LETTER – AAP method is the wrong way to gauge public support for projects
I have concerns over Kamloops council’s use of the AAP method for the performance Arts centre and new arena.
I believe the AAP method is a very underhanded way to gauge public support. They make it very difficult to access information on the process. I guess that’s what all the closed door meetings are about. So much for transparency.
An easy way to establish voting would be through electronic voting. They could use the City of Kamloops web sit to tabulate yays and nays, the same as Daily News use to ask your opinions on subjects.
Today there is no accountability in our council members and I’m afraid we look like baboons to the rest of the country.
As a taxpayer for 25 years here in Kamloops, I believe we need an avenue to address our concerns publicly; going to council meetings is turning out to be a joke. When the questions get too hard council just closes shop and leaves; the only one left in the meeting is mayor who has no say.
I for one don’t know about the issues at City Hall, but I’m disgusted by what I hear or the lack of.
Long story short, let’s have an easier way to vote on major projects that are going to increase taxes, this the democratic way.
Thank you for listening to an old retired taxpayer living on a fixed income.
LEN DONALDSON
ArmchairMayor.ca 
Whoohoo, the positivity definitely outweighs the negativity. In fact, the no side still doesn’t seem to understand how things even work and it’s sure making them grouchy! Gonna be pretty hard to be involved when you’ve already decided to not be involved.
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Toxic positivity is one of the worst qualities a person can have.
You can tell if you’re an individual suffering from toxic positivity based on the PAC/doctor test as follows:
I think the PAC will attract:
1-10 doctors
11-50 doctors
51-500 doctors
If you’ve chosen any of the above, you not only suffer from toxic positivity, but also suffer from Stockholm syndrome and are at elevated risk of phishing scams due to an extreme willingness to buy what others are selling, both figuratively and literally.
Best,
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Thanks for your mature response to Amy’s little run on words.
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even your reply is positively toxic. way to stay positive Wilma :)
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Way too clever dear Wilma…way too clever.
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I am very much in favor of the PAC and other Build Kamloops projects, and feel that these relatively minor tax increases contemplated, provided we receive good value for them, are a fair, even small, price to pay. I have had recent involvement with the arts communities in Vernon and Kelowna, both of whom have vibrant and active PACs and consequently, not by accident, vibrant and enthusiastic arts communities. To say that we have become in some respects an arts backwater would be generous. Vernon, a city less than half our size but having had the foresight to build a PAC some time ago, recently also approved spending ~$121 million for a new community complex including a pool and leisure centre. We need these facilities if we want to attract new families, new investment, healthcare professionals, education professionals, businesses and more in order to keep, or perhaps restore, Kamloops as a vibrant and growing community. The alternative is a bunch of grumpy people sitting around complaining about how boring life is and that there is nothing to do in Kamloops. Which would you rather be, a member of a vibrant and growing community, or a complaining member of a stagnant town? The status quo isn’t working, by the way. The choice is yours. There are those that make dust, and those that eat dust. Let’s be the first kind.
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Notwithstanding that the TCC is a super-great facility we were told it was going to make Kamloops great beyond the Rockies. But that never quite happened. Notwithstanding x2 while a PAC would definitely be a nice thing to have we are not likely ever going to be like the Vernon to Kelowna hinterland for unpublishable, unpopular reasons especially under the current management IMO.
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The bunch of grumpy people who may end up having enough “no” votes are people who are pensioners; those on fixed incomes who have little choice in buying extras or going anywhere to do something and having to pay for it.
Sometimes, seniors have no extra left to eat much more than dust. Have a look at what is in the grocery carts of a lot of people who are on fixed incomes. Relatively minor tax increases are in the eye of the beholder.
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City council appears to prefer processes similar to banana republics, like Maduro in Venezuela. The aim of these processes are to ensure the outcomes desired by those in power, “the elites” that know better than you, rather than allowing the people to decide.
What is the cost of this PAC event going on downtown? That money should have been directed to a referendum.
Banana republic council!!!
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This is normal for councilors that lack respect for the values we Canadians hold dear.
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The APP was set-up in purpose to make it difficult for the critics to voice their dissent.
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Thanks, Len. I’m pretty sure a lot of other “old retired taxpayers living on a fixed income” feel the same way.
With the wisdom we’ve gained over the years, this plan sounds similar to some of the cheesy “negative billing” scams in the past. Were they not considered to be illegal?
A vote of silence from a taxpayer does NOT mean approval for something, in this case, borrowing an amount of money that will put our children and grandchildren in debt.
At election time, the councillors who choose to run again will in no way be voted in by the silence of those casting a vote. The same principle should apply to the AAP method.
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Kamloops is now the #1 national crime shit hole. Council should focus on fixing that before dropping all this money on an arts centre.
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a taxpayer who does not want an arts centre, and only wants public opinion if it’s a No.
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