Too much emotion
City of Powell River council must change the library site location [“Council selects library site,” March 9]. Both the statement of requirements and the site location process have serious flaws. Councillor Chris McNaughton is to be commended for his opposition to this motion. It is fiscally irresponsible for council to let this decision stand.
In the statement of requirements there is an unsupported assumption that the library will be a stand-alone building. This assumption directly results in the floor space calculations being 25 per cent (4,597 square feet) greater than is necessary. This is the floor space allotted to non-assignable space for HVAC (heating, ventilating and air conditioning) and building maintenance, et cetera.
By attaching the new library to the rear of city hall, as described in a viewpoint [“A plan for our library,” November 10, 2010], inexpensive existing library space (5,500 square feet) can be used. The new HVAC equipment can also help to keep our councillors from getting too heated up in their deliberations. Ongoing savings from combined security and maintenance also result from the use of this location.
A sanity check, to verify the results of the site selection matrix, shows flaws must exist in the details of this process. A prime responsibility of a library is the care of its collection. Collections take up the biggest area, 8,898 square feet, of the new library. The biggest enemy of collections is damp. From sea level to a height of 50 feet is very damp. Increased HVAC cost will result.
Face north at the old arena site and you see the Millennium Park. Behind is a commercial district. West is the ocean and east is a hillside of trees. Where are the walking library users coming from? City hall is in a residential area. It is within half a block of two schools and one block of a new housing estate. This location meets all Level I and Level II library site criteria.
Voters stacked our council with businesspersons. Get out your sharp pencils and save us from the irreparable damage (to our already eroded economic pillar of sustainability) that will result from the desire of the library to achieve perfection (as stated in its requirements).
I support the need for a new library, but...
Tom Hobbs
Butedale Street
Kudos to ferry workers
Emergency crew on shift aboard the Queen of Burnaby on the last run to Powell River March 3, deserve kudos for their actions during an incident.
The elevator, which was running when the ship left Little River broke down en route, presenting the problem of how to get passengers with mobility problems down to the main deck [“Cafeteria remains closed on Burnaby,” June 23, 2010]. As soon as the issue was identified, and the number of persons affected known, the emergency crew went into rescue mode and a plan was hastily worked out.
What made the problem more acute was that a busload of senior citizens, coming back from a day tour on Vancouver Island, were on the upper deck. Many of these people, who had come up by elevator, needed assistance navigating stairs. The plan went into effect by bringing all those who needed help and their partners or caregivers to the cafeteria while the vessel unloaded at Powell River.
The crew members, with a first-aid attendant standing by, assisted all those in need to the ramp deck which was lowered to facilitate passage to the main deck. It was like a scene in the Titanic as the crowd of ferry workers and handicapped passengers struggled down the ramp. Thanks to the sterling efforts of the ferry crew members involved, no one was even slightly injured. In fact, there was much laughter and cheering as the upper deck was emptied.
Many of us saw how prepared the crew actually was in a time of emergency and how quickly a plan was put together and carried out. We hear so many bad things about the BC Ferry Corporation it’s good to say something positive and deserving. Also, praise should go to Janice Olfert, hostess on the seniors’ bus, for getting her charges into the cafeteria and helping with the evacuation.
Gerry Gray
Manitoba Avenue
