As a taxpayer in this fine city I have two questions I would like answered.
The first has to do with the downtown revitalization program. My question is why the sewer lines that run up the alleyways on the east and west lanes of Main Street are not being replaced? As a former sewer maintenance worker for the city, I have run those lines many times, and there are some issues that I would attribute to misaligned pipes after decades of being rolled over by large vehicles. Replacing these lines after the revitalization is over will be extra difficult, because Main Street will now be down to two lanes, and supply vehicles will be forced to park on Main Street to unload their wares, causing traffic backups. These lines should have been replaced before any other work started.
My second issue as a taxpayer is not knowing the details of the settlement between the city and the Lakeside hotel: reference the $625,000 hydro bill (Western News, April 6, City and Lakeside settle out of court). I want to know who insisted on the confidentiality clause, and I would be willing to bet an obscene amount of money that it was not the hotel.
If you believe the hotel insisted on the confidentiality clause, then I have a nice bridge in Manhattan that is for sale.
Mark Billesberger
Penticton