What, Abbotsford City Hall felt it had not wasted enough tax dollars on their slick, misleading advertising campaign to sell the imaginary benefits of Plan A? One would have thought $140,000 was enough to waste. I know City Hall claimed to have squandered only $40,000 tax dollars on Plan A advertising, they in fact spent 350% of that amount or $140,000.

Perhaps to City Hall $100,000 tax dollars is considered pocket change but in the real world, where it comes out of people’s pockets, it is a noteworthy amount. Just as in the real world calling it “communications” does not change the reality that it is advertising.

Reality – what a concept. If only we could introduce Abbotsford City Hall to the concept we could save untold $$$ and get some services for our tax dollars.

From City Hall’s advertisement, and an ad is an ad even if City Hall labels it a letter, at City Hall the positive economic impact is already evident. In the real world there will be no economic benefits from a Hotel on Pauline Street because the developer has to go with vastly less economically beneficial residential housing to avoid the huge increases in development charges needed to pay for Plan A. Perhaps someone should explain to City Hall just what an economic benefit is and that making claims of economic benefits does not make them exist – at least not in the real world beyond the walls of City Hall.

“Best possible hockey team”. I certainly hope that that best is far better than the demonstrated “best City Hall can do”. Only in the wacky world of Abbotsford City Hall would pursuit of a “best possible hockey team” be considered something positive to strive for. In other cities they go after the NHL or Major junior teams – in Abbotsford we are expected to happily settle for the “best possible”. Maybe City Hall feels that after all the years citizens have had to tolerate “best possible” business practices and behaviours from City Hall citizens should know better than to expect good or excellent from anything involving City Hall.

And while this comment may seem a little cruel, if the Cultural Centre is the best the arts and heritage community can produce, what these communities need for vibrant, living, engaging substance and value has nothing to do with, nor will it be solved by, bricks and mortar.

Finally, I cannot help but note that nowhere in the letter does mayor, council or City Hall speak to the most important point they have refused to address since the debate on Plan A began – the need for their chosen sports facilities. I see no suffering caused by the lack of a city-owned basketball court or another city-owned arena. I do see the massive disruptions caused citizens and patrons at ARC by the lack of a pool to cover the ineptitude of City Hall’s actions on Centennial Pool. I see the Whalers having to consider the possibility of renting a pool in another community for competitions –communities having many more (indoor and outdoor) pools, not population, than Abbotsford.

But why build what Abbotsford needs rather than what City Hall wants to build? That would be sensible, and Common Sense is demonstrably in as short supply at City Hall as Reality.

Beck sought support for his statement by asking Dan Botrill, Abbotsford’s director of corporate services; “The majority of the $40,000 we allocated to advertising for Plan A was, in fact, for statutory advertising wasn’t it?”

Botrill contradicted Beck saying only $15,000 of the $40,000 allocated by the city for advertising was spent on statutory advertising.

Gray then stated, “I’m talking about the $60,000 from private donations.”

Botrill responded, “I know we received some donations. I’m not sure we can make that public. I’ll investigate and get back to you”.

Let us overlook the fact that this exchange between citizen and City Hall shows that City Hall continues to attempt to provide misleading information and to not answering citizens questions (the $60,000 donations) by giving an answer they want ($40,000 of city money), however misleading and untrue that answer may be.

I direct your attention to is City Hall’s continued refusal to provide citizens information on who, what, when, where and why of the $60,000 donated to the Plan A campaign.