To the Editor:
Seems the affairs of the RDOS and business interests that approach them are so much more intertwined than that of the lowly voter/ resident/ taxpayer/ citizen who has absolutely no impact in any process that “business” initiates.
Take for example the recent RDOS meeting of September 20 wherein a very concerned local activist was granted only five minutes to advise the RDOS board of the imperilment of an entire aquifer in the Twin Lakes watershed by a golf course business development advertising “resort” status. The board quaintly thanked the presenter and referred to her repeatedly as “Ms. Brown, Ms. Brown, Ms. Brown”.
Those of us who have this magnificent woman as a neighbour and a champion know her as Coral. We are familiar with her. Not everybody agrees with her stance in the neighbourhood, but that’s not what this letter is about. What it’s about, is the familiarity that the chair of the RDOS board, a businessman, introduced the proposing developer, a professional businessman, to his board colleagues. “You all know Suki”, he said as he smiled serenely, and clearly indicated to me at least, his affinity for the man with the plan. Collectively, the board watched as the slick and complicated powerpoint presentation was delivered by the other “hired and paid for service providing certified professional businessman”. Some of what the presentation showed was in fact, historical documentation which ironically was introduced by the proponents of protecting the aquifer. But here, it was more used like a target to shoot holes in, to shred into smithereens, to discredit and in fact to stand and point fingers at longtime benevolent minded residents and suggesting that they were water hogs. Shame on them for that! How dare they!
Secondly, and speaking of shredded to smithereens, has anyone in the actual “We Can Do Something About That!” part of our governmental or social network of ecological activists, given any degree of attention to the fracking destruction and devastation of natural ancient, fragile, volcanic rock in the Twin Lakes/ Kaleden Acres area of Highway 3A south? Honest to goodness, it is some of the most abhorrent mis-manipulation of local ecology that I could ever imagine.
There seems to have been no real forethought given to the resulting current status of the development/ subdivision due to significant dynamiting, displacement and redistribution of masses of rock and trees and aggregates. The mountain is cracking open in ways that you likely wouldn’t want your dream home near. But someone’s dream home and life is there, and this development seems to have compromised it significantly. This caring and concerned neighbour/ resident has repeatedly made effort to draw attention to the extreme degradation of natural critical wildlife habitat with ancient traditional corridors, and has had complete and utter nothing (save lip service) from repeated elected officials, environmental groups and organizations etc., only to have to try to educate the next person who replaces the departing official position holder for any number of reasons over the number of years. Very recently, this neighbour has experienced serious compromises of systems on her property and looks upward in wonder at the likely cause.
It’s a shell game of officials, laws, by-laws, amendments, exceptions, permissions, allowances, variances, applications, endless agendas with resolution sure to not be reached until the meeting that not enough people show up to defend their rights to defend their community from exploitative businessmen like we see running much of the world we live in today.
Steve Brown, Twin Lakes