I would like to take exception to the recent behaviour of Mayor Kevin Acton and comments from Cliff Wedgewood.
Acton continues to promote the Lumby jail proposal without endorsement from taxpayers. He has moved far from the position of fact-gathering and is instead endorsing the jail as a good thing, claiming to have support from residents — which he does not.
Wedgwood has been a supporter of the jail proposal since the beginning and has publicly stated that it will solve the village’s economic problems. I don’t believe he is correct. There is no proof that the jail will generate the revenue required to address Lumby’s fiscal problems particularly if there are negative management issues within the local government. If Lumby continues to spend more than it takes in, it will always have fiscal problems. Acton speaks little about the amount the village has spent thus far on trying to attract the jail. He mentions little about how much the village has spent trying to obtain a community forest or a road to Silver Star — neither of which are within the village boundaries.
Acton and his council seem to follow fetishes that may have good intentions but without transparency or any fiscal responsibility.
The lack of tax revenue isn’t the problem. The problem is how that revenue is managed. It appears that your taxes will go up regardless of a jail or not.
I’m opposed to a jail being located here. I do not know if I’m in the minority or the majority, but I’m opposed for good, tangible reasons. I’m opposed to local government promoting the construction of a provincial facility on a piece of privately owned property with no explanation of the financial arrangement that may emerge.
I’m opposed to the idea of not putting the opportunity out to public tender so other property owners might be able to participate. I’m opposed to the idea of not having an industrial land clean-up plan that includes all Lumby industrial land, not just the portion where the jail is going — if in fact there is a clean-up plan at all.
This proposal is in an information vacuum because the mayor is not addressing the details of his proposal and then sharing detailed research with the public — yet he and council have already decided that the jail is a good thing and are moving it to a survey or a referendum.
I’m opposed to the mayor and our MLA deciding on moving this issue to a survey or referendum without any public consultation regarding the costs of the process and where that money is coming from.
I’m opposed to the idea of not sharing with taxpayers the hidden costs and issues associated with the jail. We will require additional RCMP, fire department and paramedic staff since these positions are required in the event that problems occur at the jail or if inmates are at-large outside of the jail or need to be transported to the hospital, etc. Like in other jail towns in B.C., these costs become local municipal costs with no long-term guarantee of provincial financial support.
Acton ignores important questions regarding the zoning of halfway houses.
As a small village, zoning an area for future halfway houses will certainly impact property values in those areas, similarly any such area would be close to schools and playgrounds. Not zoning a specific area means that surprise applications will emerge that could lead to endless threats and divisions between local government and property owners.
Acton should provide details as to the real reasons the village is in serious financial trouble and if this is true, he should have started the public conversation on that point instead of hiding behind his hopes and dreams of a jail.
Don Elzer
