A string of bad decisions

Dear Editor: What if? After reading the recent article in regards to our mayor’s financial problems it planted a seed of doubt and wonder in my mind (Herald May 23).

First and foremost the idea that he allowed to be made into law that all of council be granted full dental and extended medical benefits, how much of the amounts of these I am not sure of whether it has been fully disclosed or not.

Was the pending problem affecting his decision making when he tried to have a hotel built on the Bambino baseball diamond next to the convention centre without due diligence and research into covenants, which thankfully stopped him?

Would this problem have anything to do with the change out of the LED lighting in a city recreational facility without going to all of the local electrical contractors for a chance to bid on this project?

What about the casino’s move to an already crammed parking area and the previous landlord not even having an opportunity to present the casino with a renewal offer? Was there also a scheme to destroy Memorial Arena as an option to remove frustration and alleviate that parking problem?

And then there is the craziest idea yet, a 29-year lease to Trio for the Skaha Lake Marina when all they would allow the previous tenants was a one-year renewal annually. The idea that a waterslide operating, optimistically 70 days per year was going to be a financial windfall for the City.

Furthermore Trio was allowed to operate a food and beverage facility without the proper permitting in place for two years.

I hope I am wrong in my assumption but something really stinks about these deals, the rush to push them through, the thought process, or lack of thought.

Was it simply bad decisions or perhaps something devious or, worse yet, bad advice from those providing him with it? Will we ever know? George Bergquist

Penticton