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Letter: Trio have become scapegoats

Anger over Skaha Lake Park controversy being aimed in the wrong direction

First I would like to make clear that I have no love lost for Trio Marine or the people who comprise Trio Marine as I neither know or have any affiliation with any of them.

We, my wife and I, along with a great many citizens of Penticton attended the council meeting on the evening of Nov. 23 at the convention centre. During this evening we heard ever so many speakers expressing their views with regards to the privatization of a large portion of the Skaha Lake Park. Aside from one man, the common thread was to “get rid of Trio Marine” at literally any cost as we, the people of Penticton, have lost trust in you.

Now to the provocation and the motivation of my writing this letter.

From the get-go why would any of us, the citizens of Penticton, have any reason to either trust or distrust the principals of Trio Marine? It is my feeling that the people of Trio Marine have become proxies or scapegoats for the mayor and council of Penticton. This is where, I believe, the real distrust resides.

Penticton, as represented by the mayor and council, appear to have had some grandiose idea to transform Skaha Lake Park into a large amusement park. To this end they put out a request for someone to make this happen. Unfortunately for Trio Marine, theirs (quite likely the only one) was the  proposal that “Penticton” liked best.

Oh, so many of us wondered why, with protesters rallying outside the city hall, the mayor and council would rush into quickly signing up a deal with Trio Marine.

In retrospect, I suspect, that with their eyes glossed over, they were seeing precisely the proposal they had hoped for. Now, without any further deliberation and knowing what is best and wanted by all the people of Penticton, they could not ink the deal fast enough. Who cares about a few dissidents who want to retain a beautiful park, only to have it remain as an unused/useless piece on natural property, what do they know?

Now, after their creating much divisiveness in the city and throwing bags and bags of tax dollars at the issue, we came to the meeting of Nov. 23. A mere two days prior to this meeting, where all is to be revealed, the mayor and council hold yet another meeting with the Trio Marine Group,  to revise the most recent revision of a repeatedly revised agreement. With the little blurb, at the start of this Nov. 23 meeting, regards to the content of the most recent revision leaving me (and I am quite sure other attendees) unclear as to the actual changes that were made to the agreement with Trio, the meeting proceeds.

After over a year and a half of this fiasco, and not having heard one word from Trio Marine until this date, how can anyone say that they have had or have lost trust in this group?

I firmly believe it is another group at the head table of this meeting in who’s competence, confidence, faith and trust has been lost.

Tom Crawford, Penticton