Nanaimo-Info-blog: New Nanaimo Marina Cheerleaders Warming Up

Sounding A Lot Like The VICC Cheer
While the announced upgrade to the marina in Nanaimo’s downtown inner harbour may be the biggest thing to hit Nanaimo since the discovery of coal, or the recipe for Nanaimo bars, it seems a little premature to be singing it’s praises as loudly as the local press is doing.

I repeat, this might be the greatest thing for Nanaimo and could single-handedly turn our economic tide, but the project is yet to be rolled out in any real detail and a lot of ‘facts’ about the financial benefits have not been presented let alone scrutinized in any detail.

Questions:

1. Is allowing a private company to have the rights to our prime waterfront marina for the period of 30 years for the measly sum of $9 million really in the best interest of the taxpayers?
2. What would happen if the Federal government turned over the mattress and came up with the $9 million which would allow us to upgrade this decrepit facility and benefit from all the long range ‘upside’ the new and improved marina will bring in from all the high end luxury craft we are going to attract to Nanaimo.
3. Will a brand new, super deluxe, platinum coated marina have the same character and flavour our downtown harbour now has? Will it be as pleasant a place to stroll as it currently is? Looking at a bunch of high-end luxury craft isn’t exactly the Rockwell picture that springs to mind when I think of a charming seaside town.

These a just a few ‘first blush’ questions that spring to mind, which haven’t been addressed in any detail to date, and judging by the warming up of the local cheer-leading crew it is not likely going to receive much in the way of unbiased coverage, much akin the conference centre in the early days of it’s promotion.

This indeed could be the best thing for our economic future and just the thing we need to springboard ourselves forward with a vibrant, vital and totally redone downtown. If it is, why would we want to let such a gem go for the paltry sum of only $9 million??

Hopefully, these questions will be dealt with and the best interest of the public will be served, but the idea that the average citizen really has anything to say in the matter is just a little bit of delusion our leaders continue to allow us. Even our city fathers had no input in the crafting of this deal to date, it is the product of secret negotiations between the private company and the Port Authority, and like the cruise ship terminal, the average taxpayer in Nanaimo has nothing to say in the matter whatsoever.

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