Re: “At best, this vote is a public opinion survey,” LTE June 8
Dear editor,
The vote was done, and the results were overwhelming. The voter turnout was higher than it was for the last municipal election. The location of choice for the new Crossfield Town office is the current Rocky View grader shed location, across from the fire hall on Railway Street. Although this may not be the ideal choice, it was the most popular of the choices given.
Mr. Hurt is suggesting that a plebiscite or referendum be carried out, presumably to determine another potential location. People, it’s just a building. How many of our tax dollars will have to be spent trying to decide where to put it? What will be next, a referendum on what kind of flowers to be put in the hanging baskets on Railway Street?
The current Town office building was built long ago, is prone to flooding damage and is very poorly insulated. A new, energy efficient building of four or five times the size of the current one would likely cost less to operate than the present building. Anyone who knows anything about the current Town office building will understand that it is in urgent need of replacement. Just ask the people who work in it.
The mayor and Town council, both present and past, have been trying to get a new building started for years, but are continually running into opposition from some people. Many think that it needs to stay in the current location for some bizarre reason. The costs to rebuild in that location would likely become outrageous.
“Progress Through Friendship” – without change there can be no progress. Some people need to learn to accept change. No town or city is the same as it was in the 1950s or 1960s. Last year, when the construction industry was slow, a building could have been put up at bargain prices. Now that things have picked up a little in that industry, prices are going up. The longer we drag this issue out, the more expensive a new building will become.
Let them do the job that they were elected to do. They are trying to get this done the most cost effective way by using land that the Town already owns, or can swap at no cost to the town, rather than spending more to purchase new land. There are so many other things in this town that need our tax dollars.
Robert Smith, Crossfield Resident
