Posted from the Daily Graphic July 4 2008

Yes, about the recreation centre. I live in the Rural Municipality of Portage la Prairie, making my living here also. If the city and RM want to join forces and build the multiplex, go ahead “get ’er done,” but tax everyone fairly, so as everyone pays the same.

This is entertainment, nothing more, nothing less. Putting the multiplex in the same context as schools, hospitals, fire department, roads and drainage is not a fair statement. To demand some people should pay more than the next person is also not fair.

In the last civic election, it seemed to me, if elected, the new city council mandate was to “investigate” what ratepayers could afford and what they wanted. This quickly seemed to turn into a multiplex buying frenzy. At that time, the RM was not involved; what did I care? That’s for the city; do whatever you want. Then the RM announced a commitment of $8 million to the project, more or less blindsiding every ratepayer in the RM of Portage. Then to have a nice harvest-time meeting to bless the whole thing was kind of sneaky, considering not one RM councillor stood up at election time and said what they were up to. Every councillor ran on the normal platforms for roads, drainage and gravel.

I do realize council is elected to make decisions, and some need to be behind closed doors. The RM does a good job of doing the things RMs are supposed to do. Hospitals, schools, fire departments, drainage have never been better; snow removal is done very timely. Gravel, well, we know they are trying. Makes me wonder why we should now get into the recreation business. Are we to try to entertain everyone from horse fans, snowmobilers, skateboarders, dirt bikers to model airplane builders? What next?

I have heard about all the hard work people have been doing on the multiplex. I can’t imagine they aren’t having anything less than the time of their lives, flying around looking at other projects, spending other people’s money. But, when somebody finally signs on the line, you can’t return it with a bad case of buyer’s remorse.

“They” say we need this to attract business, but Simplot, McCain Foods and others came without the complex. Besides, who are “they”? The whole thing is starting to look like an episode of the Simpsons where a slick salesman comes to town to sell a monorail, and when things go horribly wrong, “Slick” is long gone with the money.

This is about entertainment. When I go to the movies, every adult pays the same. Nobody goes to watch a hockey work; they watch a hockey game. They call people who play hockey “players,” not workers, and when it is a job, they get compensated for it.

If everyone wants this so badly, where is the fundraising like other communities have done, like lottos?

Put the thing to a vote like it should have been from the start. If the majority of city and rural taxpayers want this multiplex, then I will pay my share the same as any ratepayer. Put an end to all the hard feelings. Let democracy do what it is supposed to do. The ratepayers of the RM deserve to have a chance to vote on it. We deserve better.

Raymond Verwey

Rural Portage la Prairie