8 PENINSULA NEWS REVIEW

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FRIDAY -
SUNE 19/98 ~

“DOOR PRIZES AND M UCH Mi ORE
- One ate only Pay § holes for #10. 00.

930 Ardmore Drive; Sidney -

856-462 iL:

oe, | SEEHEIGOLF COURSE

OPINION Wednesday, June 10, 1998

: Editorial i is

Editor a:
Right on, L. T. (Lee Torgal:

son).

- Your editorial in the June
3rd Peninsula News. Review
was just the kind of hard-hit-

ting, call it like it is journalism, -
that we need in the Greater -

Sidney area.
But. ‘don’t count. on the

mayor and council of North.

Saanich to “poop or get off the
pot” any time soon. First, they

- would have to study the sub-

ject for five or six months, send
-out a questionnaire to deter-

~ mine who hasa pot, whe has to -

poop, and where to put the

". poop in the pot.

After many more. studies,

questionnaires and debate, two |

or three years will have passed
and we will no longer. have a

pot to poop in, ora ditch to

throw it in.
Or, since nobody in North

: “Saanich uses.a pot, we will
‘have an excess of pots that we _
can try and sell to neighboring :

communities. :
We need, and the. public

wants, anew community/cul- :
tural centre.
. > On another quick note, ku
dos. to the Peninsula Recre-.
: ation Commission for renting 2
- the Sanscha Hall lands to Jen-
- “ner Chev Olds. In its current
~. state, @ dilapidated old build-.-
ing) ‘it is: ‘appropriate. usage =

and it helps ceray cosis.
TY Lik

Usually I make my cont

ments in the council chamber,
but the tone of the recent edi
torial about Sanscha Hall (Po-
litical posturing has become in- -
tolerable, June 3. Peninsula: .
Neus. Review). has ‘Prompted °

me to write this letter.
I also want to comment on

the lack of media coverage at | :

our council and to express my

views about a new Sanscha fa- |
cility. These comments reflect .
May opinions. © _-

1 attended the ‘annual gen-

eral meeting of the Memorial

~ Park Society (MPS) along with ©
four other members of council, ©
~ including the mayor. This level -
of interest could hardly be de.
scribed as “apathy” by North S
Saanich Council)’
To this point, the decision
- about Sanscha hail has been a
higher council priority in Sid- .
cney.than in North Saanich. :
- Why is this? Lone ‘
-~ Ultimately, the development aS
& of Sanscha land. will. L provide a-

‘Saanich have’ ey ‘dealt
-with the need for a new: hall;
governance, as well as the level :
of subsidy required for ongo-
“ing operations. This should not.

be a surprise, to anyone since. ;

- est in the province...

: office somewhere and: ‘berate’
Ss for: ‘ posturing,-:- playing:
. games and being indecisive be-
fore actually spending time get- ;

ting to know our council and. gsat.a face liftfor Sanscha Hall,

_ perhaps with large murals‘on ee
~ new stucco, has not been con-.:

North Saanich is very : careful
in proceeding on any decisions
that would result in increased
taxes.

‘Depending on the size and
type of facility, the annual oper-

ating deficit could approach
$300,000. This scrutiny may be

viewed as procrastination by

some, but it is part of the i rea-
gon’ our tax. rates in. North

Saanich remain one of the low-
lt would be sentir triads if:

this project were to proceed
before a conimon vision could

be agreed upon by both com-

‘munities. I would urge both »

councils not to repeat what
happened . with -..Panorama

Leisure Centre. We must avoid .

the years of squabbling that

‘will result if one municipality —

builds and-operates a facility

it

-. multi-purpose facility. A new

hall should be designed to

meet a wide range of changing
community. needs that. in-
cludes a minor component of

public and private partnerships

to offset operating costs.
Emphasis should be placed

on planning the entire lands to

- reflect the memorial aspect, as

well as the urban/rural nature
of our communities. :
Ideally, the facility would

continue to be operated and

funded by all Peninsula com-

munities through the Penin-

sula Recreation Commission.
Barring that, it would be bet-

-> ter if one municipality took on
“the job of operating the hall

with a cost-sharing agreement
and covenant in place to pro-
tect the land in future.

Let’s work together and do

Ron Townshend -
Councilor, North Saanich

Hall plans a little
Fich for many

that is going to be used by all.

Peninsula residents.

For this reason, North

“Saanich has initiated a meeting
on June 16 with Schcol District”

63 trustees and Sidney Council

‘to sort out our differences and

work towards ‘a common vi-

“sion. Turgemembers of Sidney. ;

Council to attend...

_ Turning back to the recent :
ie editorial, ‘| found the com-.”
aR ments unfair and out of balance

‘by the News Review inrecent =“

weeks at our: council meetings

~ what we z are doing? .:

Now that Shaw Cable has

fs left town, the Beachcomber has

LIVING”

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RETIREMENT -

RETIREMENT LIVIN G
Ai LE 1 We LEVEE

¢ with security -
° with friends |

© large beautiful suites

Hi) * hotel amenities

ty "transports tation and activities

655-0849

e delicious meals

ein \ comfort |

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INS

I Se iences an .

fe

“slid beneath the waves and the ».
»» Times Colonist rarely appears,
its s largely up to you folks todo —

_acredible job of keeping resi-

“dents informed.

|.) 1 believe it is time to start
“planning for the replacement
- ofthe aging, yet still functional, -
hall. I would like to see a basic,

S tually consulted iby way: ‘of an eo

. Editor: u

It would be an understate:
ment to say your recent editor- -
ial (Wed. June.3) wasn't quite
fair to North Saanich council:

re: Sanscha Hall. 2
-T believe a recent opinion =
7 poll showed only marginal ap
~ proval for anew centre despite.

-promotional : ‘advertising «by —
‘MPS. Roughly. 45 per cent of
the tie pes wanted Sanscha

ney’ reside

opinion poll. ;
Tam somewhat ciceaed ace

- sidered for a building which is.’

~ structurally sound but: unat-

tractive. ~

Can most people i in Sidney a

and North Saanich afford to .

pay for anew centreandalsoa —

new Sewage treatment plant, aa

soon? Some probably can't.
Bruce