Editor:
Re: What's in a name?, March 17
I join Doug Husband and others who do not see the need to change Delta from a municipality to a city.
Yes, Delta's population is around 100,000 but at the same time it is comprised of four very distinct residential/commercial/industrial areas, all of which have their own identity. (Annacis Island is in Delta for those not aware.)
I cannot help but wonder if there is a secret agenda behind this sudden desire to have Delta become a city. We are told that the name change would only cost $5,000. I find this hard to believe as there are many signs around the community that would need changing plus the stationary, business cards, etc.
Mayor Lois Jackson has lamented, in the past, that Delta has only seven people on council while other cities have more? Would a name change mean Delta would have nine members of council? What would this cost for more staffing and a reconfiguration of council chambers? Any city I have visited has at its core a centre. Burns Bog is our centre as is farmland so would a new centre have to be determined? On Saturday I met a woman as I left Thrifty Foods who urged me to write about this issue. I asked if she had voted no and she said she had yet to go online and do so. When I told her that she cannot voice her opinion online (but can download the form and deliver it), she was very surprised. Confusion and lack of information abounds on this very important topic.
The Corporation of Delta's motto is "Ours to preserve by hand and heart." Let's do so.
Jean Wightman
