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Letter: Be alert, Penticton taxpayers

Penticton parks remain at risk to commercialization
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Penticton Western News letters to the editor.

As quoted by Steve Kidd (Penticton Western News, March 29, Parks an ongoing concern), our mayor has finally admitted that he wants to commercialize our parks in order to help balance the budget.

This astonishing confession is akin to saying we should burn the furniture to heat our house.

Amazing! But his honesty is refreshing. Of course, selling off our parks is counter-productive and will further jeopardize our fragile economy by diminishing the quality of life that attracts new employers to locate and employees to live here.

It’s simple: commercial development belongs on private land, subject to the rules and forces of the marketplace. Full stop.

Be alert, Penticton taxpayers, your parks remain at risk as our Mayor and Council grasp at simplistic solutions for complex challenges. Let’s hope that the Parks and Recreation Master Plan Steering Committee can resist being led down this ill-advised path.

Gerry Karr

Penticton