Editor:
Jef Keighley is to be admired for his capacity to distribute misinformation (Coast Reporter letters, March 29). And Coast Reporter, for which he apparently works as a part-time columnist judging from his letters to the editor ad nauseam, seems OK with not doing their own basic fact-checking. As Mark Twain said, "Don't let the facts get in the way of a good story."
Keighley states that innovation is not a requirement for the $8 million of federal funding received for Sechelt's wastewater treatment facility. What document is he reading? Not only does the term "innovation" appear on virtually every page of the infrastructure capital program site, the grant is given through - you guessed it - the innovations fund.
In case he missed it, the stated objectives of the innovations fund are to "encourage innovative, collaborative and comprehensive approaches to achieving sustainable communities" and "funding is specifically targeted towards projects that reflect an innovative approach."
The previous mayor and council were content to build a half-baked (literally) biosolids plant, then at some point in the future, who knows when, they (or their successors) would build a sewer treatment plant too. And eventually, somehow, they would close smelly Ebbtide. There were never any long-term budgetary plans to detail how that would work, however, so we all had to take it on faith that the money would have been found.
Certainly, no creativity was used in securing monies from what was it? Oh yes, the innovations fund!
Sylvia Watson, Sechelt
