Editor:
I am deeply disturbed as I read the letter titled "No public input, no public process" in the Aldergrove Star on September 13, 2012. As the Chair of the Aldergrove Pool Committee, I am shocked at what I am reading. To find out that the Langley Township has made a "surprise and secret decision to spend a whopping $7.25 million dollars on an expansion of the Langley Events Centre" is beyond belief and shows the disrespect the Township has for Aldergrove.
This committee and town have been repeatedly told that "the Aldergrove Pool Project was a top priority for the Township" and this pool has been promised to this community for years. So why does this new development feel like a slap in the face?
My questions to the Langley Township are:
1. Is the Aldergrove Pool project still a top priority with Langley Township?
2. Is the promised Aldergrove Pool still even in the budget?
3. Was this $7.25 million dollars part of the money allocated for the much needed pool project?
4. Why was this $7.25 million dollars not allocated to fund a more adequate and needed indoor pool facility then in the proposed plans from the Township?
5. Although I believe that an addition to the LEC is a good idea, who decided that this was an 'emergency' project that had to go through so quickly?
6. Why is the Township of Langley telling us that there is no way to have the promised and much needed Aldergrove Pool and Rec Centre completed by October 2014 (a full two years from now), when the LEC is put through and scheduled to be finished in a short seven months?
7. Why is there a project that is going ahead that is "equivalent to a 10 per cent increase in local taxes" without any input from the taxpayers?
8. Why was this LEC project not brought to the public's awareness?
9. Why, while the Aldergrove Pool Committee was very public about surveying over 1,200 Aldergrove residents about what they wanted to see for amenities in the new Aldergrove Pool and Rec Centre, we were not aware of any public input regarding the LEC expansion?
Do we trust this council to do what was promised for Aldergrove and put in an indoor pool that services the needs of this community that has been "on the books for over 10 years now", or are they failing to follow through, full of hollow promises yet once again?
Joanne Nicolato, Aldergrove
Aldergrove shafted because of secretive council decision
Editor:
Re: "No public input, no public process," (The Star letters, Sept. 13).
This is completely unacceptable. Shame on you, Langley Township council. My husband and I have been watching closely what happens with the Aldergrove Pool. We even went to a one of the last council meetings to show our support.
Not once did we hear anything about this Events Centre expansion. We took our kids to tennis lessons in the summer and saw the construction in the parking lot. We Googled and searched to see if we could find out what was going on because we hadn't seen or heard anything about what was happening. I am completely shocked and appalled that this can happen.
They have already started construction, while the pool in Aldergrove has been stalled for 10 years. The community is suffering because of it, We have been desperate in Aldergrove for our pool and this is what council is focusing on. Shame on them. They should all be thrown out of office.
We need this stopped and the focus put back on the priority of a community in desperate need for a pool and recreation center for the youth's sake. You wonder why crime is high in Aldergrove, I'll tell you why — it's because the youth have nowhere to go and no transit to get them there. It's not rocket science.
This is so unbelievable and it makes me so angry, How dare the council approve this? Had it been brought to the public's attention and voted on, I strongly believe the Aldergrove Pool could have starting construction yesterday before this joke of an expansion. This has been put through so fast that it will no doubt have major oversight issues.
Patricia O'Grady, Aldergrove