GRAY PIT FOREST STILL IN PERIL

The fact are in  a state of confusion. A news release from the Township issued Tuesday morning quoted the Mayor as saying that ;
“Those bids have been rejected and staff will negotiate with the highest bidders to try to obtain a price in accordance with Council Policy and appraised values,” says Mayor Froese.
This gave an ominous clarity to the what the Mayor said Monday night;
"Those bids have been rejected and staff has been directed by Council to market the eastern propertiesand obtain the maximum value in accordance with Council Policy and appraised values. Township staffwill also evaluate and prepare other appropriate Township properties for disposition and look at alternative funding arrangements to purchase the Aldergrove School site and construct the recreation centre."
I had hoped that this meant the sale process would have to begin all over again and we woud have time to convince council that the Gray Pit Forest should also be preserved along with Mclellan Park Forest. That hope was premature. I was deeply concerned about the prospect of the five parcels being sold in a matter of weeks and months. I made inquiries. A blog post was written but left unpublished  Based on a conversation I had with Stuart Bucholtz about ten o'clock the information he received from a councillor is that  Council has not instructed the staff to negotiate with the highest bidders but rather a decision was made to list the five lots constituting the Gray Pit Forest on MLS. Like I said the facts are in a state of confusion.

This much seems clear though. Contrary to my initial naive hopes the Gray Pit Forest could potentially be sold sooner rather than later. Those of us who believe that it should be preserved need to express our opposition to the sale now. We cannot wait for the story out of Township Hall to become ungarbled.
  I urge everyone  to contact Mayor and Council and respectfully tell them that these lands should be preserved for future generations. If Council  feels unable to do that at this time then at the very least the sale should be deferred so that public consultation and  proper environmental assessments can occur.

Mayor Jack Froese 604-533-6000   jfroese@tol.ca

Councillors:
Kim Richter -- 604-340-9517  krichter@tol.ca
David Davis -- 604-888-1402 ddavis@tol.ca
Michelle Sparrow -- 604-340-5087 msparrow@tol.ca
Bev Dornan --  604-340-1554 bdornan@tol.ca
Bob Long -- 604-671-8948 blong@tol.ca
Charlie Fox -- 604-532-3587 cfox@tol.ca
Grant Ward -- 604-532-3584 gward@tol.ca
Steve Ferguson --  604-532-3585 sferguson@tol.ca

Please do it soon.