For a project that should potentially make a community proud, this new school, pool and library project at the multiplex sure misses the mark on pride. Instead, it is polarizing the community.
We have a school that even Aspen View's own superintendent Mark Francis says is very serviceable. If it is, why build a new one? Should not costs and realities trump wants?
Every week it seems items keep popping up that are changing the scope of the original project, starting with attachment of the school, pool and multiplex. Now the library board does not want to join the project as the original concept has been changed and minimized to the point where they cannot continue with their responsibilities to their priorities.
We are plowing ahead with the pool, though no one knows where those costs will end up, or who will be paying for them.
We have the old brick school that needs some dire attention, but no one wants to do anything with it because it will cost money to fix it, historic or not. Fix it or tear it down, but playing ostrich with it will not solve the problem. If the community wishes to save it, would this not be a good place for a library, at least for starters?
Why the big push to build all this in one location, where nobody lives? Or is there more development going to happen up there that no one knows about yet? Can anyone from the town answer this?
Our economy is taking a nosedive right now, and to go ahead and spend all this money and saddle the people with more debt and increased taxes, while the government is running billions of dollars in deficits — probably for years to come — is just plain irresponsible.
The new school is supposed to be for our kids, but to saddle them with all that debt — debt that they will have to pay off for years to come — who is the new school actually for?
Howard Wilkie
Athabasca
