A retired school principal mustered up his courage to come to The Citizen coffee chat Dec. 3 despite past negative experiences with the media.
Arnold Boomhower, who spent his career in public schools, is solidly against building a new police station from scratch.
"I think we should fix up the present detachment even if it costs four or $5 million. As a taxpayer I'm really opposed to having $100 a year for the next 20 years tacked onto my tax bill," said Boomhower.
According to city calculations, the annual cost to the average taxpayer (add more if you also own a business or multiple properties) is $66 per household.
A Citizen story Nov. 7 said the local population is about 71,000 and the proposed RCMP building loan is pegged at $26 million to be paid back over 20 years.
He thinks it's time city council considers "consolidation of what we have."
"I'd like to know what a renovation would cost and nobody has told us what it would cost to lease work space in the building next door to the detachment," he said.
"I know there are a couple of city councillors supportive of infilling (rather than developing in new areas requiring new city services) and that can be applied to the new police station."
Boomhower said he can't see spending that kind of money for a new building when there are a number of established areas in the city "which have never been fully looked after."
"I live in North Nechako. We have no city bus service, no sidewalks, one streetlight, no storm sewers, no sanitary sewer and no water, and I've been paying taxes for 40 years," he said.
Do you have a story to tell? Join this reporter at the next coffee chat at 10 a.m. Friday at Ramada Hotel's Starbucks.
