This letter was addressed to GAS CEO Mike Esler and copied to The Chief for publication.
Mike Esler and team,
My wife and I own a business and are also real estate investors. However, we hope we have a clear sense of what is ethical and what's not, and we have a real problem with GAS.
We, and anyone I know in the area, moved to Squamish in search of the absolutely extraordinary, natural, recreational setting this area offers, and to get away from the Vancouvers and Kelownas we'd come to loathe. The awareness in this town about what we have is amazing, and the hope to safeguard it for our children and theirs is resolute.
How dare anyone come waltzing in, hoping to take advantage of the unpreparedness of this community and its struggle to cope with the loss of employment and tax revenues from the recent years, an overwhelmed planning department, an OCP that needs public input, and the aftermath of a wave of unscrupulous development?
Who are you hoping to fool by peddling this as a "local job-creator" when you know most ski resorts around the world are facing a very uncertain future, and scrambling to stay afloat, including Whistler, our would-be main competitor?
This is only about development and its quick profit for a consortium of shareholders not even from here. And the ones left holding the fiscal bag will be the people of this town again. Residential development usually ends up being a net tax burden.
This is fiscal suicide. Bubblenomics at it's best.
Your bribe in the form of temporary construction jobs will never pay for what this will take away from everyone here forever. And when the building stops, so do the good jobs, and start the ski-bum pittance ones.
In the meantime what you are pushing to destroy is unique and priceless. It will never be replaced for us or our children.
This, in our opinion and that of many different people, is an unacceptable economical, environmental (and hydrological and geological) risk.
How can you play down these socio-economic and environmental concerns in front of the media when you were stumped on virtually every second question by 150 people at the last public EAO hearing?
We have enough urgent needs for proper development downtown without the need to sacrifice a priceless gem 15 km away from Squamish, its lakes and all its endless recreational possibilities.
This town is overrun with enough mindless development fiascos as it is put in by unscrupulous developers hellbent on a quick and easy loot at the expense of the community and of everything that is unique and invaluable in this area and what families like mine and many others have moved to Squamish for.
Does your greed know no reason? Do you have no morals or conscience?
Mr. Esler, read my lips: We don't want or need your shareholder's massive real estate open pit money mine on our priceless Brohm Ridge.
Serge Merckx
Valleycliffe
