2 Terrace Review — Wednesday, October 1, 1986 MK Bay Marina 1 he Study offers little. | economic encouragement An engineering study commissioned by the Regional District of Kitimat-Stikine indicates that repairing, expand- ing or moving the MK Bay Marina would be costly both in terms of initial investment and long-term operating losses. The marina, located near Kitimat at the head of the Douglas Channel, is supported in part by Terrace through . the city’s participation in the regional district marina function. The study, prepared by Morrow Engineering of North Vancouver, was undertaken to deter- mine the feasibility of constructing a first-class marina offering berthage for more than 200 boats. The introduction to the engineering report quotes a 1985 market. study as stating, ‘‘there is a significant market potential which so far has been limited, not by the numbers of vessels, but by the unattractive nature of the available marina space in Kitimat. The marinas are not only unattractive esthetically, but cannot be considered as safe moorage.”’ The marketing study then goes on to attribute” Kitimat with similarities to Port Alberni, where a major marina develop- ment resulted in “‘signifi- cant financial success” The Morrow Engi- neering report, however, identifies a number of problems standing in the way of a similar success story in Kitimat. The MK Bay Marina, built in 1974, is at the mouth of Wathl Creek, a second- choice location. Hospital Beach, south of the Alcan smelter, was iden- tified as a better site but rejected due to an- ticipated conflicts with large marine traffic go- ing to and from the deep sea docks nearby. MK Bay is exposed to strong winds and high waves, and the space is limited — because of a steep under- water slope immediately offshore. The advan- tages were considered to be road access and a large usable land area. During the past 12 years the floats have sustained continual storm damage. An effort to construct a protective breakwater failed when an under- water slope gave way, taking most of the struc- ture with it. After an ad- ditional 100,000 tons of rock rubble had been dumped on the site without results, the pro- ject was abandoned. The present breakwater ar- rangement consists of a combination of sub- merged barges and floating timbers. The engineering report presents four alternatives for renovation and ex- pansion of the marina at its present site, ranging in capital cost from $445,000, which would provide 148 berths with replacement of floats, : pile moorage of floats and regrading the foreshore slope, to $1,015,000 for dredging to increase usable water area for moorage, -re- alignment and installa- tion of new floats for im- proved wind and wave protection, and expan- sion to 226 berths. A comparison -of initial cost to projected revenues indicates ' that the low-cost scheme would lose $200,000 and the maximum arrange- ment would lose about $400,000, Two alternate loca- tions were examined for construction of a new marina. A portion of the Kitimat River delta near Vandalism Continues These trees were broken recently, but they are only a part of the vandalism that has occurred at Lower Little Park In Terrace, as recently pointed out by city recrea- tion attendant Tim Taron. Along with broken trees, there have been many forms of vandalism in the park in- cluding marked up picnic tablas, burnt garbage cans, uprooted flowers, etc. Philip Musselman photo ‘ construction the Eurocan terminal is well-protected, but it has significant problems in that extensive dredging would need to be done in an area identified as a fish habitat, and a half- kilometer access cause- way would have to be built; initial investment is estimated to be be- tween $4 million and $5 million. A site further up Wathl Creek would also require extensive dredg- ing in an environmental- ly sensitive area and the of break- waters on a slope of undetermined stability; the cost here would be in the order of $3 million. The report speculates that additional sources of revenue such as camp sites, recreational vehicle parks or a hotel would be needed in such a development to justify the high initial invest- ment, , The report was re- ceived by the regional district board at its August meeting, but no action has been an- nounced. a uy Second prize winners of the Kodie Kermodel Coloring Contest collec - settlement, More than 50 residents of the rurai areas around Terrace recently gathered at the Thorn- hill Community Centre for a public hearing of the Greater Terrace Official Community Pian. Hearing committee members were (left to right) Bob Marcellin, assistant ad- ministrator for the Kitimat-Stikine Regional District, regional district board chairman Les Watmough, planning consultant and community plan author Dr. Norma Kerby, and regional district director Gordon Robinson. Comm U n ity plan - gontinued from page 1 Norma Kerby, the plan- ning consultant who authored the document ‘and did most of the background studies, She explained that the plan was evolved by projec- ting land use and ser- vicing requirements for the areas surrounding “Terrace and Thornhill. A vast body of information about the area had to be considered in directing the plan, she said, in- cluding floodplain areas, hazardous land forma- tions prone to avalan- ches and slides, Agri- cultural Land Reserves, sensitive fish and wildlife environments and other natural restrictions to She stated that due to the projected slow growth rate for the area industrial and com- mercial enterprises will be encouraged to locate within Terrace and Thornhill, where services such as sewer, water, gas and electricity are already in place and where development will contribute to the com- munity tax base. The Lakelse Lake — Lakelse River area has been designated as a special resource manage- ment area, Kerby~Stid. p ‘'The variable en- vironmental sensitivity in this area prevents a ‘broad-brush’ ap- proach,’’ she said. ““We will therefore be using a site-specific development a ard «5 ele t-shirts from Mayor Jack Talstra. The shirts were provided by All Seasons Sporting Goods. The winners were Randip Prihar (left) and Shannon Dow. Missing from this picture is the Kitimat win- ner Freyah Pears. Philip Musselman photo permit system,’’ Kerby concluded her talk by saying the bylaw will not be “‘carved in stone”’ and it ‘is designed for flex- ibility. A number of the people in attendance at the meeting questioned the necessity of the bylaw, and several ex- pressed the-view that the subject matter covered in the bylaw was already under the jurisdiction of other government agen- cies, Opposition’ was voiced regarding the de- velopment permit system . (‘this plays into the hands of agencies who are against develop- ment’’), the steering of commercial enterprises into urban areas (‘‘why direct development into Terrace - they don’t want it’), the addition of more regulatory material (‘‘we are discouraged by being over-governed’’, ‘‘most of us live out here because we don’t want to live in restricted areas like Terrace’’), and the ineffectiveness of ex- ' isting regional district bylaws. (‘nothing is en- forced, it’s a joke’’). There was, however, a degree of support for the lan. One resident pointed out that many of the problems in Thorn- hill can be traced to lack’ of direction in develop- ment. ‘“‘These things become a legacy after a while, there have to be - controls,’’ he said. ‘‘I’m very disappointed in the tone of this meeting, and there is obviously a gap in understanding here.” Another expressed the belief that the communi- ty plan would streamline matters rather than hampering them, and with regard to controls pointed out, “‘One man’s red tape is another man’s rules for a fair game.’’ Regional district chair- man Les Watmough stated that the communi- ty plan was prepared as the result of a directive: from the Ministry of Municipal Affairs, and he pointed out to the group that if the present plan is rejected another one will have to be drafted in its place. One aspect of the com- munity plan that was not discussed related to one of the first presentations of the evening by Terry Brown, a lawyer for the Council of Tsimshian Nation. Brown pointed out that much of the area involved in the com- munity plan is the sub- ject of comprehensive land claims negotiations currently taking place between the Tsimshian and the federal govern- ment. Brown stated that the claim was filed more than three years ago, and he advised the regional district representatives to consider carefully any future moves. After two hours of discussion: the apparent . consensus in the hall was that another meeting would be necessary in order to allow the area residents time to prepare further submissions. The next meeting will be held Oct. 15 at 7:30 p.m. in the Thornhill Communi- ty Hall. Better Sauce Thickener When preparing dishes which will be frozen, use arrowroot or cornstarch instead of flour to thicken sauces. The sauce will be less likely to separate after Freez- ing. Terrace police report TERRACE — A report. states that over the month of August crimes against persons have in- creased 47 percent from July’s figures. However, these figures are still a - decrease of 25 percent from last year’s figures, in this category, during the first eight months of the year, During the year, so far, 94 drivers have been charged with impaired driving as opposed to last year’s 76 charges for the same period. Over the month RCMP mem- bers worked 122.50 com- pensable hours at a cost of $1,357.98 to the municipality and also over the month there were 71 voluntary hours worked for which no payment was claimed.