Penticton taxpayers, “I have sent a Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy – Request for Access to Records” for all agreements (extensions), correspondence, memorandums and internal memos regarding the sale of the Eckhardt Avenue property to the Loren Reagan Group for the construction of the dormitory for the Okanagan Hockey School.
I have requested that all of the requested information be posted to the City of Penticton web page for the benefit of all Penticton taxpayers to view. Unless I have the support of say 500 taxpayers, council will simply ignore my request and state that the request does not comply with the act due the fact that I have requested the information be posted to the city web page. If taxpayers do not support this request for the information to be published, council will simply continue to hide from all factual information regarding this proposed land sale.
Taxpayers need to be informed of all aspects of this financial blunder by council. My gut tells me that the Penticton taxpayers will pay the price for this blunder once the dust has settled. Could council have been more honest with the contractors that probably acted in good faith when they commenced work on this project? If any funds were transferred from a trust fund, intended for other uses, to the City of Penticton, can Penticton taxpayers sleep at night knowing that innocent parties were harmed by this transaction?
Please forward an email to Mayor Dan Ashton (mayor@penticton.ca) stating the following:
“I agree with the request by Ted Wiltse to post all of the information regarding the sale of the Eckhardt Avenue lots to the Loren Reagan Group on the City of Penticton web page. All Penticton taxpayers are entitled to view all pertinent information on this transaction.”
Your email will automatically be forwarded to all members of council.
Penticton taxpayers, your support will be greatly appreciated. It is a sad day when a person must resort to legal means in order to obtain factual information.
Council will probably counter this request for information with the following, “Our legal representatives have advised council not to provide the requested information due to the possibility of legal action to be commenced by injured parties.”
All members of council have received a copy of this email. Possibly, a citizen with the benefits of a law degree could inform the taxpayers of our rights to information.
Ted Wiltse
Penticton