Letters to the editor

'Cadillac' policy is a lemon

To the editor:

Further to last week’s letter from Robert David ("Fire victims face absurd delays"), I too lost my home and many personal possessions in that fire. I would just like to add that the adjuster retained by the building’s insurance company sat in front of all of the co-owners for the first and last time back on January 16 (almost 10 months ago) and reassured us by saying we had the “Cadillac� of insurance policies. What the adjuster didn’t tell us was that he was in the driver’s seat and only drove in first gear!

Although we were fortunate that day almost a year ago that all occupants, both human and animal, got out relatively unscathed, the financial and emotional hardship that followed has, at times, been unbearable. For me personally, the support of my family, friends, co-workers and members of the Westmount community has been overwhelming.

In closing, excellent insurance coverage does not ensure a timely settlement and money cannot replace the many personal possessions lost.

Ann McWhinnie

Temporarily “Adj. Westmount� on Atwater Ave.





Artificial turf is an abomination

To the editor:

The proposal to unnaturalize Westmount Park is a wake-up-call to residents who are still unaware of this latest proposed abomination by City Hall. I have lived here long enough to have observed the gradual but steady decline of Westmount for which past local governments have been responsible.

It seems to me that when the City has a plan in mind, public consultations are merely token. A prime example is the Public Library: now a glorified computer center graced with industrial metal girders, raw concrete pillars, dark glass to block out light and the wooden art ceiling painted-over to inspire readers.

Why is it that in the very popular Westmount High School Athletic Grounds, the grass has always been doing very well in spite of comparative neglect by the City which has spent large sums on the installation of sprinkler systems, fencing protection and turf replacement on the three football fields in showcase Westmount Park? Is the state-of-the-art sprinkler system a failure? What next? Artificial trees?

I hope our vibrant new mayor will prove to us who overwhelmingly voted for her that she is of a different breed and will bring back standards worthy of Westmount.

Stephen Chin.

Sherbrooke Street





Alarmist campaigning mars park debate

To the editor

Last week's article "Save the Park takes turf beef to council" quotes Mavis Young, a member of 'Save the Park-Sauvons le Parc, as saying "we are neither hysterical nor aggressive." I would tend to agree.

Arrogant and rude seem more appropriate to describe the rhetoric of a few members of this group during the initial information meeting held by the City to present options for addressing the condition of the lower playing fields south of the bicycle path.

The information meeting was held specifically to offer residents living in the immediate proximity of the fields the opportunity to provide input concerning a proposal to install artificial turf on two playing fields. It was made clear that this proposal was one of several options under consideration.

The meeting commenced with a slide presentation and talk by Michael Deegan, Director of Sports and Recreation. Also present was the Mayor and several councillors. Mr. Deegan's presentation dealt with the chronic difficulties of maintaining the fields, the merits of the artificial surface, safety and economic considerations, etc. Clearly, the presentation was a preliminary account of how to improve the quality of the playing surfaces for the children of the community and was not a detailed study.

When the meeting was opened for questions and discussion, a member of the Save the Park group took the floor and held it for several minutes, delivering an angry monologue, attacking the entire presentation. He began by stating that the artificial turf project was "stupid," an ecological nightmare, and went on to inform the group that he had influential contacts (albeit unspecified) that he would not hesitate to call on should he deem it necessary. By the time he finished, he had effectively set the tone for the rest of the meeting (which he did not see out).

Ms. Young took over and began pointedly questioning virtually every point that Deegan had touched on in the course of his presentation. I found her tone patronizing and bullying, conversations with others after the meeting indicated I was not the only person who had these reservations.

This sort of reaction would have been expected if the City had confronted its citizens with an unpopular fait accompli. This was not the case. From the beginning the City has unequivocally committed itself to transparency and consultation on this issue.

I have lived on Melville and Academy road the past 25 years. For more than a decade I coached children's soccer and softball on the fields in question and I'm well aware of their shortcomings. I'm no great fan of artificial turf, but I can't see that alarmist campaigning, invoking the shade of Olmsted (pun not intended), etc., is a productive way of dealing with the this issue.

Peter Weldon

Academy Road