Must stage an inquiry

Dear Editor: People of Penticton, this city council must be stopped. This whole thing is embarrassing! Please do the following. On the Internet, read “the Corporation of the City of Penticton...Official Community Bylaw Plan No. 2002-20,by Mayor Mike Pearce /Council Part 1 Role.,Part, Scope of O.C.P.PAGES 0NE(1) TO SEVEN (7).”

The public “must be taken in to account property owners views are required for any changes to the parks of the community plan policy.”

Therefore, I, Don Stayko strongly suggest:

1. Immediately an injunction be served to the City of Penticton, mayor and council on all matters pertaining to Skaha Lake Park and Trio’s business transactions, thereby freezing all contractual and legal matters until legally advised otherwise. Everything remains in obeyance!

2. A public inquiry begin appointing a third party through the judicial/provincial system as to any possible misconduct or misrepresentation by either or all parties in the matter of Skaha Lake Park. (This whole thing smells funny and with no public approval.)

3. The purpose of the above is to take the usage of Skaha Lake Park to its rightful purpose as the Skaha Lake Park as per part 1 of the Official Community Plan bylaw passed by mayor Mike Pearce and the council of the day.

4. The Penticton property taxpayer today should not be held responsible for misrepresentation that did not following municipal ethics.

My final question is in two parts.

If this was such an important matter for two years (if not longer) why wasn’t the Skaha Lake Park approval added to the election ballot in 2014 as a referendum question?

Why was the addition of medical benefits approved by city council never made public or added to the referendum for approval. Don Stayko Penticton

Leasing the Skaha Lake Park land as part of a private/public partnership with a 29-year lease with option to renew for two five-year terms is a form of disposal as referenced in the Interpretation Act and Charter.

Then there is the decision to forgive the approximately $36,000 owing to the City by Trio for the lease and taxes; which once again is in violation of the Charter which sets out the restriction on providing assistance.

Section 25 of the Charter states that unless expressly authorized under the Charter, a council must not provide a grant, benefit, advantage or other form of assistance to a business, including any form of assistance referred to in section 24 (1), or an exemption from a tax or fee.

Then there is non-compliance with City Bylaws Bylaw 2002-20 Office Community Plan, Zoning Bylaw No. 2011-23, Chapter 8 – Specific Use Regulations P2 – Parks and Recreation, and Bylaw 2002-42 Parks Dedication Bylaw does not allow for restaurants or retail.

My question to mayor and council would be: “How did Trio get a business license to operate without the proper amendments to the bylaws which again requires electorate approval?”

I find irony in the Kelowna Chamber of Commerce president Tom Dyas’s — who is a principal owner of Trio Marine — NIMBY (not in my back yard) statement to Global Okanagan and Chamber press release in opposition to a land use (supervised consumption site on Leon Avenue) issue in Kelowna, but Dyas feels it is OK to come into Penticton’s backyard destroying prized parkland with commercial development. William Duff

Penticton