Thursday, February 03, 2011
Prison referendum may be back on agenda
The Village of Lumby may hang up on a phone poll to determine public support for a prison. Council met with senior representatives from the Ministry of the Solicitor General Wednesday, and there is the possibility that the deadline to show interest in a correctional facility could be extended so the village can hold a referendum. “We’re getting enough push-back from the community and we’re reconsidering the phone poll issue and looking at a referendum,” said Mayor Kevin Acton. Acton has previously stated that there isn’t sufficient time to do a referendum because the provincial government wants to know by early April if the community wants to be considered for a facility, and that a telephone survey of residents was the most efficient way to determine public sentiment. However, Acton now says that the ministry may be willing to let Lumby conduct a referendum in the spring. “There’s a likelihood of that because we’d be going through a process to get public input. The minister wants to feel secure that people want it,” said Acton of a prison. A group of residents opposed to a jail has demanded a referendum and it’s expected that council may make a decision at its regular meeting Monday. Acton says ministry staff provided council with considerable information Wednesday and they provided assurances that the facility would create employment for local residents and not just existing correctional staff moved into the area. “Before they would consider putting it here, they want to make sure there’s enough people to fill the jobs,” said Acton. “We were told the government has no ties to the union in terms of hiring for correctional facilities. There’s no bumping process. There will be opportunities for locals.” Acton continues to insist a correctional facility should be considered as a way of bolstering Lumby’s economy. “I’ve talked to six mayors where there are facilities and they all said positive things,” he said. “If one mayor raised concerns, I wouldn’t be able to sleep at night.” Acton says he has asked the Ministry of Solicitor General representatives to take part in a public meeting so residents can ask questions directly of them.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
1 comment:
Got a call tonight from a women just recently arrived here from another province. Seems she is quite adament about not having a prison in Lumby. She kept saying Stigma.A little late for that. Lumby's nickname is scumby already. Lumby was ablue collar town lined with logging trucks in the good old days and every other weekend the window at the hotel bar would be all over the main street. Lumby is alot quieter now with all the mills shutting down. There are no jobs. There were 454 recent inquiries for a serving position at the deli. She said we have growth in Lumby but thats only because of one new subdivision and sales have slown to a trikkle and now there offering to put suites in them that you can"t rent out anyways to try and sell them. The downtown is a ghost town. Everything is for sale or rent and nothings been sold or rented for months and in some cases for over a year or two. Stigma. Thats stigma at its worst. Just put the darn thing where it conforms to prison policy and I think it's you have to live at least 10km away if you work there so put it 10 clicks out of town, towards Cherryville and then all the gaurds will buy homes in Lumby because its the most inexpensive place to buy one. Maybe they'll all buy a apple fritter on the way to work to.The reality is Lumby is stigmatized already. Ask the mortgage brokers. Lenders don't like to lend in Lumby.Get the tax based dollars from the prison and build the darn road to SilverStar with it.One helps the other. Do both of them. While there at it lets put the road to SilverStar on the referendum too or is that to much stigma for one day.
Post a Comment