I read with great interest that the city of St. Albert is working to replace the BLESS platform overlooking Big Lake (Gazette, Dec 16). As a weekend bike rider, I often ride out and circle the platform for my return trip home. While there, I stop and have look to see if I can see any penguins or herons.
As a user, I feel compelled to support the reconstruction of the structure. As a taxpayer, I am quite frankly stunned that it will cost up to $600,000 to replace a simple wooden platform. This price frightened me, so I got to thinking how to save the taxpayers $200,000.
I will sell my house to serve as the platform. It is a 1,200-square-foot bungalow, with a new roof, new front and back doors, new windows, new paint and new sturdy vinyl plank flooring. There is a large skylight to augment the bird watching. The basement is fully finished – a bit dated but there is a wet bar and a sauna that users can use if it gets cold. We can move the entire house, plumbing, electrical, appliances, the works. I will even throw in my old bird feeder as a bonus! I will sell it to the city for $375,000. That leaves $25,000 to move it down the hill. There, problem solved.
I will use the proceeds to build a brand new fully equipped 1,200-square-foot bungalow on my existing lot. (I think I can build for less so will bank the surplus – if that’s okay with everyone.) I will be happy with a new house and the taxpayers will have saved $200,000. They will have a fully equipped 1,200-square-foot heated home to watch birds from and all will be right with the world. I will sleep so much better knowing that I have helped my fellow citizens. The new house and the extra cash in the bank would just be a bonus, really.
Or, we could just come to our senses and say: What in the world is going on?! And how do we justify spending that kind of money on a glorified deck?! Sigh ...
Bruce Hertz, St. Albert
