Dear Editor:
I wish to thank Joyce Taylor for the Letter to the Editor, Bike Lift Study an Unnecessary Expense, published on Dec. 20. This type of insight into the activities of the City of North Vancouver council is very much needed.
The urban bike lift has already received some limited attention, but it appears that the broader public is unaware of its status. The North Vancouver city council voted on Oct. 5 to enter into negotiations with a Norwegian project team to perform a feasibility study on installing urban bike lifts.
This matter was bundled with many minor bylaws and as such wasn’t noted by many who pay some attention to the activities of our elected representatives. Couns. Craig Keating, Linda Buchanan, Holly Back and Mayor Darrell Mussatto voted for, while Couns. Pam Bookham, Rod Clark and Don Bell reasoned against and opposed. I believe it is important to mention the names of councillors who support reckless spending of our taxpayers money on Mayor Mussatto’s pet project which was discovered during his travels to Europe.
Have those councillors who voted for spending $60,000 (or more) on a feasibility study applied any common sense before taking that vote? Can they say that these lifts classify as an essential investment compared to other needs faced by the city? It is just impossible to see that such lifts would offer any tangible benefits to the broader population. So, if it does not pass a simple common sense test, why to spend any funds on feasibility studies? It begs the question – what are the priorities of this council?
It appears that some councillors have not displayed the basic quality of a responsible stewardship. It is important to know who those councillors are for future reference when watching their performance and also during the next election cycle. I believe that an informed electorate can make the difference between a reckless local government and a supportive one, which understands priorities and truly cares about taxpayers’ money.
Danek Kilinski
North Vancouver
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