Letter: Underhanded negative voting re Lions Club construction on John Phillips Park is unethical
–Letter from William Slim
Unscrupulous, unprincipled, unethical, underhanded, sneaky, dishonest, and plain shameful.
I’m talking about Sooke’s Mayor and Council!
Because of the tactic, they are pulling they should all resign their positions immediately.
Why?
They are currently about to grant a 50-year lease to the Lions Club to build a two-story building and parking lot on nearly 2 acres inside John Phillips Memorial Park, you may recall it as the old golf course.
Whether this land should be subtracted from the park, or not, is a crucial issue, but the method the Mayor and council have chosen to ensure that it will be is disgraceful.
It’s the old negative option scam.
The Lyons will receive the land UNLESS ten percent of Sooke residents VOTE NO.
That’s approximately 1,123 votes that must be registered AGAINST their decision.
And just to be sure no one could possibly raise enough votes in opposition they require all votes to be submitted in writing, on their form, only available from the district office, during weekly working hours.
At least 1,123 forms must be submitted by 15 Sep 2021, now less than 3 weeks away, to stop this loss of park acreage.
How democratic is that?
William Slim
Related
Additional information
If you approve of the District of Sooke leasing a portion of John Phillips Memorial Park to the Sooke Lions, no action is needed.
If you are opposed to the District leasing a portion of John Phillips Memorial Park to the Sooke Lions, you may submit an Elector Response Form to the District of Sooke Municipal Hall (2205 Otter Point Road) during the AAP period of 8:30 a.m. August 12 to September 15, 2021 at 4:00 p.m. Again, no early or late submissions can be received. The originally signed response form must be returned to the Municipal Hall – email and faxed Electoral Response forms will not be accepted.
- Read the DOS announcement here.
- Read about the Alternative Approval Process (AAP) and Elector Response form here.
- Go directly to the form here.
- You can also get an Electoral Response form at the District of Sooke Municipal Hall, located at 2205 Otter Point Road, Monday to Friday 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. excluding statutory holidays.
An oddity I did see during the period of online survey involving the dog park was an unusual amount of dog poop bags decorating the trees, bushes, and edges of the trails. When the survey ended, so did poop bag art display in John Phillips Park.
I think this was a deliberate tactic by Mayor and Council to have voices not heard. During a still active pandemic requiring people who may or may not have access to a printer, or have mobility issues, or do not feel safe to enter a municipal building? Everything can be done online, you can do your federal taxes for goodness sakes! This Council should be ashamed of this. If this was online they would have more than the needed signatures!