Yet another park
Now that we have over a 20 million dollar tab on the table for the fair market value of Highpoint; where is Mark Platts and his Lancaster-York Heritage Region (LYHR)? LYHR assured us, numerous times that their project would not raise our taxes, but they did not tell us the truth did they. Did LYHR go out the backdoor and stiff us?
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After LYHR failed at pushing their, visitor center and museum down our throats, you thought your vote was heard load and clear, didn't you. Start a new tab taxpayers, LYHR thought it was a mandate for a park with a visitor center but with expensive art. According to a pamphlet at Highpoint, LYHR is buying paintings for a Susquehanna Gateway Visitor Education Center, part of the 'NEW' Susquehanna Heritage Park.
Then there's the PA Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR), Lancaster-York Heritage Region's main benefactor. How is it that DCNR could not find money to keep the lifeguards at our state parks, but can find millions of dollars to fund the Heritage Regions? Lancaster-York Heritage Region should have been cut and the lifeguards should have stayed. If done that way a lost life may have been saved. When DCNR has to cut its budget they never cut their nonessential pet projects first, instead they cut essential services. They do it that way to try and force us to pony up the dollars DCNR wants because they know we need those services. They would never put LYHR on the chopping block first because we would say good choice.
If DCNR needs money to keep the lifeguards and take proper care of our existing parks, then stop spending our tax dollars on groups like Lancaster-York Heritage Region. Keep the Park Rangers and lifeguards, not the lavish paintings!
Larry Aiken
Hellam Township
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