Editor:
Decades of trying to hold myself in check when faced with humanity appears to be causing Brittle Brain Syndrome in me. The latest episode was brought on by an announcement that the SCRD was going to hold an advisory meeting regarding the provision of a small seacan on site to store chemicals used in treating drinking water.
I sent a terse note to the board chair and was gratified to receive a call shortly after. A “full and frank” discussion was had which I would like to share part of with the Coast because we are the problem sometimes.
Using a seacan is a good, low-cost and secure storage solution. What I object to is senior members of staff and management spending man-days holding hearings and offering to spend over $10,000 in landscaping plus god knows how many consultants in order to pacify a handful of entitled local residents.
This scenario is repeated constantly costing us millions of dollars, whether it’s putting in sewage treatment plants where the budget is spent on an interpretive centre instead of greater capacity, or geothermal systems that fail because of under design and unqualified management, but which tick the environmentally friendly box.
I want our municipalities to provide basic services using highly qualified individuals in a timely manner. They can’t do that without money and we need to stop making them waste it.
If the neighbourhood wants a pretty storage facility then the neighbourhood should pay extra. And yes, I live in the neighbourhood and like the rest of my street paid extra to upgrade our road over a decade.
Best regards
Chester Machniewski P.Eng
Granthams Landing
