Open letter to Lake Country Mayor Baker and council:
I wonder if the reason that Old George, and I, don’t feel that the Central Okanagan Regional District is a good form of government, is because the regional district has little means to be directly involved with folk in the community. [Central Okanagan Park Caretakers Seeing End to a Way of Life, Nov. 4 Kelowna Capital News.]
This maybe explains why the resident caretaker program of our regional district parks was suddenly disbanded. To accept that this is an “operational matter” reflects this “separation.”
For at least 30 years, park caretakers, have kept their eyes and ears aware of the environment around them, often with a passionate interest in the facility, and its interactions with the surrounding community. All in all, it seems to me, an unusually beneficial win-win situation.
To continue to hide this significant policy decision in camera at this point seems to me very inappropriate, particularly hearing that there are many more than 1,400 names on a petition decrying the situation.
As citizens of the area municipalities, our only avenue to effect regional district decisions, is via our local council, and its appointed representatives to the regional district. I was heartened by Mayor Baker’s announcement [Nov. 15] that the CEO of the regional district will be meeting 'in-camera' with the District of Lake Country council to review the situation.
In this light, I’m counting on the seven of you to see that the regional park caretaker program is restored, or that the matter is brought forward to the regional district for community-wide discussion.
David H Geen, Lake Country