Dear Editor:
RE: West Van paid $2.7 million for former Horseshoe Bay Boathouse restaurant, March 5 news story
Before people rush to judgment about the merits of this purchase, it’s important to ask some questions. One of mine concerns the district’s right to re-sell the property, presumably unfettered, in the event it proves to be unfit for purpose as an arts facility. It is also important to realize this purchase will involve the demolition of the “Music Box” adjacent to John Lawson Park and the relocation of its activities to Gertrude Lawson House. This strikes me as a good move.
Some, including a former mayor of West Vancouver, have publicly criticized council’s lack of consultation or public engagement concerning this purchase. Well, in my 34 years of living in this community, I have been repeatedly struck by the “paralysis by analysis” that seems to afflict local government in the District of West Vancouver. Mostly, such "public engagement" is merely an attempt to manufacture consent. Indeed, our former mayor’s letter specifically mentions “decades of studies” concerning a possible arts facility. Exactly so.
How many hours have been spent to date by bureaucrats and activist residents, and how many tax dollars have been spent, to produce absolutely nothing? The brilliant Thomas Sowell is right when he says that government is almost always about process, virtually never about outcomes.
As for those West Vancouver residents who dream of a grandiose state-of-the-art local facility, paid for by other people’s money, I would suggest they review the recent ignominious end to such an unrealistic expectation respecting a proposed new art gallery in the City of Vancouver. Time to get real folks.
David Marley
West Vancouver
