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LETTER: Council should update taxpayers on budget use

Vernon Morning Star reader says we need the whole financial picture ahead of improvements, development
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Dear Editor:

I have been reading articles from the city parks planner regarding upgrades that are required at Deer Park.

For those that do not know where Deer Park is, it’s located at the end of Tronson road around 30 minutes from downtown.

Mainly for the Estates people.

I drove down on Sunday, Aug. 16, and saw no one using the area. I walked around the park and noticed it looks unkempt and the underbrush is out of control.

The city planner said the park needs upgrades but doesn’t give a dollar cost amount.

From how he has described it, that cost could be substantial.

The city wants to spend $2 million-plus on a new park when it can’t even keep the ones we have in good shape.

Polson Park has been flooded most of the summer, algae growing on the grass, stinky water standing and most of the park shut down. It is so bad even the homeless don’t want to stay there.

I would think a city park planner would want to get this park up and running now, seeing as how it is the jewel of Vernon’s parks. This has been a problem for many years now. Do we have to dam the creek at Kalamaka Lake? Do we have to scope all the area where the creek goes under ground?

We have to something as I, like many others, love to visit and walk in the park.

While you are at it, maybe fix the track up properly so we can walk on it even when it rains.

I think it’s high time this city council start thinking of the taxpayers and not those with the ear of the mayor and councillors.

It would be nice if for things like this we are given all the financial information and asked what we want to do. But council asks us to fill out a short survey that basically gives us a chance to voice our opinion.

In this time of financial restraint most cities are in, the mayor and council have not given us a report on how we are doing with the budget except to say money will taken from reserves. Maybe this is not the time to do this.

Garry Haas,Vernon