Editor: Re: Floralume added to Front Street staircase, Record, Aug. 16
I see the $70,000 was well-spent dressing up the abhorrent Front Street emergency escape stairwell. I guess a leftover set piece from the movie War of the Worlds was available?
That’s on top of the $200,000-plus it cost to build that behemoth. No worries though – the mayor and council are watching the purse strings fastidiously.
What’s that? You say your property taxes went up this year? That’s because they are spending our money on all the things you would expect them to be spending on, such as roads.
By their own admission (in 2017), they confirmed the road infrastructure was being neglected and still very little is being done. The emergency escape stairwell on Front Street sat unserviceable for almost a year. A true emergency escape would never be non-serviceable.
The city spent (money) tearing down half the parkade because I guess one half was an eyesore but not the other half? I suppose spending a couple hundred thousand on that emergency escape that sat unused for so long will look so much better.
This whole debacle demonstrates the detrimental effects of this mayor and council. They solicit for an increased and secured line of credit so that they may have the funds to spend at whim on items of little to no practical need. The effect on us is higher property taxes to pay for this nonsense.
This mayor and council continue to show little regard for the taxpayer.
Devon Webb, New Westminster
*Editor’s note: According to the City of New Westminter, because it demolished the western portion of the Front Street parkade, it was required to replace the existing fire exit ramp and stairs for the adjacent building in order to comply with the building code.
