Ban on jumping off the Kagawong dock will backfire like the pesticide issue
To the Expositor:
Two agenda items in the last Billings council meeting seem to highlight some of the problems this community faces. They highlight the biases and influences that history, tradition and religion have in decision making in this Township.
First, a delegation representing the congregation of St. Paul’s on the Hill United Church approached council to inform the community that the congregation is dissolving, and asking whether the Township would be prepared to buy the property. An interesting request, since it is my observation that council is heavily influenced in its decision making by the congregation of St. John’s Anglican church—what one might call “the competition.” In fact, there was a lively debate about the different models—the Anglican one being “top-down” and St. Paul’s being, in the words of John Christian, who along with Jacquie Gordon, represented the congregation—being bottom up! Either way, though Mayor Hunt claimed that the church is, in his opinion, ‘the centre of the community,’ even on a very good day St. John’s is very happy to have more than 60 people attending its Sunday service. I’ve always been of the opinion that politics and religion should be kept apart, so, not to make too blunt a point of it, but the power base of the current Billings administration, appropriate or not, seems to be melting away!
On the decision—to buy or not to buy—St. Paul’s church stands in the middle of town-owned land so it could well fit (with de-consecration and some expenditure on insulating the building and possibly structurally adding another floor), into a planned and well thought out civic complex, along with a new fire station, possible library etc. What the Township can’t afford is to keep collecting property, either through tax arrears acquisition, or in unique circumstances like the present one, without having a plan approved by the community as a whole.
The other item that caught my eye was a motion by council to ban the “jumping off the marina dock,” which has been a tradition, to quote the mayor, for as long as he can recall. Indeed, he expressed opposition to the motion, even though on a vote the motion passed. The fact that all council offers as an alternative is a small swim platform anchored out in shallow water is, I predict, going to backfire badly on this motion. Of course, there are liability issues, but those have existed “for as long as the mayor can remember” too! What is more to the point is jumping off the Kagawong Marina dock has become quite the tourist attraction (as well as a right of passage for Billings youth and not so young residents). I predict this decision is going to bounce back and forth through as many meetings as it took to come to a resolution on the pesticide spraying issue!
Paul Darlaston
Kagawong
