Dear Editor:
I find it interesting that David Gregory wants to restore the importance of public committees if elected.
When John Boot presented Kettle Valley Dried Fruit’s application for non farm use of ALR land at the Feb. 16, 2006 Agricultural Advisory Committee, it was debated and supported by all but one.
This was expected.
What was not expected was that this person would lobby the mayor to the extent he believed the AAC minutes were inaccurate.
He proposed the three options the AAC had already rejected.
This was to be the start of an agricultural park that would hopefully attract other clean, value added business similar to Summerland Sweets.
Kettle Valley Dried Fruit was to be the first. Yogopogo Yogurt was to be the second but left town when the application was not granted.
If the mayor only wanted the bureaucrats’ opinion why did he not insist they only reply to the him?
The outcome was the mayor gave this bureaucrat the opportunity to send his comments to the ALC and as a result the entire agricultural park was lost. I have no doubt that he would have sent a response to the ALC on his own but the mayor’s name would not have appeared in the address. The obvious inference that can be drawn from this is the mayor had second thoughts.
The Agricultural Advisory Committee accepted its role as an advisory group and most didn’t get “bent out of shape” if the mayor and council didn’t accept the committee’s resolution supported by our minutes. But, we do expect the mayor to respect them.
Lloyd Christopherson
Past chair
Agricultural Advisory Committee
Summerland