To the council members of Foothills County
We would like to respond to the letter to the editor submitted by Ed Pinchin, in the July edition of The High Country News.
We were disappointed to read his disparaging remarks about the councillors. We understand freedom of speech and he is entitled to express his opinion.
However we do not share his perspective and feel compelled to relay our experiences with the county.
We are relatively new to Foothills County. When we first moved into our beautiful country residential neighbourhood and began to build our dream home, the councillor of division 4, Suzanne Oel was an invaluable and constant support to us as we navigated the bylaws and regulations of the county.
Beyond our house build, she continued to demonstrate her loyal support to the neighbourhood in which we reside, as various issues arose.
Her sensitivity to the neighbourhood concerns combined with her fair and thoughtful input has been so comforting, and we are very grateful for her. She conducts the duties of her position with great integrity, kindness and compassion. In our view she is a shining star in our little world in Foothills County.
You can imagine our surprise when we read the letter by Ed Pinchin. His wording was very strong.
Many of his statements were extremely degrading, demeaning and concerning remarks. We decided to view the entire subdivision public hearing he was referring to, in an attempt to understand his criticism.
As we watched the hearing unfold we observed nothing but the utmost professionalism from all of the councillors. They listened attentively, made notes, and allowed all presenters to express themselves fully without interruption. The chairperson was polite and respectful.
Mr. Pinchin noted that they did not ask questions or challenge the presenters concluding that they were bored or disinterested. I concluded that they had done their research previously, thoroughly read all the submitted materials and since this was the third application to subdivide the same property, they were already very familiar and knowledgeable of the pertinent details. Furthermore, we do not believe it is their role to challenge presenters, but to listen to and reflect on their comments and request clarification if necessary.
We cannot comment specifically on the reasons provided for not allowing the application. However, I am confident, based on previous hearings we have observed, that the decision was rendered thoughtfully and fairly after reviewing all the relevant information. We have noticed that the councillors approach all hearings with the same level of effort, thoroughness and diligence.
It appears to me that Mr. Pinchin is understandably disappointed in the decision and is sadly and unfairly lashing out at the councillors.
But, let us not allow him to tarnish the reputations of these extremely hard working councillors who often work 7 days per week on our behalf to make Foothills County a more beautiful, vibrant, safe and special place to live, which we proudly call our home.
Thank you to all the councillors of Foothills County!
Sincerely,
A concerned citizen of Foothills County
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