LETTER

The Pavilion is just one thing...

 

I totally agree with your editorial about the Marina Pavillion (August 22).  Seems to me that our mayor/councillors are spending a lot of money uselessly.  For example, they spent almost a million dollars re-doing de la Colline street.   There was absolutely no need to completely re-do it.  

The building at the marina would be better renovated than torn down and replaced.  Is 5 million dollars really needed for a new pavilion, when renovating the existing one would cost under $300,000?  Where is the sense of reality in this scenario? And where are our rulers getting all this money?  With all the bid-rigging of recent years, am I the only one asking these questions (apart from the editorial)?

There are so many streets in Aylmer that need repairing right now, so why not renovate the existing pavilion and use the rest of the money to repair streets that really need it.  I’ve also noticed that Terrasse Eardley is being completely re-done – why? We’ve lost so much since fusion that I don’t enjoy Aylmer any more.  Fast-food places have been lost as well as other convenient shops. Fusion has turned us into Gatineau’s bedroom community and that’s all we are right now.  

L’Initial going up on the corner of Principale and Wilfred Lavigne is an eyesore. How did they get the okay to put it there and who gave it to them?  My other point about Aylmer is we have too many grocery stores, pizza places, gas stations and  drugstores (and they’re building another on Front Street next to Tim Horton’s). Aylmer has become Gatineau’s bedroom community and nothing else!!!

Joanne Forsythe, Aylmer

(NOTE: Individual councillors cannot approve buildings, and the city cannot regulate types of businesses as long as they observe zoning rules.)