Problematic process
Public consultation was not completed to an acceptable standard for our wastewater treatment plant [“City broaches wastewater option,” February 7]. If the public consultation process was done properly, more than 17 people would have attended the meeting held in Cranberry on December 13, 2017, about this important infrastructure development in the historic Townsite.
It appears either the advertisement did not work, or it did work for this present City of Powell River council. You cannot truly say you consulted the public with only approximately 0.17 per cent of the public showing up.
If only this many people showed up, it means there was something wrong in how the people were notified. Council did not bother to notify the people in the catchment area.
When somebody in your neighbourhood changes their carport roof and it does not comply with the bylaw, residents in the catchment area receive a written notice sent to their addresses. It seems like there was a real effort to avoid the residents most affected by the present wastewater treatment site selection.
This is not consultation; consultation is meeting with residents and property owners most affected by a decision. This decision process is not just about the location of the sewer treatment plant. There seem to be a real lack of consideration to residents.
I have never seen such a lack of consideration in my career. I have run a number of public processes as a civil servant for the ministry of highways and ministry of forests. Consultation is targeted; you identify the groups most affected by your decision and contact them because you want their input.
By gaining input from those most affected you develop your plan so you get those people to buy into your decision. It is tough to address those most affected by your plans, but it is what you do to get to the best decision and also an attempt to get buy in.
It appears there was no real effort made to contact the residents in the catchment area and this is bigger than a carport roof alteration. It smacks of lack of due process and consideration.
Marion Blank
Laburnum Avenue
Townsite ratepayers neutral
Recent articles and letters in the Peak [“City broaches wastewater option,” February 7] may have given the impression that the Townsite Ratepayers Association is united in its opposition to the proposed location and design of the new wastewater treatment plant. This is not the case.
As with any democratic organization, some people are opposed, some in favour and some are undecided.
Currently, the association has not taken a stand on this issue, either by vote or by consensus, apart from agreeing that the consultative process could have been better. Any statements by members of the association are purely personal opinions and may not represent the feelings of the association as a whole.
It is in the interests of everyone that Powell River has the best possible wastewater treatment plant, and a well-informed and respectful debate is the best way of achieving this.
Peter Robinson
Maple Avenue
