There can be no question that volunteers play a major role in the quality of life in Prince Rupert.
Without volunteers there would be no Seafest or Winterfest, no Hallowe’en Festival, no Udder Theatre Festival, no planters or community clean-ups and much of the downtown that was revitalized during last year’s Paint Prince Rupert program would still look worn down instead of spruced up.
Being a volunteer can often be a thankless job. Obviously there is no pay, and the praise for a job well done can sometime be minimal while the “could have or should have” comments are plentiful. That is one of the reasons that anyone who benefits from the work of a volunteer group needs to be respectful of the people, their efforts and the hours of their time that they give toward the cause. And if you enjoy the events or activities of a volunteer group in the community, make sure you let them know.
What sent me off on this little diatribe actually has to do with the golf course. Last week I praised the City for taking a step in the right direction in terms of lowering costs and thus saving taxpayers money. I still think that council should be acknowledged for looking at the different options they are looking at, but the way they went about raising the issue of the golf course sale was questionable at best.
If anyone on council - particularly mayor Mussallem who brought the idea forward at the meeting - had the idea of selling the golf course, their first step should have been to talk to the volunteer executive that has been overseeing the operations at the golf course.
You may not get any feedback from the board, you may not want any feedback from them, but common courtesy would dictate that the people who give their time and effort year-after-year to run the course should be made aware that this idea is going to be brought up so they’re not blind-sided by it or hear about it second hand.
For comparative purposes, if you were a long-time tenant of a rental property in town you would expect the courtesy of a heads-up should the owner decide he/she is going to sell the property. It sure beats coming home one day and seeing a “for sale” sign posted on the building you’ve called home for the past decade or so.
Again, it’s not a requirement for the landlord to alert you to the possible sale before listing the property, much like the City isn’t required to give the board a heads up before looking at selling the golf course. But the volunteers who have played such a role in the success of the course should have been paid the respect of a briefing before council went public with the potential sale.