Following their decision to approve the Hawthorne Park project, the City of 性视界传媒 decided to host a public meeting at Riverdale elementary on Wednesday evening.

While members of the public partook in the meeting to see what the city had to offer, opponents were also out in full force.

One opponent had seen enough of what the city had to offer.

鈥淥nce you destroy the earth, there鈥檚 no putting it back,鈥� said opponent Sharon Buzik.

What鈥檚 going on in there makes me sick to my stomach,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 had to leave, I couldn鈥檛 take much more.鈥�

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With about ten staff members on hand, the city answered questions about a couple dozen billboards that were up in the school鈥檚 gymnasium.

鈥淲e鈥檙e here tonight to gather some input and show some information that we already received through our first Hawthorne Park master plan,鈥� said City of 性视界传媒 parks manager, Neal Aven.

鈥淗aving the public鈥檚 input is important to us,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 vital to hear what they have to say, and they鈥檝e given some good input tonight.鈥�

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While the city did their best to answer questions from the public, opponents of the project weren鈥檛 happy with the format the city chose to express their plans for the project.

鈥淲e wanted to have a town hall type meeting,鈥� said opponent Grant Rice. 鈥淭he fact that this is the way that the city has decided to go is pretty disappointing.鈥�

Instead of having their voices heard by city councillors, opponents instead bantered with members of the city staff.

Not all of the reaction was negative, however.

Aven mentioned that he received 鈥榩ositive input鈥� on a couple of tweaks to the Hawthorne Park project, including relocation of the parking area along with upgrading and relocating the playground and water park.

There were about 50 people in the gymnasium at one time throughout the evening, with people trickling in and out of the school. Many of the opponents made sure to have their voices heard, and they were visible with 鈥楽ave Hawthorne Park鈥� badges stuck to their chests.

One of those sporting a badge was vocal opponent Steve Pettigrew. He believes that not everything coming out of city hall regarding Hawthorne Park is completely honest.

鈥淭here is a blanket of misinformation,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a real mess.鈥�

Pettigrew mentions the city鈥檚 plans for how many trees they plan on cutting down, versus how many trees they plan to grow. He says that in the city鈥檚 reports, the only trees they mention cutting down are ones over 30 centimetres wide.

However, Pettigrew says when it comes to city mentioning new trees that they will plant, they don鈥檛 take size into account.

In Pettigrew鈥檚 mind, the public meeting put on by the City of 性视界传媒 on Wednesday night doesn鈥檛 make up for some of the fallacies of the project.

鈥淚t doesn鈥檛 change anything, I鈥檓 very much concerned,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e gonna start knocking down trees in a month, but they haven鈥檛 finished all of the preparation.鈥�

鈥淭hey haven鈥檛 worked things out with Hjorth (Road) Elementary. There are also three properties in Hawthorne Park that haven鈥檛 been acquired yet.鈥�

鈥淔unding also hasn鈥檛 been taken care of. And, they haven鈥檛 finished their environmental report.鈥�

鈥淚n spite of they, they still want to start building this road in the second week of January.鈥�

It has been a long, hard fight for Pettigrew and many others, and their frustration was evident tonight.

鈥淲e have a lot of people involved of this,鈥� said Pettigrew. 鈥淚n spite of all of that, it doesn鈥檛 matter. What鈥檚 going on tonight doesn鈥檛 change anything.鈥�

trevor.beggs@surreynowleader.com
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