EDITORIAL – A reminder about a very important deadline on Friday

An editorial by Mel Rothenburger.

FRIDAY AFTERNOON is an important time for Kamloops. At 4 p.m., the deadline passes for returning “No” forms to City Hall.

If 8,713 or more are received on each of two borrowing bylaws, a new performing arts centre and a new sportsplex will be in jeopardy. Not outright defeat, but in danger.

It’s called the alternative approval process. If you don’t return a form to the City, you’re counted as a “Yes.”

Ten per cent of the calculated electorate must say No for the projects to be delayed. If that should happen, the City has the option of cancelling the projects, or putting them to a full referendum.

So the choice is simple: you can “vote” No to one or both of the projects by returning the appropriate form or forms, or you can vote “Yes” by ignoring the whole process.

Here are the reasons I can think of that people would sign and return the forms:

They disagree with the project(s) and want to see them defeated.

They aren’t aware there are proposals for projects.

They may or may not support the project(s) but disapprove of the AAP process and want the issue to go to a referendum in which eligible voters go to the polls and vote for or against.

Here are some reasons people won’t sign and return the forms:

They support the project(s) and want to see the necessary borrowing approved.

They don’t know there are proposed projects up for consideration.

They don’t know there is an alternative approval process.

Of those options, the one that should be the most worrisome is that many people aren’t even aware of either the proposed projects or the AAP method of making a decision.

City Hall has done a terrible  job of informing the public about it. Council didn’t even allow questions from the public about it at council meetings. Much of the discussion has taken place on social media among people trying to figure out what’s going on.

Sadly, the result is that, regardless of the outcome of the AAP, we’ll never know whether or not most residents support the projects, or don’t.

Mel Rothenburger is a former regular contributor to CFJC-TV and CBC radio, publishes the ArmchairMayor.ca opinion website, and is a recipient of the Jack Webster Foundation Lifetime Achievement Award, and a Webster Foundation Commentator of the Year finalist. He has served as mayor of Kamloops, school board chair and TNRD director, and is a retired daily newspaper editor.  He can be reached at mrothenburger@armchairmayor.ca.