Following is a copy of a letter to North Cowichan Mayor Al Siebring and council:
Forgive me for my lack of communication skills. I am a resident of Crofton, going on 30 years.
Our taxes have gone from $800 annually to just under $4,000. My wages in comparison have not gone up that much.
This is another question, for a later time, but just want to establish we are paying more than our share.
My concern is the security of the residents of Crofton now and into the future.
We are without an RCMP office or any other security protection in our community, and this has been fine, and hope to continue on this path.
With the recent build-up of homeless and drug people in the surrounding communities, I am very concerned about North Cowichan allowing these types of people into our community.
We have no protection in the immediate area of Crofton, RCMP at best are 10 minutes away. I would like to have some confidence that our elected officials will do their best to keep this element away from our aging community.
Duncan area has an RCMP detachment to protect them, we do not. In a bleak situation, time is everything and if we take the law into our own hands, we quickly become the criminal.
I have seen the Warmland Shelter residents, and it is not a pretty sight, but the people who allowed this to be put in the area of two schools, well, makes me nervous of some decisions made by public officials. I understand something has to be done with these people, but consideration of the people that are going to be affected by it should also be of great concern.
As time goes on and the teeth of law enforcement continually gets pulled by the federal, provincial governments and the courts, the time has long passed where we can leave our doors unlocked. I am saying I do not want to be a prisoner in my own home, in what has been a safe community.
So if you can assure the residents of Crofton that you will do your part in keeping the bad elements from camping out in Crofton, this would give me some peace of mind.
Randy Pauls,
Crofton