Editor:
Re: “Shameful Display By BRAPP”, a letter written by Banff resident, Chris Neve, published in both the Crag and the Outlook. The identical title, supplied by Mr. Neve, was used in both papers.
I asked Mr. Neve if he had attended the meeting. His answer was “No.” but he did write that he did “hear and read about what happened in council chambers on Monday, July 21 …”
Had he actually attended the meeting he might have had an idea why the vast majority of the gallery were so angry, particularly the three Christou brothers.
During the last few years no Banff family has been more negatively affected by council and administration dictates than the Christou family.
These born-and-raised Banffites had a number of reasons to be angry as a result of recent Town council decisions. Three reasons that I know of (there may be more) are:
1. During the summer of 2012, Greg Christou, owner of Cascade T-Shirts, was fined $50 for illegally displaying merchandise on the door of his shop. When he refused to cease displaying merchandise on his door he was fined an additional $250. Greg refused to pay, believing that it was a discriminatory bylaw given that restaurants were permitted to serve diners at sidewalk tables. The Town took Greg to court and (Greg told me) imported a lawyer from Edmonton to handle the Town’s case. Greg did pay the $300 in fines, but the Town’s expenses (our tax dollars) to prosecute Greg were far greater than $300. The Edmonton lawyer would have charged for his time (easily $300 per hour – probably his total expenses were more than $1,500) and travel to prosecute Greg. Not long after the Town’s successful prosecution (persecution?) of Greg the bylaw was changed such that it is now legal to display merchandise from doorways.
2. Greg’s Mom, Iris, and her late husband, Van, and many others, fought with Town council over the Town’s decision to build a pedestrian bridge across the Bow River behind their home. One of the Christous’ concerns was the possibility that sewage odours might escape from the sewer pipes that were to be suspended from the pedestrian bridge. The Christous were right – Iris is now unable, on most days, to use her beautifully landscaped backyard because of the stench of sewage emanating from le Pont du Merde. Frequently the sewage-sucker truck has to suck sewage from this poorly-designed sewage line. Tragically, Van died in 2012. It is very likely that Iris will win her lawsuit and that Town of Banff taxpayers will have to pay to her a sizable amount of money. This is a waste of our tax dollars, but I applaud Iris for suing over this issue. What would you do if you were forced to endure the stench of sewage resulting from a bad decision made by the Town council?
3. Paid parking as forced upon us by town council is an issue that very possibly will have a negative impact on Greg’s (and other Banff merchants’) bottom line.
Paid parking is the issue that broke the Banff camel’s back – the majority of knowledgeable Banff citizens are sick to death of being ignored by Karen Sorensen and the Town council. Mayor, councillors and some (not all) senior administration are the bullies in this town – not BRAPP. I must state here that the vast majority of the hundreds of Banff citizens that I spoke to feel that Ted Christiansen is the only councillor who truly represents the wishes of the electorate of Banff.
Mr. Neve seems to be ridiculing the notion that council should heed the wishes of the 1,370 (actually closer to 1,470 by the time Alanna presented the petition to Robert Earl, Town Manager) Banffites that signed the petition against pay parking because 1,370 is “only 17 per cent of our population”. Mr. Neve forgets, or is somehow unaware, that anyone under the age of 18 could not sign and that only Canadian citizens could sign.
I challenge Mr. Neve to circulate a petition seeking the signatures of Banffites who support pay parking. I would be surprised if he was able to collect 20 per cent of what BRAPP was able to collect.
As a long-time resident, (first arrived in the Banff region in 1937), and highly respected Banffite Ian Mackie stated … “84 per cent don’t want this to happen (referring to the 2000 plebiscite) and you don’t pay attention. That’s an error. I’m a little disappointed that so many people are trying to force something down the throats of the people. If you don’t support the people you serve, you should hand in your resignation. The same goes for administration.” Both Ossies, Sr. and Jr., agreed with Ian’s statement, as did the vast majority of the gallery.
I urge all Banffites, regardless of your opinion of paid parking to attend the Monday, Aug. 18 Banff town council meeting.
Jon Whelan,
Banff
