Editor,
I feel I must register a mild protest about the unfortunate headline, ("'No poop zone' sought for Channel") in Meagan Robertson's story on page 14 of last week's Chief [July 30].
Let me assure you that no one is pooping into Cattermole Slough. I have a laundry/washroom/shower on my property, and the nominal fee that the boat owners pay helps defray my cost to supply this service, and the electricity they use on the dock.
I have known for years that the occupancy of the slough by our little ad-hoc facility has been discussed in the back rooms on occasion, and when I was approached by Josh and Jessi Meilinger about the possibility of bringing their dream project to Josh's hometown, I knew that it would turn the spotlight on the channel, but I reasoned that the Meilingers had as much right to be here as anyone, and I have always been a sucker for anyone with a dream, so I decided not to stand in the way.
Perhaps that was a mistake, but I reasoned that such a unique structure would definitely add life to the waterfront, and that requirement was within the mandate given to SodCorp by the shareholders of the property, the people of Squamish.
I was absolutely floored by the dog-in-the manger attitude adopted by the Sods, and appalled that they should see fit to spend our taxpayers' money so unproductively on lawyers, surveyors and bailiffs.
In a meeting with SodCorp staff at the beginning of last month, we requested an opportunity to present our case to the board, being as how there were four new members since the decision to kick us out was made, and the author of the recommendation, the outgoing CEO, was no longer in the picture.
We were told that the board would not be meeting again until after the summer, and that staff felt they had a mandate to proceed with the eviction at the end of July. However, if Josh and Jessi could come up with about $2,000 a month, perhaps they could be accommodated. [Editor's note: An SODC representative stated the organization would consider negotiating a lease with the Meilingers for moorage at standard market lease rates.]
We were also told that the majority of the comments posted on the SodCorp website supported their position, but, of course, there is no way to check the validity of that as SodCorp keeps all the comments to themselves.
As to the liability issue, there is a lot more danger presented by the old pilings southwest of Nexen Beach and the recently collapsed seawall just south of our facility.
The truth is, this is the only place available for the Meilingers to accomplish their dream, and if that dream is crushed by the Sods, we are sending a message to the world that says:
Dreamers are not welcome in Squamish
Peter Legere
Squamish
