Editor: Now that the election is over and a majority of the 25 per cent who voted chose to keep the incumbents in the Township, save for the loss of Mel Kositsky, it鈥檚 time for all of us to make our government accountable.

I would like to suggest that the first motion is to remove the title 鈥渙fficial鈥� from the Brookswood/Fernridge community plan and end any outside contracting with development interests.  Like many, I have lived here for 14 years and have never been consulted.

In the same neighbourhood, a kids鈥� elevated playhouse is targeted, yet when absentee land owners cleared five acres of second growth conifers near 28 Avenue and 200 Street, our elected officials did not lift a finger (save suggesting they not burn at night), and the impact remains an eyesore.

There is a loss of habitat, loss of privacy, and threat of wind throw to the neighbouring houses. With the Township鈥檚 modus operandi of ignoring any tree protection and mass clearing, they have avoided recommendations for years, including the benign concept of leaving trees within 10 feet of the fence line intact, or else grinding the stumps to keep neighbours鈥� tree roots intact.

If our council 鈥� present and past 鈥� had an interest in a long term vision, retaining the feeling of super natural B.C. and clustering homes within the landscape (as is written in ), it would make the Township more valuable.

It is estimated that global deforestation is taking place at a rate of 6.4 million hectares a year.  That makes us a part of the problem, not the solution.

If nothing is done, let me be a realist in the 2014 election, and just write in the names of department directors and the Township administrator, because it seems that they are making the recommendations and decisions.

Cathleen Vecchiato,

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