I want to try to bring some clarity to the fierce debate around whether there should be a RV/adventure park in Big Pond, where it is unanimously opposed by those who live close to its proposed site. 

Why?

I support small-scale, sustainable development for rural Cape Breton; I believe that the Bras d'Or lake is remarkable in its simple beauty and that we should respect and nurture it so that it continues to enchant tourists and those of us who live here. 

I support small-scale farming that produces organic food, and protecting our drinking water. Also, I believe in community-based development, where people who live in close proximity to a proposed idea are asked for their ideas and opinions at the beginning of a project. 

And I believe that development decisions should be made in a transparent way, that citizens should be able to ask questions of Council and their staff, and developers, and have them answered so that clarity is achieved. 

I have attended all of the Council meetings that dealt with any part of this proposed project and I was unable to get answers to the most basic questions about this development. 

How can this be? 

Well, the CBRM Council and their staff structured the one public meeting held on this issue so that we the people were not allowed to ask questions of the developer or of Council. (I know.)

So, I don't know why Chris Skidmore markets his chosen site as having a 1,000-foot sandy beach when it does not. 

But we do need this answer, and others, before the department of the environment begins to review a request for waste water treatment facility or other components of this project. 

Yesterday, it occured to me that I should simply ask Chris Skidmore, via a message on the Facebook marketing page for his project. 

Whether you support or oppose the proposed RV/adventure park for Big Pond, we can all agree that we should be able to ask questions about what the proponent of this project is marketing as assets of the site that he hopes to develop. How can the government evaluate this project if they do not know exactly what it involves?

Why not summon your inner Nancy Drew to help me solve The Mystery of the 1,000-Foot Sandy Beach? Go to this Facebook page and simply ask Mr. Skidmore where the beach is? 

https://www.facebook.com/ceilidhonthelakes/