By Mike Archer. When it was all over it was clear that only one question of any significance was on anybody’s mind in Bradner last night – who voted to take the land for the West Aldergrove Business Park out of the ALR?
After more than an hour of two minute speeches by candidates for the November 15 municipal election, in front of some 90 rural residents, Daren Alary of the Rural Ratepayers Committee, asked for questions from the floor.
No one got up for a minute or so and then Regina Dalton, of downtown Abbotsford, asked current councillors how they could possibly approve the suggestion, in the report by the Homeless Task Force, to hire a coordinator for up to $125,000 with benefits when members and individuals in the care community are already doing that job.
The police and fire departments were thanked for their response to a recent emergency.
And then, just as Alary was looking like he would be shutting the meeting down with no questions from area residents, Heather Lemieux approached the microphone and asked, “By a show of hands who voted to take the land for the West Aldergrove Business Park out of the ALR?”. She was referring to the unpopular decision among Bradner residents to allow a huge tract of farmland to be converted to industrial purposes by City council.
Mayor Banman thought he would pull a fast one and interjected saying, ” If I may; you mean who voted to pass this decision to the Agricultural Land Commission who is responsible for the decision.”
Lemieux wasn’t fooled by Banman’s attempt to avoid responsibility for the decision. She simply switched gears.
“All right. Then by a show of hands; who voted against it?”
Councillors Henry Braun and Patricia Ross put up their hands.
“Thank you,” said Lemieux.
And the meeting was over.
Editor’s Note: A full report on the Bradner all-candidates meeting will be posted later today