LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
- October 2, 2007
To The Editor:
Note: If you are happy with the condition of this town...DON'T READ THIS!!!
Immediate changes I want to see NOW ( not 15 years !):
1. Ugly old advertising sign beside A&W and nice new Weyerhauser Roundhouse...
2. Ugly concrete walls from old Brewery beside Billy's cover up the most beautiful rare sand stone!
3. Park across Husky needs topsoil, grass and wood benches/tables. It's the entrance to our town! What are these ugly fence posts doing on a Town entrance? You must be kidding!
4. Pullout on Highway 3 between Husky and Billy's needs classy tourist sign like in Osoyoos with nice map from area and possibly business advertisement, etc.!
5. We need to get rid of the Oin town' garbage dump behind Home Hardware. That orange brick stone is in fact a tourist attraction! Just imagine a nice bench there OThe Hut' style and people taking pictures while visiting this town.
6. Areas like the fenced up old Esso property, or between A&W and Weyerhauser, the hotel should be grassed in, watered and mowed I don't want to hear that it is someone else's business and/or property it is OUR town and we all together can make the difference to make it look spotless!
7. We need properties immediately where people can build many out of town families and older folks are looking to move into town and/or the area nothing seems available and they just go somewhere else to live it makes sense to
me.if people move to Keremeos or Osoyoos instead of our beautiful Princeton because we offer no place to live then don't be surprised if the hospital IS gone one day! It is all up to each one of us we need new Olow income rentals' soon that are affordable and attractive to renters.
8. The area between Irly Bird and the tunnel is actually prime real estate land to build on and what do we have? A car wrecking yard, an empty city lot for snow (could possibly go in that old pit below the high school?) and post company with waterfront! Go figure...so if rezoning that area is an option let's get it done FAST! What about the area beside the
fairgrounds can we build there and if yes can we build there in spring? 2008 is coming fast and we need the properties to build on.
Things we have to agree on and stick to:
1. This town is a Western town, goldpanning town and coal town like Barkerville which is way more remote than our town and still makes a killing because it's looks attract all kinds of people. Our advantage is the highway with an endless stream of cars eight months of the year let's take advantage of that and get the visitors off the highway.
2. We had and have nice old buildings like the hotel and Belaire Restaurant. All we need to do as Princeton people is keep them updated and paint them especially in the downtown area. Half the buildings we have from Billy's to the brown bridge and back to the PetroCan just need (more or less) TLC and paint. If we get smart as a town and we actually work together and buy bulk paint and bulk wood, siding, roof materials, etc. and get an enormous deal at Irly Bird or wherever else instead of 100 businesses buying a few things here and there for unbelievable $$$.
3. Hotel should be rebuilt same way 'look-wise' or similar like the old Hotel was! Plus - it should be even better if it gets built 15 feet further back to have great seating outside available all late spring, summer and fall!
4. We need the bar in downtown in the style like we had it years ago, soon to meet, dine and dance especially on weekends. The burned down house near the brown bridge should never be rebuilt as is or fixed up after that tragic accident it should fit in with the rest of the nicer buildings.
5. It's time for Jim Pattison to renovate we have the oldest and ugliest Overwaitea/Save On in
B.C. I personally like shopping there but I think that Mr. Pattison makes enough money in this town that he can afford a facelift at least. I think the metal fence around it should be replaced with a western town style wood fence. The zig zag walkway should be done in
style not just some 2 x 4's hammered together to make it safe and attractive again made in style it could be a tourist attraction.
6. We have the best builders for wood outdoor furniture in BC right here in town! Ever thought of how nice this town would look like with 50 benches all over the place not 5, also the same kind of wooden tables and same style garbage bins these little things would just blow tourists away together with the nicest people, nice flowers in a clean fresh painted town!
7. We need advertising in a professional manner for any event not a tiny 2'' x 14'' sign that says
'Fall Fair' or 'Rodeo' so that 99% of tourists and even locals miss it for sure! We have some great artists in town who are able to produce nice and professional, long lasting signs at all three entrances of our town.
8. In my opinion you can't charge entrance fees for any event like the fairs we have if I have a family of five I am already out $50 the minute I walk in and haven't even had a drink or donut yet! You want this place to be a crowded place where everyone has fun and loves to
go don't charge a penny and let the people spend money inside believe me they all will! We have all these great, hard working volunteers at all these different events they don't deserve to party and work alone because a lot of people can't afford to get in.
9. People ask me where public washrooms are here in town. Are there any available and are we proud to show them to our guests? They should be centrally located like the new library or Legion area.
10. Bridge Street and Vermilion Avenue should be from the beginning to the end a proud example of US all working in and on this town. What this town mainly needs is a few gallons of paint, some old fashioned building overhangs, lots of flowers, benches and tables, and garbage bins, like at the Husky for example.
11. We have one of the nicest golf courses in BC great!
12. The Trans-Canada Trail has finally been paved great!
13. Let's do the same around the Tulameen River starting at the silver bridge all along the river past the brown bridge to the tunnel for our kids, family and visitors to enjoy. You'll see that Princeton people will use these trail on a daily basis in winter even cross-country skiing would be possible on there.
14. We need more stores and ideas that make someone from the Coast or tourists want to walk our streets. We need more interesting smaller stores with dedicated hard working people who would love to try something new and exciting without the fear of risking all their savings.
15. We used to have a few jewelry stores here in town let's have one with jewelry which is handmade with gold and platinum from our area!
16. Antique stores would fit in nicely I mean old stuff not junk!
17. Kids and teenagers need something to do during summer and especially in winter. At the OCP meeting everyone wanted a recreational building with
pool. What about pool and spa - again, tourists might stay in town just for that as well! I personally thing the old building from the Highways Department would be a good spot instead of a few new houses
there you need a good size property for a recreational centre with parking in town.
18. It's not a competition between the Town, the Lions, the Legion, the Elks and
whomever it's what we make of it together.
19. Let's make it a super clean town with lots of bins and benches and volunteers to keep certain areas clean and tidy. Again if everybody chips in 15-minutes a week it's all done!
20. We need a good sized community board in a central location to advertise every event for the year in advance not 12'' x 8'' pieces of paper.
21. Decisions shouldn't be made in years but weeks or months.
22. No patch-up jobs anymore!
23. The museum needs a nice new location for dry storage any ideas?
24. Why spend a stupid amount of money on a new park on Vermilion and Bridge if we just tidy that existing park up and add nice new planters, flowers and benches maybe a fountain and use the rest of the money to paint the town!
(just a few thoughts)
Stefan Dietz, Princeton
Editor's Note: Stefan attended the recent OCP meeting and was inspired to share his thoughts and ideas. We like a lot of his suggestions. What do you think?
