightfully deserve.”

To review SPIN’s coverage of the health centre, visit our dedicated landing page. 

“The federal ban on foreign home buyers has undoubtedly hampered growth within our resort. Moving forward, our strategy must be twofold. 

First, we need to ensure that Sun Peaks is open, structured and entirely ready for business the moment that ban is lifted. If the ban is prolonged, we must continue to fight relentlessly to have Sun Peaks exempted from it.

Former Mayor Al Raine, Mayor O’Toole, Sun Peaks Resort [LLP], the Canadian Ski Council and the BC Real Estate Association have already spent thousands of hours fighting this legislation, and we cannot afford to let up on that collective pressure.”

To review SPIN’s coverage of the ban, visit our dedicated landing page.

“Municipal staff did an excellent job of providing council with a comprehensive, detailed list of our community’s infrastructure needs. Because our community and resort are only a portion of the way through its long-term planned growth, looking at that entire list at once can naturally feel daunting and long.

Tourism is one of the single largest contributors to the provincial GDP. Because Sun Peaks generates so much economic value for B.C., we need to leverage that data to secure infrastructure funding from higher levels of government. We also need to thoroughly review our tax classes and rates, exploring innovative ways to ensure that visitors are fairly helping to fund the local services and infrastructure they use.

Coming out of the Covid-19 pandemic, the cost of infrastructure and construction projects skyrocketed across the country. This left our community, and almost every other municipality in the province, facing incredibly difficult choices on how to fund vital projects. Sun Peaks enjoyed relatively low tax increases for a large portion of its 16 years, with hikes often only matching inflation. While this kept living costs low at the time, it left our capital reserves lacking for future growth.

There is no overnight solution to fix this balance. We must take a measured approach: slowly improving our financial reserves while simultaneously finding ways to support steady, sustainable development that expands our tax base.”

“My wife and I own and operate two local businesses right here in Sun Peaks: Cahillty Creek and Capone’s. Through these businesses, we pride ourselves on being active supporters of the vast majority of local groups, charities and events that make this community thrive.

Community service is a core value I have witnessed my entire life, passed down from my father. My family and I are incredibly happy to give back to the place we are lucky enough to call home.

Serving on a council in a small town will always bring potential conflicts of interest. True integrity means handling these situations transparently. In the last term, I recused myself from council discussions on four specific occasions where a conflict arose, and I will continue to address any future instances in the same manner.”

“I was here in the early days when a dedicated group of local parents, a group I am proud my wife and I were a part of, worked together to get our local school up and running for just 16 kids. Seeing how much it has grown is incredible.

To take the next major steps for our youth, such as constructing a permanent, brick-and-mortar school and establishing a community library, it will require a unified effort from the entire community. 

Over the years, I have personally tried to lead by example: volunteering as a lunchtime monitor, skiing with school classes, driving for field trips and volunteering with the alpine club. I look forward to remaining an active, hands-on part of this community and supporting our families in every way I can.”