City council suffers a lack of vision. And, apparently, hearing.
At Monday’s council meeting, no less than 14 tax-paying, citizen speakers pleaded with the council to rethink placing a BMX track and skills facility at Munson Mountain Park. BMX is a special interest group with approximately 75 members in Penticton, and for whatever reason, this council refuses to leave Munson Mountain in its pristine park-like state for everyone to enjoy for generations to come.
Leave the area to agri-tourism, vineyards, orchards, wildlife, flora and fauna. Spray drift was mentioned as a concern from surrounding farms, children are most susceptible to this as some chemical sprays linger for days. We heard that a BMX track at Munson will become a parking nightmare as there is a lack of space for everything council and BMX want to cram into this area, for local and national events, severely impacting the environment, neighbouring families and businesses.
None of these concerns genuinely resonated with mayor and council as they sat straight-faced. Two councillors were absent from last night’s meeting, Picton and Watt. It was mentioned that perhaps one of the schools, McNicoll, might be a better choice for a BMX indoor/outdoor facility and already kid-friendly, but it appeared the fix was in, as they say, and that council had already decided behind closed doors that the BMX track was going to be at Munson Mountain. All of us speaking against it fell upon deaf ears.
Helena Konanz stated that a BMX track will be incentive for families to move to Penticton. I can guarantee from what I’m seeing and hearing, it’s the economy, it’s well-paying jobs that will bring families here, it’s keeping schools open not shuttering them. And look around town, mayor and council, seniors and retirees make up a large portion of the population here, it has for decades, since I was a kid here. It won’t change because this is a retirement mecca, why don’t you cater to this demographic?
This demographic is your taxpayer base. I urge those 55 and over to defer paying your municipal taxes if you are able, as this current council has no idea how to be fiscally responsible with our tax dollars.
This is a severe lack of vision for Penticton demonstrated by council. This has the potential to be the best small city on earth, a refuge from larger centres, but no one at city hall seems to know how to stitch together a comprehensive vision for our beloved town, and what they are allowing to happen at Munson Mountain Park, among others, is an example of their pandering to special interest groups and overall short-sightedness.
The next mayor and council are being born in the letters to the editor pages.
J. Nichols
Penticton