For those who read Mr. Greg Hesford’s article about Polson Park Dec. 31, I could not agree more with your concerns.
Having also come to Vernon for the first time in the early '70s, I too remember many of the ways Polson Park was utilized.
My daughter attended the old Fulton school at Polson Park, and my both kids had their school district all-school field and track days there.
I cannot answer Mr. Hesford's concerns, but I can add a few avenues of thought for the general public.
What will Polson Park be used for after it has fallen into such disrepair that it must be closed for safety concerns?
It just happens to be prime real estate if it gets closed. Then again so are the tourist information areas that have been closed at both entrances to Vernon. There's a nice big house on the south end.
Kin Race Track seems to be a nice piece of vacant real estate. So too will the Civic Arena property now that we are spending millions for a new rink for so few user groups. What happened to user-pay? Now it’s, "you pay and I use it."
We are a city of older residents. Sorry Gen-X’ers, but facts are fact. Why aren’t we building facilities for a wider range of users?
An extra swimming pool would be year-round and maybe our kids could learn to swim during the winter months as a school function that is not tied to electronics.
If you actually spend five minutes to think about our city, we are not really developing holistically. We are driven by the loudest and mainly self-interest user groups.
I still can’t grasp the Gen-X idea that I can borrow millions of dollars for every project we want and put it on the backs of all taxpayers for a few user groups. Oops, sorry Mr. Trudeau, was that your idea. Oh yes, he's a Gen-X.
Paul Elmont
Vernon