EDITOR,
Well, Editor, let me be the first to tell your readers: I told you so. Many years ago I wrote letters about how the city council combined with the so-called environmentalists are going to turn Squamish into a Whistler-like resort town of no industry and a transient population. Guess what I was right.
Squamish is dying a slow death, being choked by mountain ropes and bike chains. Anytime any big industry in the last few years has tried to set up and create jobs, the environmentalists came out of the woods and convinced the city council to shut it down. What are we left with now? Bankrupt hotel. Bankrupt golf course. Countless small businesses shutting down, minimum-wage service jobs. Failing infrastructure. Rising taxes. Every ruralist's dream place to live. We have 70-plus per cent of the community commuting to jobs in Whistler and the city - great promotion for a "green" community, I think. "Come live in Squamish and drive 1 hour to your job."
Hell, we have the Squamish Sustainability Committee, that can't even sustain itself! They are borrowing money from the district to keep going. Am I the only one that sees something wrong with this? Why do we have council and mayors running Squamish and telling us what businesses are allowed to operate, when thy have their own business interests to protect? Doesn't that sound like a conflict of interest?
Squamish needs money to help fix a failing infrastructure. Here's a novel idea: How about actually enforcing these two-hour parking signs we see lining the streets or installing parking meters? How many parking spots are there in the London Drugs parking area? Don't you think we should actually generate some income from them? Heaven forbid it should deter people from driving and start riding bikes.
How about stop giving money to special interest groups for trails, climbing centres - and building a half-decent water park for kids to play at during the summer? How about installing water meters into houses and buildings and forcing them to actually conserve water and take the pressure off the infrastructure and make some money? How about electing a council that doesn't have business interests of their own and allow some industries a chance to create jobs?
Things need to change NOW or I'll be telling you "I told you so" again down the road. Truth hurts doesn't it?
Jason Bechard
Squamish
