Editor:
Re: Casino property ‘flipped,’ says Surrey, Sept. 15.
I was really appalled by this article. I can’t believe something like this happened.
When a contract was made with Boardwalk Gaming and a rezoning change given to them in lieu of a revitalized mall, didn’t the contract stipulate that this would be only for their benefit, and not carried on to any other parties not in the contract?
In other words, if they were to sell it to another party, such as they have done, the rezoning would not apply to them. This is standard practice, especially when it is of such importance. Was there no real estate representation?
Coun. Linda Hepner says she is extremely annoyed and frustrated, and so she should be. She uses words like “I had faith” and “I believed.” These words don’t belong in business acquisitions and sales. Her naiveté honestly amazes me.
I am so used to reading about government officials who make deals with family or friends to put something in their pocket. I can almost understand that, because it is human greed. However, when I see such mismanagement of taxpayers’ money because of lack of knowledge or failure to see things through, I really shake my head.
There have been so many instances in the past whereby land has been sold off to private companies, only to be bought back at a later date for double or triple the price, because city planners have not had the foresight to see the need in the near future.
I hope that if the new company is not compelled to fulfill the promises of Boardwalk, council will still be able to have some control over the use of the land. Surely they can’t get away with this so easy.
D. Barros, White Rock