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Letters to the Editor: May 9, 2012

Library at old school site I think the new library should be built at the old Max Cameron Secondary School site [“Architects unveil library design,” March 28].

Library at old school site

I think the new library should be built at the old Max Cameron Secondary School site [“Architects unveil library design,” March 28].

The ground is ready, there is ample parking, there are two beautiful trees that could be on either side of the stairs going up to the new library, the new gymnasium is right beside it (the parents can go and read while waiting for their children), there are three senior housing complexes in the area, there is a bus stop right in front, there are three schools in the area, there are at least seven apartment buildings in the general area, again there is ample parking (very important) and last but not least it wouldn’t cost a lot for a nice low long structure. I would rather have more room in the aisles to find books than a glass roof.

The negatives of building down at the old arena site have been mentioned numerous times, but I would like to add a couple more. The building is too fancy with the glass roof. I can see the seagulls defecating all over the glass. Who is going to pay to have someone down there every day to clean the roof? If you don’t think this is going to happen, you’re crazy. Also, I worked down on Marine Avenue for over 15 years and there is never, ever, enough parking.

The cost would be a lot less to taxpayers to build on the Max Cameron site. And yes, I do have a library card and I would like a new library. But...

Katie Cameron

Highway 101


Acknowledgement to customers

I’d like to acknowledge BC Hydro customers for their patience as we transition to a more modern electricity system [“Bill shocks patient,” April 4]. We’re replacing our old analog meters with new digital smart meters which will have many benefits for customers such as faster power restoration when there’s an outage and new tools to help you manage your energy use to save energy and money.

So far more than 1.1 million meters have been exchanged with very few problems. We know deployment of new equipment on this scale will not be perfect, but we’re doing our best to ensure our customers are not inconvenienced by any issues that may occur.

Over the past weeks some customers have asked whether a higher bill might have been caused by a new smart meter. We take every customer concern very seriously and investigate each one thoroughly. In the overwhelming number of inquiries we’ve determined that bills are consistent with past use; or there has been a manual meter misread which we immediately correct. If that doesn’t explain it, we look at every other possible source, including the meter.

As is the case with any mass-produced electronic device, there will be a small number of meters that have components that don’t work properly. Out of more than 1.1 million meters installed to date there have been very few meters that have had problems. The vast majority of these errors were caught by system checks and did not affect customer bills. In future, when our smart grid is operational, we will be able to detect many problems on our grid automatically and fix them much faster.

We appreciate our customers’ continued patience as we work to complete the installation of the new meters this year. To learn more about the new meters, interested readers can visit the website. Customers can find out more about their bills, sign up for an online account at our website or call our customer service team at 1.800.224.9376.

Donna McGeachie

BC Hydro Community Relations Manager

Lower Mainland and South Coast