The Editor:
The survey for the proposed move of Burnaby City Hall was another example of shaping the survey to get a predestined response. The three city-chosen sites were presented for ranking. There should have been a fourth option for ranking, which was "use existing site." Instead, the "none of the above" was used, and even then, the instructions were unclear, and I would have preferred not to rank any of the three and only choose "none of the above." Whoever designed this survey should give their head a shake.
I see from the article in the Burnaby NOW that the staff report will be presented to council on Sept. 11. They also reported that the estimated cost of the project could be $852 million, without any inflationary additions or missteps by architects or developers like that which occurred on the Burnaby rink project.
I am appalled that the city planner and staff would think that using 50 per cent of the city surplus on this bloated vanity project is good use of our dollars. The money could be better spent building a more modest new hall on the existing site and using the funds saved for expansion of Metrotown’s library and community centre, both of which underserve the surrounding and quickly expanding community.
Concerns about building on the existing Burnaby City Hall site included finding a temporary home for city hall, yet there doesn’t seem to be the same level of concern with depriving the community of their library and green space while the new hall is built on the site.
As pointed out, most residents do not visit city hall more than once or twice a year. Moving the building is not going to increase that. Also, what happened to the idea for a event and convention centre on the Bob Prittie site? If this jewel of a green space has to be torn apart, much better to create an event centre which could showcase arts and events in addition to the library. Something that all citizens of Burnaby could enjoy and would be more of a “jewel” to our community as well as create revenue to benefit the community as a whole.
I'm not sure if the city is being run by planners and developers or by our duly elected mayor and council. However, if they continue down the road of spending large amounts on the wrong priorities, I think they may learn a hard lesson in the next election.
Katy Alkins-Jang
