Breaking news: Village of Lumby votes to go ahead with prison plans despite 56% opposition ** updated with video of the vote.

Posted on by Laila

This just in  from the council meeting :

Mayor Acton of Lumby and all council members except Tracy Williamson in favor of telling the province the community of Lumby wants the prison even though a 56 % majority of the community voted against it.

Here is the video of the vote. I find it remarkable that the council members who voted in favour find a 56% in favour vote within the village ” a strong and clear mandate” to continue. Clear and strongly divided is the only thing 6% says.

A big thank you to Spruce One for the video clip !

22 thoughts on “Breaking news: Village of Lumby votes to go ahead with prison plans despite 56% opposition ** updated with video of the vote.”

  1. Yep, lot’s of pressure in that room tonight from the pro-prison people.There’s a lot of money riding on this deal and I can’t wait for it to all come out. Thanks a lot to you for doing this Laila, I know we aren’t a big city or nothing, but we sure appreciate it that you cared to check it out. Feel free to come by and run for mayor anytime now, you hear?

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  2. I wonder if there would be possibly added business or clients for the mayors proffessional career and if so would that not present a conflict of interest as to his promoting the prison.

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  3. props to tracey williamson for being a true voice for the lumby people. the results illustrated the obvious division within the village; one can only image the backlash if the province still picks another location given the controversy already erupting. one has to wonder if the money spent on all this hullaballoo could have been better spent elsewhere??

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  4. I didn’t think they would do this since nearly half didnt want it even in the village,but I guess money talks right? My family will always appreciate the service you have done for our people Laila, since you have no ties here. You helped seperate the wheat from the chaff and show the truths behind the decision. I will not vote for Acton as a mayor again,and I bet he looses some business too. He got suckered in by Foster in all of this. Fostor will not get our vote either!!

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    1. Ha haha!

      That cracks me up. Have the pro-prison people even looked at the budget documents? Have they looked at the alternatives to economic development? You know, I am sure that the property owners who are interested in selling their property for a prison must be represented by someone…. does anyone know who stands to make a very,very large commission should the province locate a correctional facility in Lumby?

      Not much news coverage of this decision – here is a link http://cfjctv.com/story.php?id=2432

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  7. http://www.facebook.com/pages/Corrections-Facility-for-LumbyRainie Polaski
    where would the facility be located in Lumby?
    February 17 at 8:23pm · Like ·

    Corrections Facility for Lumby I believe Council has selected a 20 acre parcel of land at the back corner of the Industrial area for their first choice.
    February 18 at 8:26am · Like
    Priscilla Judd who owns the land and what real estate agent has the listing?
    February 20 at 7:07pm · Like · 3 people
    Tracie Gobelle
    Though I’m not sure how that’s relevant to the issue, that information can be found at http://www.realtor.ca using MLS#10008096. This listing is for the whole piece, not for the 20 acres that has been identified as suitable. It should be noted that this is NOT the only property that is being considered and that ANY property used for this will be purchased at fair market value that will be arrived at using independent appraisers.
    February 21 at 10:53am · Like

    I am e-mailing you a sceen print now

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  8. Eric Foster MLA supports Lumby Council “doing the right thing” and asking for a prison in Lumby.

    Mr.Foster said:
    “But at the same time, the people of Area D did not support it, so it makes it a little difficult for me, but we’ll deal with the village’s request first, and see where it goes.”

    If Mr.Foster wants to see where it goes – let’s give him a bit of a hint – it might be a strong vote for someone else in the next election – I doubt we will forget an MLA who thinks it’s the right thing to overlook the opposition. The smaller voice does not deserve more support. He has one thing right – it will be “a little difficult” to get support from the large group of voters in Area D.

    http://vernonblog.blogspot.com/2011/05/mla-critics-react-to-prison-plan.html

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  10. This is an email I wrote to Mayor Acton and Council this am, the morning after the council meeting.

    It was with a sad and heavy heart that I awoke this morning. In 25 years of living here I had never lost hope that Lumby would progress in a manner conducive to sustainability and positive growth for all it’s inhabitants.

    I came home from the meeting grieving the loss of friends, community and harbouring an unseen scar.

    I realized within minutes of the meeting that the people opposing the prison were doomed. The fact that the Yes side got up and were allowed to insult half of the people of Lumby by calling us cavemen and saying we would say no to anything was jaw dropping. The council should have stopped this man immediately from continuing on his tirade. We have always come forward with many alternatives to a prison and to be called cavepeople by our fellow Lumbyites was one of the most disgusting things I have heard in many years and the resounding applause from the yes side was appalling.

    Also for one resident to threaten the council and Mayor to act the way they wanted them to act showed bullying beyond belief.

    The realtor that spoke last night says she has people waiting to buy in Lumby if the prison goes through. I find this highly unlikely that there are buyers out there actively searching for a place to buy in a Prison Town.

    If we wanted to buy land, possibly in Area D, then that looks out of the question since the people there obviously don’t mean anything to the village of Lumby.

    Some of you on council have been here no where near the time that I have and you may not understand what it feels like to be connected to a community and feel it’s lifeline ripped from you. This is like coping with the lose of a family member and the pain in my heart runs deeper than I could ever have imagined feeling.

    This is a very sad time for Lumby and there are no winners.

    Sincerely,
    Jane Emlyn

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    1. I can not believe that a mayor or council would site and allow this to occur. Yes, it is ok to express different views, and yes this is a passionate issue for both side, however at the very first insult Mayor Acton should have warned Mr. Brown sternly and advised he would have to leave if that occurred again. If the insults erupted from his mouth again, he should have been asked to sit or leave the room. Roberts Rules of Order 101, which I suspect no one on that council has read, certainly least Mayor Acton.

      Acton and council have embaressed themselves in this video once again. But then again, they set the example prior to a previous council meeting in poking fun and being condescending to those opposed as well.

      This came in this morning http://www.am1150.ca/News/Local/Vernon/Story.aspx?ID=1412271

      Vernon-Monashee MLA Meets With Minister On Lumby Jail Issue
      Foster hoping for `timeline’ from the province
      Kate Bouey
      5/4/2011
      ——————————————————————————–

      Vernon-Monashee MLA Eric Foster meets with Public Safety Minister Shirley Bond Wednesday to discuss the province’s timeline for a provincial correctional centre in the Okanagan. Foster says he’s spoken with Lumby Mayor Kevin Acton since last weekend’s referendum and is aware council plans to pursue the proposal. Foster says word from the minister might allay some of the uncertainty in communities, like Lumby, split over the jail issue. “I’m just hoping we can move to the next step in a fairly reasonable time frame,” says Foster. “In any of the communities there’s going to be those for and those against and for those that are not going to be successful, put that behind them and move on to something else.” Only 56 percent of Lumby residents voted in favour of a jail in their community while a majority of Area D residents opposed it.

      More like…. he knows a provincial election is in the offing and he’s seriously worried about his seat : )

      And in other news this morning, Pentiction residents just held a No PRISON rally there as well… things are about to heat up all over the area, and not because spring is here! http://www.bclocalnews.com/okanagan_similkameen/pentictonwesternnews/news/121180104.html

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  12. I feel sorry for the people of Lumby. take heart in the fact that you are not alone in having your mayor and council ignore the majority. Here in Kamloops, our mayor and council just approved the use of some of our park land for a parkade ( conveniently across the street from a new hotel being built by the Galardis ) inspite of 69% of people here opposing it in an online request for opinions. it is a disturbing trend that is happening everywhere and people need to show their disaproval by punishing these pompous, self righteous pawns of big business in the November civic elections. If you only have the status quo to vote for , then spoil your ballots.

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    1. I disagree Gary, spoiling your ballot is no solution. I encourage all of you to consider to either consider running yourself in the next elections, or recruit suitable candidates in your communities to run against the comfortable status quo. That is a solution worth pursuing. There are many people who have excellent experience and long relationships in every community who perhaps never considered doing so. You have to be the change you want to see, and encourage others to follow!! You don’t have to continue to accept career politicians waiting for a pension and nothing more. It may take some work, but I bet you a very good candidate can be located.

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  13. May 3, 2011
    Dear Mayor Acton;
    Last night’s council meeting was a fine example of transparency. It was plain for everyone to see that you failed to represent the 44% of voters who have faith in their convictions to stand up and say “No” to the prison proposal. (Not to mention the 66% of Area D taxpayers.) Mayor Acton, I do not mean you should have voted “No” with us. But you could have stopped Doug Brown’s attack. His “presentation” was nothing more than a public shaming of those people who choose to think differently, who have a different vision of Lumby, who have the fortitude to speak up for what they know is a better choice for Lumby, and in many cases, have deeper roots in our community than even members of council. What happened to democracy in Lumby?

    I wonder when Mr. Brown, and other pro prison delegates, gave notice that they would like to make a presentation to council. Monday morning? I thought those who want to speak before council had to give 2 week’s notice. It is obvious that no such notice could have been given before Monday’s meeting. The referendum results were not known till Saturday night. If this is the case, then Monday’s meeting was nothing but a dog and pony show to create the appearance of democracy in action. It also gave you the rationale to vote in favour of the prison proposal. Transparent? Yes, it was very apparent that the meeting was an absolute farce.

    Last night, it became apparent that you lack leadership. You lack the wherewithal to stand up to people like Mr. Brown and demand that respect be shown by all. You lack the understanding of how to conduct a meeting in a civil manner. You allowed Doug Brown to spew his vitriolic and hateful spite. By doing so, you allowed our community to be divided even further.

    You need to have the capacity to mend fences and to bring our community together. It is now clear that your citizens can not rely upon you to do this. The way you conducted last night’s meeting was “Simply Not the Best”.

    Leaderless In Lumby,
    Paul and Jo Anne Fisher

    ( reposted to this story as well as the referendum results)

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  14. How impartial is Eric Foster? Just to let the community know, Janice Foster (wife of Eric Foster) was in the Blue Ox Pub last Sat. night celebrating with the Pro Prison group in the back room. Yes, that is Janice Foster partying with Doug Brown et al, in celebration of the pro prison party coming thro with their “clear majority”. Eric was out of town.

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    1. Anon, I will be following up on this shortly. A lot of new information on the extent of Eric’s push for this prison has come in that I am working on and confirming. You are not the only one to present this kind of information but I want to ensure everything is accurate and substantiated!!

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  15. Article from January outlining Rich Colemans requirements at that time for location etc of facility. Key item was community support. http://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q=cache:_VaURHsHitMJ:www.bcgeu.ca/files/JailOptionsJAN2011.pdf+lumby+correctional+centre+%2B+pdf&hl=en&gl=ca&pid=bl&srcid=ADGEEShTPUMDLLyi_akTwErhi72WGGDXD7lqRgbndZsra_41hcUMmqgiTTbr05H7kN7L8TWcFnTMMTc9BbKbCLj03SaYnPRCEgg7GP0fimENjscpzqGb09LlgYVc-XobQ2FGVR3XYv0f&sig=AHIEtbS1ytIk0ghUkenO5RTXUMbUHrTDNw

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  16. Eric Foster also said publicly that only a strong “Yes” vote at the opinion poll would motivate the province to go forward and when asked “will area D votes be considered” he responded that yes they would because the province understands they are considered Lumbyites and the province does not want to divide the community. The fact that this same man now supports council going forward tells us a lot.

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  17. Although I loved living in Lumby I’m glad I was able to get out when I did without losing my shirt. I’m astonished at the actions of some council members but that’s what happens when people vote with their hearts instead of assessing each person and then making a business decision. I can’t believe someone like Ben Winters gets voted in time after time. A classic example of a follower instead of a leader.

    The village is in grave danger with the likes of Kevin Acton running the show who has little if any business sense or accumen. Just look how he runs his own business. Judging by Kevins appearance in the video he would be hard pressed to get a job as a bag boy at safeway dressed like that. Instead he is led on a leash like a puppy dog by the likes of Eric Foster & Doug Brown who really should have been asked to leave that council meeting. Dougs lack of respect for fellow citizens is appalling in video I just watched and I would wonder how people can support his business. As for Eric he’s only in it for the pension and was only elected because there were no alternatives. Has anyone ever listened to him speak. I remeber listening to him speak at the all candidates form for the provincial election and he was by far the worst speaker there and appeared to have the least knowledge. I for one imediately took his sign down from my property.

    I hope the fair citizens of Lumby really take notice of the lack of vision and business sense that most of current council shows and that some business minded people with vision run for council so for once in the last 15 years you get a council with a solid business background and a council that will not be led around the horn by the likes of Eric Foster.

    I’m not convinced that the jail will be built in Lumby as I have read that now another site that had been considered has now stated they would consider the prison being built in their community and the infrastructure is in place.

    If enough people from Lumby write to government to complain about the prison it will not happen but it has to be a steady flow of well thought out negative impacts the prison will have on the town and there has to be lots of letters sent and not just to your MLA because you will never know if your voice is being heard if you rely on Mr. Foster.
    Good Luck Lumby

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