Turnover needed at City Hall
Dear Editor:
It is through the medium of public debate that progress in political matters can be made and to Mayor Doug Findlater’s credit he has heard the criticism and offered a rebuttal to lay out additional information to complete the story of this city’s approach to its Ànancial decisions. (Letter writer doesn’t tell the full story when he complains about council, Aug. 1 Westside Weekly.)
I agree that he strives to serve the best interests of the city. I also concur with Daily Courier Managing Editor James Miller, who stated (July 30) that Findlater has done a tremendous job as mayor representing the city well and expending a lot of personal time and effort to strengthen the community. I, too, wish him well in retirement. The mayor and staff have prepared and responded to issues raised in the papers’ letters concerning major financial decisions, and in doing so conÀrm that the city is behind in major issues like the Lakeview Water Treatment Plant construction, replacement of leaking water mains, the shortage of RCMP and auxiliary officers, homelessness and affordable housing concerns.
Meanwhile, this council went ahead with plans for an oversized City Hall and parkade within a dubious public-private partnership agreement. The mayor points to future employment of RCMP, future homelessness studies, Ànally getting on the strategic planning process, ongoing discussions with the province on who should police where, but is not getting urgently needed policing in place for our city.
Leaky water mains should be a priority, but by totally rebuilding Westlake Road with ornamental lighting, sidewalks, new gas and sewer lines and storm sewer system at the same time, far more was spent than necessary for a leaking main.
Taking reserves originally planned for a water treatment plant to build a better road is not appropriate, as it delayed by several years the city’s urgent need for clean, reliable, drinking water.
In respect to Boucherie Road, this is a project that is taking $6-8 million of the city’s infrastructure money and spending it in 1.5 kilometres of new expanded road with new sidewalks, new sewer pipes, new gas lines, new storm sewers,
ornamental lighting, bicycle paths, benches and Áower pots.
The city could do much more in more communities around the city, but for its “dig once policy."
The Westbank First Nation built a smaller section (0.9 kilometres) of their roads on Old Okanagan Highway and Shannon Lake Road for $1 million by only digging out what had to be replaced, then adding storm sewer, sidewalks and ornamental lights.
In the process, they only rebuilt one half of the road.
Were the city to do the same, the entire Wine Trail to the entrance to Mission Hill Winery could probably have had storm sewers, sidewalks, lighting.
Other projects could be built to complete the concept of revitalization in Old Westbank, build the new city yards, create a second exit from Glenrosa over Smith Creek or a host of other urgent and important projects previously identiÀed by the city.
As to the revitalization of the Old Westbank business district, the mayor is correct there is a lot of new activity; all being driven by the private sector along Elliot Road.
That is such a better solution for this underutilized region than investing $12 million in an overdesigned civic building complex.
Because of this apparent focus on just doing big projects, rather than striving for economical and needed infrastructure, perhaps the mayor and some councillors need to step aside and let new bright and energetic community members change the city’s path to more practical spending of taxpayers’ money. Doug Waines, West Kelowna