Dear editor:
I could easily argue against a new pool and curling rink, as I’m not likely to use either, now or in the future, and it is a major investment of our tax dollars.
However, I think we need new recreational facilities for both new, young families that are moving here and for some older people who need winter recreation to keep active and healthy. The town has outgrown the existing pool and, even when it was built over 20 years ago, it was reduced in size and scope due to shortsighted budget cutting. In that time frame the town has grown from less than 6,000 people to 21,000 at an average rate of around seven per cent if I’m doing the math correctly. At a six per cent annual growth rate the town would double in 12 years and quadruple in 24 years. Can you imagine 84,000 people in Cochrane?
Sometimes we need decisions that take into account the future and are forward and long range in their consequences. I think this is one of those times, that if we are going to build it, then let’s do it right and not nickel and dime it into something that is going to be inadequate in a short period of time. Hopefully this facility will serve the needs of current and new town residents for more than 30 years into the future.
On the question of a referendum, I believe we elected this council to make those kinds of decisions and I think we need to let them use their good judgment in weighing the costs and benefits for this and other decisions they need to make. They have a lot more information at their fingertips and understanding of the financial consequences than the average citizen who is getting snippets of information from biased sources. It must be a thankless job at times to be an elected official. It doesn’t matter what decision is made, there is always some faction willing to criticize and complain. As someone at coffee this morning said, “You couldn’t pay me enough to be on council.”
This decision is one of those that will have strong opinions on both sides of the issue, but I say let’s allow them to do the job we elected them to do and stop second-guessing.
Ed Arneson
