Street Level

While the city’s attention has been distracted by the silliness surrounding Coun. Arjun Singh, a truly heinous decision by our local politicians is hidden away from sight.

It involves an oh-so-simple and truly generous offer by Local 7819 of the United Steelworkers to put showers, washers and dryers in the AIDS Society of Kamloops office on Tranquille Road for use by the marginalized.

It was a laudable project, one that needed a tiny favour from city council only — and which has been so badly derailed that, if it weren’t so annoying, it would be laughable.

But it, as well as the Singh resignation from the social planning council, both point to some strange decision-making by Mayor Terry Lake.

Let’s deal with Singh first, because it’s such a tempest in a teapot that, had he not outed himself on his blog, it might not have garnered the headlines it received.

Singh, a first-term councillor, is passionate about his beliefs — and his concerns are many.

Among them are social issues and, as a member of the social planning council, he certainly spoke up about them.

Often.

Some might say constantly.

Others might say to the detriment of the other volunteers and agency representatives on that group.

Its chair, Ray Jolicoeur, would say Singh frequently hijacked the meeting.

Singh would say he made some mistakes — “not ones I feel of intent, but ignorance. But big mistakes nonetheless and ones I need to take responsibility for.”

Plans were afoot, following a complaint by Jolicoeur to Lake, for the mayor to remove Singh from the social planning council.

Instead, the admittedly outspoken and often controversial councillor went public with the concerns about him, resigned, apologized, took his public flogging and now is in some kind of purgatory — a councillor without a subcommittee on which to serve.

If only Lake had been that decisive when it came time to simply pick up the rubber stamp, say thank you to the Steelworkers and give the go-ahead for the showers to be built.

All the union representatives wanted for their $49,000 investment in the project was to have the permit costs waived so they could get to work quickly. Councillors Pat Wallace and Joe Leong agreed, moving that the city take the $400 permits would cost from the city’s contingency fund to cover those costs.

It was going to be great, ASK executive director Bob Hughes said at the time. Plans were for at least four showers, a couple of them handicap-accessible, a new sink, washing machine and dryer — a facility that would help not only many of ASK’s clients, but the ever-growing number of street people populating Kamloops these days.

The goal was to have the project complete and open by now.

The presentation was made to city council on Jan. 29 by Richard Boyce — co-chair of last year’s United Way campaign and an employee at Highland Valley Copper, a major donor to myriad charitable projects in the region.

Questions were asked and Wallace and Leong put forward their motion.

Then Lake got involved.

He talked council into adding to the motion a requirement for consultation on the plans with the North Shore Business Improvement Association — the same group that threw a major hissy-fit a couple of years ago when ASK took over the outreach program for sex-trade workers.

The NSBIA board discussed it — and killed it.

At best, discussion now centres around maybe agreeing to one handicap-accessible shower — and that’s a big maybe.

ASK representatives who expressed gratitude and delight when the project was announced didn’t want to talk about it now — or even acknowledge there is a problem.

That’s not surprising — one tends not to bite the hand that feeds him, even if contains only crumbs.

Which brings us back to Singh.

If he was mayor, he would have immediately seen the value of showers for street people. He may have discussed it too loudly and too much, but he wouldn’t have derailed it.

Perhaps Lake should read some thoughts of William Temple, who once said: “Good intentions are at least, the seed of good actions; and every one ought to sow them, and leave it to the soil and the seasons whether he or any other gather the fruit.”

dale@kamloopsthisweek.com

Posted by Dale at 1:42 p.m. Comments