RE: HAVE A LONG THINK
Dear Editor:
I again must agree with Dean Roosevelt regarding the building of a new museum building, especially at this time. But he states the price of $25 million that is only the borrowing the cost is $40+ as the province and federal government (sorry we the taxpayers) are paying the remainder.
If you want us to vote on this borrowing then do the proper thing and have the groups present a business prospectus to the city and voters. This should contain all cost and how much money that have raised, the new yearly income, operating costs old and new, staff (paid or volunteers) old and new, monthly bills and finally the big one how much are you going to ask the city to cover each and every year and a rough idea on how much this will affect our taxes. I for one want all this information so I can make an informed decision.
“I urge those of you who feel that the emotional and physical health of the young people in Vernon will only be bolstered by deferring approving this loan request to a future date.” I do believe that with what is happening now in the world that we should stop spending as our children are going to have to pay for our mistakes.
“Vernon doesn’t need to waste $25,000,000 on a building which will reduce the limited amount of parking which now exists downtown, on a facility catering to a small group of people who could be supporting it themselves with patronage and donations.”
We the public have allowed the city to remove parking on 30 street for the downtown business. They have also made angle parking on many streets. Then they shut down the new lot of the corner of 30th Street and 30th Avenue to dig it up and then pave just for a parking lot. The city seems to think the old Coldstream Hotel area when it was purchased I thought as from the paper articles it was for a new police station or city hall.
To start we have major debts still owing and from what I can determine the Duteau will require more upgrades as it has since before it opened cost unknown.
The City Hall and Police Station were built in 1960 for a city half the size, the people who work at city hall deserve a bigger building to work. We also need to have a proper city council room and area. This makes the job of running the city faster and easier. The police deserve to have a building dedicated to them and the safety of the citizens of Vernon. The detachment has increased by 50 per cent (from what I can find out) and not increased in size. The majority of the public complain about how poorly the RCMP work, well let’s give them a chance.
Please do not just give the city or district all this money without some serious thinking and if you feel strongly email the council, district or even send a letter to the editor of this paper. “The wishes of a much smaller group of people with the financial means to support these initiatives themselves” should not dictate that our children should be burdened with something they did not ask for.
Please vote on this referendum but you do please ask the city and regional district for a proper costing to build and run this operation. Do not forget if you want to retire here or hope to have your children remain here then you and your children will be paying for this for a long time through higher taxes.
Garry Haas