To the Editor,
Re: Minister orders council quorum in Lantzville, May 28.
Seemingly lost on all news outlets reporting the kerfuffle in Lantzville is that the four councillors who have resigned constituted a majority vote on council and could have enacted most any motion they so desired. They were voted in as a coalition with the support of Friends of Urban Agriculture Lantzville and from my vantage point, they were collectively a ‘one-trick pony.’
They have now all resigned providing incredibly vague reasons and innuendo to support their departure. Unfortunately, this coalition doesn’t have a handle on what is the important issue facing Lantzville – water.
One of Mayor Colin Haime’s main campaign promises was to the fix the water agreement with Nanaimo. All Lantzville wanted was the ability to purchase bulk water from Nanaimo and purvey that water, along with its own source(s), to existing customers and new developments designated in our OCP. What we currently have is an incredibly flawed memorandum of understanding that dictates to Lantzville where water is purveyed, what individuals or companies get water and when. I have seen water used as a weapon in the West for years, but this sets a new low for one municipality trying to coerce its neighbour. Without going into the specifics, this memo as written will cost Lantzville needless millions of dollars and not deliver the water to existing homeowners who need it and are willing to pay for it.
Hopefully, with a new CAO who understands and can implement some leadership, and some new councillors who will be able to ‘cinch up their nappers,’ Lantzville can get to work on the important issues.
Lance GeselbrachtLantzville