Editor:
Our household recently received the questionnaire from the Township of Langley regarding the proposed budget increase. Some of the tax-saving options presented seemed to be paltry and a vicious attempt at cost-saving that penalise residents who are paying taxes to enjoy their recreational facilities.
Then I looked at the costs of plant maintenance in roads/boulevards, etc. and was horrified. Township’s own figures show the cost escalating completely out of control with no end in sight.
Complicated landscaping has been installed in various localities throughout the Township – a mixture of wide curvy paths, millions of shrubs, plants and trees with ribbons of grass here, there and everywhere. There are landscape contractors, separate grass cutters and, of course, the watering truck! These contractors frequently block roads which in many cases are far too narrow with no parking available and very tricky for emergency vehicles.
Facts and figures can be obtained from the Township Finance Dept. and the “Planted Area Maintenance Review – Report 10-168”.
It’s scary to realize how our tax money is being utilized, and even scarier to find out that some members of Council and the Planning Dept. believe this utopian concept will force people out of cars so they can walk to stores and lug their groceries home whilst admiring the high-cost landscaping!
Practice walking and check out the different “new” neighbourhoods and envisage the growing trees (especially under power lines and slap-bang against buildings), admire the acres of cultivation and ponder how many plants and shrubs go walking in the night! Can we afford this expanding luxury on every street?
And on a lighter note – let’s indulge in a little levity and sing the following ditty to the tune of "What shall we do with the drunken sailor?"
What shall we do with this spendthrift council What shall we do with this foolish council What shall we do with this squabbling council Get shot of the lot right now!
(Chorus) Why do they squander money And why do they waste with ease Why don’t they prune the budget And not just shrubs and trees!
What shall we do about expensive bungles What shall we do with the Langley jungles That’ve mushroomed on paths and streets like fungus Get shot of the lot right now! Chorus
What shall we do with spacey planning seers What shall we do with useless engineers Who insist we walk like early pioneers Get shot of the lot right now! Chorus
What shall we do about lack of parking stalls What shall we do about trees too close to walls And under power lines to be downed in squalls Get shot of the lot right now! Chorus
So we’ll trudge and bike in ice, snow and rain Along dangerous roads singing this refrain Council chucking our money down the drain Get shot of the lot right now!
Diana Sampson, Langley