The following letter was sent to the Sunshine Coast Regional District and copied to Coast Reporter.
The old tennis courts were demolished to make way for the building of the Gibsons and Area Community Cen-tre, and the agreement, as I understand it, was that the courts were to be replaced as close as possible to the original site.
The new location for the tennis courts is in the middle of the new Payne Road development in Gibsons.
Who pays? The SCRD was considering providing funding toward the tennis courts, but recently I'm informed that there is no funding in the 2010 budget for the courts; however, maybe in 2011. Information coming from the Town of Gibsons is that the Parkland subdivision developer is providing the tennis courts.
Tennis courts in the middle of a new subdivision would be a bonus for the developer when selling the lots, right? If the developer is paying for building the tennis courts, ongoing operation plus maintenance, that's great; however, if the taxpayer foots the bill, then this is the wrong location.
It would seem reasonable to have the tennis courts located within the recreational area nearer the Community Centre, don't you agree?
The Town of Gibsons has three acres in the area at the end of Sunnycrest Road where the new RCMP building will be built. With one acre allotted to the RCMP building, there would be more than sufficient room for tennis courts, toilets and parking. The tennis courts could be built at the same time as the RCMP building, possibly with some benefit.
This location would certainly make the tennis courts more community friendly, within the recreational area, and taxpayers on the Coast might feel more comfortable about supporting such a project.
Vel Anderson
Elphinstone
