LFP Views On The Local News Jan 11 - 2008

Langley Times Editor Frank Bucholtz in his editorial today, 'Sensiblemotion', endorses the immediate implementation of Councillor Richter's motion to assure more open, fair & transparent municipal land sales. Frank rightfully so also suggests that in addition, the reason for any taxpayer owned land sale should also be clearly pointed out as well on every sale. Of interest in his editorial is that while he suggests that the Richter land sale motion should be applied and implemented without delay he by inference seems to this Editor to also suggest that we the taxpayers may and could very well expect the Richter notice of motion to not even go anywhere as usual. This is because of the ridiculous chronic and obviously systemic issue of not even getting a seconder for discussion on any Richter motion by the rest of the men on Council. This tragic and ridiculous situation is a regular occurrence with this Council that truly reveals the childish antics and mentality of the present very dysfunctional and 'Good Ole Boys Club' group think of the present Mayor Alberts township council. Petty politics seems to override logic and good sense for the taxpayer's benefit.

Most amusing is a letter to the Langley Times Editor from a Mr. Doug Nickason where he says;

"Editor: After reading the story of the Township selling 93.86 acres for a total of $2 million, I became quite excited.
I did the math and, by my calculations, that is $21,308.33 per acre or $5,327.08 per quarter-acre. Now that the Township has set this precedent of land value in the area, I am fully expecting a reassessment of my 2008 property assessment from the government of B.C.
Since we are living on a quarter-acre of land in Walnut Grove, I expect that the land value will be corrected to $5,327.08 — not the $303,000 that the government says it is (not including the value of our house).
Everyone in Langley should send a letter to the mayor, thanking him for setting this precedent and thus reducing the property tax that we must pay in July.
Thanks Mayor Alberts," .

Today's Langley Advance again does a superb follow-up on the controversial and questionable Township Dickson Pit land sale by reporter Mathew Claxton. The article (includes picture of Richter at Dickson Pit) deserves a good read and creates far more important reaching questions that beg answers. Of particular interest to this Editor is the 'DICKSON PIT SALE TIME LINE' that Claxton writes about that includes details about political donations to Mayor Alberts and related time lines.

Langley Advance Editor Bob Groeneveld' editorial lets the Mayor Alberts "good ole boys club" township council off way too easy in this Editor's opinion by saying that the Dickson land deal may in fact be a good deal (gag, I hope he is being tongue in cheek!) but does a stellar job editorializing about:

"the perfect road map for how to legally conceal a public deal within a maze of bureaucratic procedure: place the required announcements in the smallest available newspaper which isn't distributed in the immediate area affected, do so at a time of year (like the Christmas holidays) when everybody is busy with something else, and couch the announcement in terms that are incomprehensible to ordinary folk."...