Dear Editor,

I attended the two nights of public hearings on the Coulter Berry Building and was disappointed by the decision of the Township council.

It appeared that throughout the evening the councillors were writing their "acceptance" notes on why they were going to approve this development, rather than listening to the speakers.

If they say they didn't write them while people were speaking, then they must have written them before they came Tuesday night.

I found the most offensive speech of the evening came from Mayor Jack Froese when, after approximately 80 speakers, for and against, with guidelines in place being ignored and more than 950 petition signatures presented by Mr. Schildhorn against the project, the mayor stated words to the effect of: this is an easy decision for me, yes, I support it.

Did he have his mind made up weeks ago?

Why do we go through these processes when many are ignored? He at least could have said it was a difficult decision and showed some respect to the citizens of Fort Langley who were opposed.

Just when did the councillors all decide, except for Councillor David Davis, to support this application?

On a side note, Mr. Woodward is the president of the BIA in Fort Langley, and shortly after Mayor Froese was elected, he appointed Mr. Woodward to the Heritage Society.

So I must ask, from the outside looking in, just who is running the Township? The developers, or the council and mayor?

Even though my wife and I were against this proposal, we offer Mr. Woodward good luck on the Coulter Berry project and future developments he will make in the village.

Pete Cameron, Fort Langley