To the Editor,
For many of us living in Nanaimo, places like Colliery Dam Park, Linley Valley and the Nanaimo Boat Basin are iconic in nature and needing to be preserved for the enjoyment of future generations.
These are the places that define community and neighbourhoods, part of what makes Nanaimo special and places that create memories. In essence, they are the heart of community that if lost can never be regained.
The release of the Colliery Dam Conceptual Cost Estimate Study, in my opinion, supports saving the dams.
Yes, the cost of $8.6 million is intimidating, and should be to the taxpayer of Nanaimo.
But when one thinks that the resurgence of a potential multiplex to the agenda of the city could cost taxpayers multiple tens of millions of dollars, which, I ask, would taxpayers support?
I am not totally opposed to a future multiplex being built in Nanaimo. However, the costs of such will have to be weighed.
Also to be weighed is the benefit to the community. Anyone in Nanaimo who can afford a bus ticket can enjoy the Colliery Dams Park. The same cannot be said of a multiplex.
Gordon W. Fuller
Nanaimo