To the Editor,
Re: City’s grounds for appeal on dam called ‘frivolous,’ June 23.
I am certain that most people do not understand the latest developments in this drawn-out saga. Most recently, the provincial authority has placed an order directing the city to choose an option for remediation of the lower dam this year. Considering the Dam Safety Section accepted studies that were obviously and seriously flawed and are now insisting work be done without proper investigation, we are skeptical.
The majority of council supported a stay and appeal of this order. They put forward a proposal that should satisfy the province and comply with the necessary standards. The proposal is to have work completed at the middle dam this year, with further investigation of the lower dam to assess what is needed.
As rash decisions made under duress with inadequate or incorrect information has cost our city dearly, I question why there remains such an urgent push to spend millions before determining a proper understanding of the problem.
Jeff SolomonNanaimo
To the Editor,
Mayor Bill McKay’s continual negative comments regarding how councillors vote regarding the Colliery dams is clearly a public campaign to try to shame them into voting against what they believe in.
The majority on council have stated they will not vote for either of the two options on the table for Colliery dams as there is incomplete data available due to limitations on budget and time constraints.
What McKay and the Dam Safety Section are doing is trying to force taxpayers to spend millions on something that might not need fixing and threatening a $1-million fine to councillors who say they will not vote for one of these invasive, expensive options.
I am glad to see councillors are standing by their campaign promises. I wish our mayor would do the same.
Louise GilfoyNanaimo
To the Editor,
Several new city councillors have so quickly forgotten how they stood in their places on the campaign trail, vowing not to mess up the park and not to waste millions of taxes.
The provincial government is a bully. Having gotten its ‘facts’ so wrong in regards to the stability of the dams in case of earthquake, it now claims the likelihood of a great deluge. This is a very expensive and totally foolish face-saving gesture.
May I suggest that council girds its collective loins and shows some grit. With a provincial election in a couple of years, the government is unlikely to stamp on the good citizens of Nanaimo.
Dave CuttsNanaimo
To the Editor,
Of late, I’ve run into a few city officials who believe that political support for preserving Colliery Dam Park and its dams is running dry and that political momentum is swinging toward resolving the issues quickly. I have two objections to this.
First, political support for preserving the park and dams has never wavered. While this support is based on a few core beliefs, it is also supported by sound reasoning, hard facts and observation.
Second, the issues surrounding the dams were manufactured by a few city staff manipulating a previous council. While one can argue that the city staff was well intentioned, this road was paved with misinformation, distraction, scare tactics and stonewalling.
If we have politicians who are irresponsible and careless over city assets, then we have a problem. But the bigger problem is that we have a few on staff who are underserving the citizens and abusing the political system. Proceeding with any alternative to mitigating the dams solves neither of those problems and leaves the city exposed to far greater risk than is represented by those dams.
Dan AppellNanaimo