Voice director, Gavin Palmer, has submitted the following letter to local media.
Our City has been offered a large financial gift of $35 million for a Multi-Use Facility from Starlight Casino. This DAC funding was negotiated by the City in 2007 and the funds must be used to pay for the complex that has to be completed by 2013. It was a big surprise for our civic officials who held an open house consultation on June 10th to find out, according to Bill Harper, chair of Arts and Culture Commission, that there is "some genuine confusion in the community about the components of the Arts Centre in the future Civic Centre."
I have two questions for our civic officials and City council.
1) If you knew that this project must be completed by 2013 or we lose the funding and you knew the terms of the deal in 2007, why did you wait until June of 2010 to invite the people of New Westminster to an open house to find out what they would like to see in this facility?
2) Why does this City's leaders and officials seem to only get on with improvements in the City when deadlines approach with the threat of losing grants or funding? A few examples are: the parks and trails in Queensborough that must be completed by year end; the final agreement of NWSS building plan which is holding up provincial funding for the needed construction of an elementary, middle and high school (the latter should have been built 10 years ago); the waterfront pier park (now granted a small extension); and the civic centre.
A concerned taxpayer, Gavin Palmer
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1 comment:
Bang-on Gavin.
Don't forget that the City also, under threat of appropriation, forced the owner of property at Eighth and Columbia to sell to the City. At the time it was said to be the future home of the civic centre. Everybody knew that it was too small of a property for that.
It was the city doing more of the dirty work to benefit the Degelder project.
Remember Degelder, he's the guy whose companies gave the Mayor's campaign ten grand plus.
Two old sayings come to mind.
"Follow the money"
"Money talks", and wow, in New Westminster does it ever talk.
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