MidlandToday welcomes letters to the editor at [email protected]. Please include your daytime phone number and address (for verification of authorship, not publication). This letter is in response to a letter by Andrew Craig Walker voicing his concerns about the plan for Midland Bay Landing and its hiring of real estate partner to help selecte a developer.
Dear Editor,
I am writing in response to the recent letter submitted to Midland Today by Andrew Craig Walker.
I am in total agreement with the points he made regarding the property on the former Unimin lands presently referred to as Midland Bay Landing.
The citizens of Midland definitely should be allowed to voice their opinions by way of a referendum regarding the future use of this jewel of waterfront property, which is owned by the people of Midland.
As a member of one of the founding families of Midland, I would like to give a brief history lesson.
In order to provide the citizens of Midland in the early 1900s with parkland to enjoy, James Playfair purchased and offered the town the majority of the lands we now know as Little Lake Park for the price of $11,850.
His foresight and vision at that time saved that property from logging and development and had a positive effect on Midland’s future.
Many Midland families are here today because their ancestors discovered Midland as visitors to Little Lake Park in the early 1920s and beyond!
A beautiful forty-acre waterfront park on Midland Bay would have the same potential for the new future of Midland, attracting people to visit and enjoy this jewel for decades to come.
Residents would have the opportunity to enjoy and be proud of this valuable addition to their community. Visitors will become residents, business owners and taxpayers to help keep Midland vibrant.
Studies have proven the absolute benefit parkland provides for humanity’s mental health and well-being, not to mention the positive environmental impacts.
We need more people-friendly spaces, not development and housing in such a precious area.
Come on people, long-range thinking with foresight and vision for the future is So Much More Valuable than short term gain!
Sincerely,
Betty Lou Pape (Hamelin)
