I know the mayor’s name is Ashton, but are the residents of Penticton being “Punk’d” here? Did I really read that the latest scheme the city council is considering is a prison for Penticton? This time council has truly lost their collective minds.
What happened to Penticton as a summer destination for families, or (once they had knocked down most of the tourist attractions) a centre for retirement? Now with a growing number of failed condo developments and an increasing number of vacant holes, I guess the only thing left is to knee jerk and consider any cockamamie idea that comes along.
If you want an idea that really stinks for our city instead of a prison, how about a mink farm on the site of the failed South Beach project? What about a nuclear waste processing facility, or maybe an abattoir on the vacant Three Gables site?
This council is just getting silly and it’s time we replaced some, if not all, of them with new blood. Add to this latest farce some of the recent past decisions: the SOEC money pit, the Munson Mountain fiasco, the on-again, off-again relocation of the library and art gallery, Sendero Canyon controversy, the five villages excuse for slapping highrises in every part of the city, and the many other costly and ineffective decisions they have made, and you start to arrive at the conclusion that we are being mismanaged into extinction.
Council, stop looking for fast-buck fixes and develop a long-term strategy for marketing our city as a viable place to live, work and retire in one of the most beautiful spots in the country. A prison will only add to the list of reasons why not to visit here or consider making it your retirement home.
While it may create a few jobs, the risk to the tourist and retirement industries is totally unacceptable and council needs to try a whole lot harder to enhance and not destroy the things that make our city a desirable place to visit and to live in.
Mike Hanley
Penticton