Kaleden association hiding in anonymity

DEAR EDITOR:

The Sickle Point mailout from the anonymous “Kaleden Taxpayers Association” contains some serious inaccuracies and unfounded insinuations.

Here are a few remarks on the most egregious ones using the Save Sickle Point Committee’s current mailout — whose members’ names are public — and my knowledge of the matter.

The RDOS’s Alternate Approval Process is not secretive or outside normal practice. They are doing the same for the Naramata beachfront purchase, and the notices for both were in numerous outlets. In both cases, only the immediate service area is part of the AAP. Area A for the beach, and Area I for Sickle Point. The RDOS also held a public video conference Jan. 13 on the Point purchase

The tax increase chart in the KTA mailout is inaccurate. The price accepted for the Sickle Point property is $2.5 million, not the $3.5 the KTA cites, and fundraising will add to the amount pledged already from individuals.

Also, taxing would start in 2022, not 2021. I assume that the environmental levy the KTA mentions is the South Okanagan Conservation Fund. The Sickle Point committee applied for and may receive some funding; however, the Fund attracts numerous applicants for the quite limited funds available each year.

Genuine conservation, and at the Point, restoration, of wetlands and wildlife habitat do not co-exist well with constant human presence (a house), and the Provincial Riparian Regulations would protect only a narrow strip of land on the Point, severely limiting wildlife usefulness. Few controls exist over private land use. For a small, highly sensitive property these are quite inadequate for genuine protection; eg. private owners could have dogs and cats which could devastate wildlife on the property.

The KTA laments that no people are to be allowed into this park. Later, they lament the dogs, vagrants, and parties that will wreak havoc. Contradiction aside, neither is true; limited human use would be on trails, and as in other nature parks, no camping or parties. Given the proximity to Kaleden and the long community interest in the Point, much informal monitoring is likely.

The RDOS and residents concerned for the valley’s other species have a unique chance to do the right thing: protect and restore Sickle Point for future generations of all species.

I heartily commend the people in Kaleden and area for their initiative — and stamina.

Eva Durance

Kaleden