I’m not against change and I am a senior.
What I am against is greed, waste and stupidity with a side ordered of entitlement. Sell off parks? What, so you can sell a building permit? Did you know that designated park areas are not parks? If the tooth fairy gave the land to the city it could become a park. Then, of course, the city could sell it.
We lost the opportunity to add parkland surrounding the existing BMX track. The city had no funds to pay fair market price. We all expect to get fair market price when selling property. After 25-plus years, where is the quantifiable plan and monies to buy the designated lakeshore properties? Leave our parks as parks.
We have reverse votes on costly improvements and biased survey questions to achieve the results city council wants. What the taxpayer is offered is expensive, more expensive and ridiculously expensive.
So we look at the SS Sicamous proposal. The current around the spillway can be very strong. Does this city have a police/fire rescue boat? Does this city have pollution booms? Does this city have security for the SS Sicamous? You’ll need it with the moorage there. Does this city really plan to give away a tiny, wonderful wilderness area within it’s boundaries? Most cities would advertise it as a treasure and use it as a drawing card.
I have the perfect Facebook picture to represent city hall’s nurturing of parks — the dog park. City hall buys a barrel of Round-up to replace a parks worker. Hire local, permanent staff, clean up the wonderful walkways that run through this city. Advertise them! Clean up the garbage, power wash the sidewalks, repair the hillside stairs (for example the ones on Vancouver Hill) and fix what’s broken. Make what we have the best it can be for the people of this town. Chances are it won’t cost millions.
Oh yes, on the entitlement issue. Did you know that the mayor and council of Quesnel declined their wage increase because of the towns economic climate? Kind of makes you go hmm doesn’t it?
Lynn Crassweller
Penticton