Dear Sir,
With Municipal elections taking place on November 19 there are many things for voters and candidates to ponder.
As in the past there is a large gulf between people and their politics in local communities. What I sense now compared to the past is a greater passion and knowledge during conversations. We all have our pet peeves and concerns that we need to talk about. To reach collective decisions we need to put our biases and special interests aside but that does not mean we have to put them or our principals away.
To get the discussion rolling here are some of my pet peeves, concerns and issues that I have heard through out our community since the last election and I will skip all the background reasons that could fill two pages.
Before automatically jumping up to support job creation or economic proposals I would like electoral candidates to explore and consider a more moderate approach to the expansion of our economy. I picture an approach that fosters co-operation, finds solutions, envisions husbanding of resources, makes a sincere and real commitment to preserving other values, has a long term vision for those who follow us and minimizes boom and bust swings in our communities.
For purposes of reducing taxes I do not support the nasty, divisive cost cutting reductions in communities and cities across our country, with Toronto being a good example, and in the United States. By and large Terrace City Council and the Regional District have done a good job of spending our tax dollars. We have been getting a reasonably good bang for every dollar spent. Our property taxes are very high but we have a very livable, clean city that is mostly free of large industrial pollutants and conflicts. To prevent polarizing positions on taxation to occur we need a thoughtful and productive dialogue that looks at options and listens to ideas to take place between our new, to be elected City Council and the residents of Terrace.
Some of the pet peeves and irritants that I am aware of are: the need for a full time by-law officer; more effort and time put towards the management and protection of the cities natural parks; ice time is poorly regulated in our twin ice rinks causing considerable unhappiness amongst many users; and our new facility additions at Lower little Park should not be used for skateboarding. There is a skateboard park and people who want to sit and enjoy the new facilities in relative peace and quiet can not do so with the noise and clatter that takes place from skate boarding.
While the next issue is outside of Terrace it does affect more than Kitimat residents. I am dumfounded over the onslaught of pipelines and LNG plants. I have not heard a single elected local politician talk or question the route for the many pipelines that are being proposed. Doesn’t it make sense to consider alternative routes that could be safer and less damaging? When I was the Area E (Thornhill) elected representative in the early 1980s a previous LNG plan was being discussed and a new pipeline to service the plant was being proposed. The Kitimat Stikine Regional District Board, at the time passed a resolution asking that the pipeline follow Highway 16 to Terrace so that the communities of Moricetown, the Hazeltons and Kitwanga could be provided with natural gas while at the same time the pipeline would not destroy the wild and pristine land through the Coast Mountains. I continue to wonder about the economic, environmental, and community values of taking a highway route compared to the billion dollar pipelines and all of their complications through the Coast Mountains? The debates over route choices should have taken place before any specific proposals were introduced. Why are local politicians so loath to ask the tough questions and pose solutions and alternatives that may be in the best long term interests of the citizens that they represent? There are times when I am convinced that some elected officials would support a landfill in the middle of their community if it meant jobs and more tax money for their city or town.
It is amazing that no one is questioning the safety of LNG plants, particularly with in the city limits of Kitimat. It is my understanding that LNG plants have exploded in other parts of the world with the loss of life and I believe it is for those reasons that California will not allow such plants to be built in their state. Almost no one is talking about the huge electrical energy demands for these plants, where is it going to come from, will it be from private run of river hydro projects that may not be as green as being proclaimed while at the same time contributing to the dismantling of BC Hydro?
Garbage disposal, recycling and composting is becoming a hot topic with the Forceman Ridge landfill site and plan taking center stage. Something has to be done about domestic waste disposal in Kitimat, Terrace and outlying areas because the existing landfills are filling up. A huge amount of money and time have been spent on the Forceman Ridge site and plan. Unfortunately it would appear that leachates from the site could eventually drain into the Clearwater aquifer and into Lakelse lake. It is time for the Kitimat Stikine Regional District to have a second look at the plan before it is too late and the wrong decision is made.
The issue of adding fluoride to the Terrace water supply needs to be reviewed because more and more questions are being asked about health impacts, the benefits to healthy teeth and the ethics of imposing an additive upon users of water systems who do not have a choice on whether they want to use it or not.
Where is the public involvement in the future of the Old Skeena Cellulose Sawmill site? I can recall the promises by a previous city council that the residents of Terrace would be asked for their opinion on what should happen to that property including possible rezoning. No such thing has happened and the property is a mess.
I am sad to see the old Co-op building being torn down, granted it was an eyesore but it had a lot of history and if a community choice could have been made for the use of the buildings it would have been cheaper to rebuild it rather than something new going up in its place. I want to thank the current City Council for saying no to the mayor over the sale of the property to a private developer. The property is very valuable with considerable history and potential and should continue to be cleaned up and given some temporary park status while a long term vision and use through community participation is arrived at.
Jim Culp