Tonight is the second-last scheduled regular Council meeting before the municipal election.
If this Council moves tonight to lock in the sale of municipal lands or establish binding contracts connected with the Municipal Hall project, I believe that would be an outrageous act against the best interests of local democracy and this community.
We are only weeks from an election. Central Saanich residents are being asked to choose the Council that will govern the community for the next four years.
A decision of this magnitude should not be rushed through in the waning hours of the current Council’s mandate.
I have been clear about my concerns with the proposed Municipal Hall project. Others disagree with me. That is precisely why the democratic process matters. To move forward will do harm to what is left of the public's trust in this council.
The incoming Council should be able to consider the options, examine the financial implications, hear from the community and make its own decision without finding that the outgoing Council has already bound its hands.