Dear Editor:
The prison has brought up a lot of debate in the past few months and most of the complaints against it are uneducated opinions.
Some say crime rates will go up. I am downright baffled at this comment. Those who have made these comments in the previous newspapers are just downright confused citizens.
Is the correctional facility going to have a jail break every week? No.
When released, are these inmates going to go and break into a house or go vandalize randomly? No.
Crime rate will not go up. Just because you have a jail in Summerland that does not mean the criminals will be wandering the streets of Summerland, honestly what do we have in this town? Two movie stores, one badminton club, a library, museum and a aquatic and fitness centre.
Do you honestly believe when a criminal gets out that he or she would go rob the movie store, play some badminton, read a book, educate themselves on the history of Summerland and wrap up their crime spree with a free swim and lift some weights? No.
Crime rate will not go up and this has even been proven by facts.
People say land value will go down in this town due to the prison. Land value is about to drop anyways in Summerland.
Do we have any new jobs being created? No.
Is the population dropping in Summerland? Yes.
Is Trout Creek Elementary going to shut down sooner or later? Yes.
Why would anyone want to live in Summerland? There are no new jobs being created in Summerland which is resulting in families moving away, which will result in schools closing down, which will result in more families moving away, and this funnel won’t stop till land values are dirt cheap and the council of Summerland begins begging people to live here.
People say this won’t help Summerland. How won’t it help Summerland? The prison will generate $500,000 to $1.5 million for our city. This is almost half of what our city currently generates in tax revenue.
The provincial government will also help improve our infrastructure in order to handle this new building also the amount of jobs that would be created locally is astonishing with 240 jobs once this building is completed and 400 to 500 construction jobs and 600 indirect jobs being created.
The construction of this facility will generate more income than all of the local businesses in our community currently generate in a single year.
The construction of this facility will increase sales at local gas stations, restaurants, hotels, pubs, grocery stores and any other small business in our community.
This will create tons of jobs and allow citizens of Summerland to remain living in Summerland enjoy the quality of living only offered in this region.
If you still believe a correctional facility in Summerland isn’t worth it, I would like you to walk throughout the downtown core of Summerland. You have empty buildings — buildings still for sale and a struggling business community. Having a correctional facility will help our community prosper.
Vishal Lekhi
Summerland