The downtown business community, local athletes, seniors and Grand Forks’ image as a green and sustainable community have been done a grave injustice by some city councillors. Mayor (Brian) Taylor, Coun. (Joy) Davies and Coun. (Christine) Thompson chose to put a personal agenda ahead of the promotion of Grand Forks as a vibrant, involved and supportive community.

The location of the rugby field in City Park would have provided a local athletic club with a playing field, and opened up the opportunity for involvement of other sport clubs. By denying this field in City Park, these three members of city council show their lack of commitment to sport, and their insensitivity to the needs of athletes in the region.

The downtown core has also been slighted. A location of this field downtown would have provided direct and easy access to numerous cafés and stores, the museum and various other services for participants involved with games and tournaments. These councillors, in their short sightedness, have robbed the downtown and its merchants of business and tourism potential.

Additionally, much has been made of Grand Forks as a green community, yet these councillors seem willing to contribute to pollution of our air shed. The central location of a rugby field next to shopping and accommodation would allow much travelling to be done by foot. Forcing the field to surrounding parks means that visitors, guests, fans and volunteers would need to travel to and fro, by car, further degrading our already precarious air quality.

Lastly, councillors Thompson and Davies, and Mayor Taylor, cited complaints by seniors as their primary reason for not backing the sports fields. Seniors of this community are supportive and involved; many have children and grandchildren who enjoy the activities that the local athletic clubs provide. These three council members have painted all seniors in Grand Forks as uncaring and unsupportive whiners who care little for the youth, and seek only to enjoy their own peace, quiet and solitude; this is not true and these three owe the seniors of Grand Forks an apology.

In short, Mayor Taylor, Councillor Thompson and Councillor Davies chose to let a chip on their shoulders, no doubt spawned by Councillor (Michael) Wirischagin’s outspoken objection to using council as a launch pad for a marijuana legalization campaign, taint their judgment and cost the city its reputation as a forward thinking, supportive, athletic and involved community.