The following column was submitted to PrinceGeorgeMatters from Marilyn Hinton, a local resident and property owner since May 1966.
This is another example of our city council throwing money at a project, in this case the [Watrous] children’s playground, one year, and then changing it the very next year.
The lack of real long-range planning has cost the taxpayers many hundreds of thousands of dollars this last decade with old hotels torn down that could have been used to house the increasing numbers of street people rather than provide a ‘park’ for them to sleep.
There is an excellent site for a seniors housing development on land the city already owns.
Selling the site to a private developer could free the taxpayers of paying for the maintenance of the Elder Citizens Recreation Association on Tenth Avenue.
The building, with its beautiful new kitchen, could be combined with housing units and use the city-owned newly-paved parking lot on Ninth immediately across the lane for parking.
The apartment building next door on Tenth already houses many seniors.
Just for once, Prince George Council should consider methods of acquiring what our city needs in a thoughtful, pragmatic way rather than the path that has been followed these past 10 years.
Rezoning Watrous Street Park will certainly make the attractive well-cared for homes in the immediate area less attractive to potential buyers and rob the citizens of quiet enjoyment of their property with emergency vehicles arriving daily to service a 90 units of seniors housing.
Signed,
A truly disgusted, disappointed taxpayer.
