Dear Editor,
Re: “20 Facts about the OVAL – An Alternate Point of View,” advertisement, Oct. 26.
Not to be overly critical of the Oval, but I believe the taxpayers point of view needs to be expressed.
On the matter of community use, roughly 4,800 persons from Richmond have Oval memberships. As there are 213,891 persons in Richmond, then the membership only encompasses about two per cent of the 2016 population of Richmond. This smacks of a taxpayer-funded elitist membership.
The advertisement uses cost-per-square-foot comparisons to other municipal buildings to demonstrate the Oval’s low operating costs. But the Oval only came in second when compared to Minoru Arenas. Unfortunately, the comparisons to the seniors centre and libraries may not be relevant as those buildings have different functions. Also, I would assume the library has more members than the Oval.
Still, city council has curtailed some of the library’s expenditures. Later in the ad, it states, “It simply makes good sense to take advantage of Olympic-related opportunities when they offer such a strong return on investment.”
As a taxpayer, I’m still waiting for my Oval dividend cheque or Oval-related tax reduction.
Donald Flintoff
Richmond
