A4- The Terrace Standard, Wednesday, July 10, 1996 _ TERRACE: STANDARD ESTABLISHED APRIL 27, 1988 ADDRESS: 3210 Clinton Street Terrace, B.C. * V8G 5R2 TELEPHONE: (604) 638-7283 » FAX: (604) 638-8432 E-MAIL: terrace.standard@sasquat.com MODEM: (604) 638-7247 Storms of November FOR THOSE of you who thought the provincial - election was the most excitement politics would bring this year, guess again. This November’s municipal elections will de- cide what mayor, council, regional district and schoo] board representatives will guide us for the next three years. It’s conceivably the most important municipal election voters here have ever faced. The school board alone will undergo a major upheaval as the Kitimat and Terrace boards amalgamate, effectively cutting in half the num- ber of trustees representing us. On the city side, there are a number of critical issues. Foremost among them must be the effort to restructure and, in all probability, turn what are on the map two communities into one. Amalgamation makes sense. Sensible develop- ment and planning can’t happen until a single civic government is making the decisions. But clearly it won’t happen voluntarily without a provincial offer that shields residents on both sides of the river from steep tax hikes. If such proposals go over well, we could be voting for a Greater Terrace mayor and council by November. The future of the airport is another key to the long-term future of the city, Taking it over from the federal government could be vastly ex- pensive, or it could give the city extra flexibility and options if done right. All this is going on against the background of the fastest growth ever experienced in Terrace. It’s that rapid. pace of development that creates a hard-to-define unease among many citizens that decisions being made might be regretted down the road. That makes our choice of civic leaders for the next three years all the more important. Elections are also traditionally the season that interest groups step forward to press their issues. Ice users, the business community, developers, labour organizers and park proponents can all be expected to work to get their issues addressed and their candidates onto council. Early indications are at least half the existing councillors won’t run again. That creates a big opening for people thinking of running for council. And although politics is a generally thankless job, it’s also worthwhile. Those who do run will do their community a service. Air power SPEAKING OF representation, the city is also looking for people to serve on a board of direc- tors for an airport authority. This body would eventually be in charge of running the airport without losing money — if the city is successful in taking over the airport. It’s going to be a difficult job — and one that will require unpleasant decisions over things like airport fees. But it’s a critical issue that also deserves the at- tention of the city’s best and brightest minds. PUBLISHER/EDITOR: Rod Link ADVERTISING MANAGER: Rick Passmore PRODUCTION MANAGER: Edouard Credgeur NEWS Jeff Nagel « NEWS SPORTS: Dave Taylor COMMUNITY: Cris Leykauf OFFICE MANAGER: Laurie Ritter ADVERTISING CONSULTANTS: Sam Collier, Janet Viveiros, Karen Dietrich & Cheri Reidy ADVERTISING ASSISTANT: Emma Law, Kelly Jean TYPESETTING: Sylvana Broman DARKROOM: Susan Credgeur CIRCULATION SUPERVISOR: Karen Brunette MEMBER OF 8.0, PRESS COUNCIL Serving the Terrace and Thormhill area, Published on Wednesday of each weak by Cariboo Press (1989) Ltd, a4 3210 Ciinten Street, Terrace, British Columbia, V8G 5A2. ‘ Stories, photographs, illustrations, designs and typestyias In the Terrace Standard are the property of the copyright holders, including Carlboo Prass (1969) Ltd., its illustration repro services and advertising agencies, . Reproduction in whole or in part, wihout written permission, Is specifically prohibited, Authorized a3 second-class mall pending the Pest Office Department, for payment af postage In cash, Special thanks to all our contributors and correspondents for their time and talents » ONE MORE THING, LIZ... IS IT ADACABRABA ., ACADABRACA ,ABACABRADA ABRACADRABA...0R... CSwi7f ____, Where’s the $200 million? VICTORIA — If you voted for the NDP because you believed the government’s pre- election claim that it brought in two consecutive balanced budgets, you're probably a mite ticked off now. Don't say I didn’t warn you, When forner finance minister Elizabeth Cull introduced the budget just hours before Premier Clark called the elec- tion, I wrote that it was a meaningless document. True, the premier promised that he would submit the same budget if the NDP won re- election. I said maybe he will, maybe he won't. Well, be didn’t. For one thing, the new budget put a hold on a whole lot of capital expenditures. For another, the in the first budget, turned into a $200 million shortfall in the second, What happened? Reality, that’s what. Revenues tumed out to be less than forecast, and expenditures higher. The question is: did the premier know when his now defeated finance minister intro- duced the first budget that the promised surplus would be gone with the wind? My mother taught me to give C | TERRACE COUNCIL’s latest moves make me want to fling myself on my keyboard and write madly off in all direc- tions, Council plans to buy only GM vehicles forsaking all tenders; accept free concrete to pave a skateboarding lot be- hind the fireball; and fast-track processing of development permit and rezoning requests. Wrong. Wrong. Wrong. The notion of GM exclusive- ly supplying the city with vehicles is a coup for GM. But it’s casy to see why other dealers would be incensed. In the late 1970's, feeling shut out of doing ils fair share of business with the Terrace school district, GM com- plained about District 488's tendering process, Now the Shoe is on the other foot. Why some councillors con- sider proximity to a police sta- tion anda fireball desirable at- tributes for a paved skating area baffles me, Danny Sheridan’s sugpestion of ASEIRT 21! Me YOU'RE WEARING. FROM THE CAPITAL HUBERT BEYER people the benefit of the doubt, So I won't say the premier lied, but I would be mightily surprised if Clark didn’t at least have an inkling that his stight surplus the NDP forecast “claim of twa balanced budgets “in a row was franght with jeop- ardy, ; But ] also must point out that auyone who voted for the NDP because of its fiscal per- formance needed their heads examined. ‘Tt became clear early on in the election campaign that the NDP’s enthusiastic spending habits were high on the voters’ minds, Liberal leader Gordon Campbell missed no op- portunity to reinforce in the THROUGH BIFOGALS- CLAUDETTE SANDECKI paving the Farmers’ Market lot makes nore sense, Paving would imprave aeces- sibility for everyone to the Farmers’ Market. The tot is handy to a convenience store “and ta the public washrooms in Lower Little Park — unless they're locked because of vandalism. And because the Market uses the lot only one moming a week it would be available to the kids the rest of the time. minds of voters that the NDP was playing footloose and fan- cy with taxpayers’ money. “The Silent Killer’ he called the NDP’s debt legacy in every speech he gave along the campaign irail. If you missed it, you didn’t take much interest in the campaign. Nor did you take heed of my waming that any claim con- tained in the first budget, any forecast of revenues and ex- penditures, any fiscal outlook was unsubstantiated. Mind you, a lot of the first budget’s goodies resurfaced in the second one, There will be a slight tax relief for middle- income earmers, Students won't have to worry about rising tuition fees. Motorists can fee] some assurance over the freeze of ICBC rates, and - you won’t have to fork over More money to pay your hydro bills, The hold on some capital ex- penditures is, of course, to compensate for the $200 mil- lion shortfall, so that in the end, the budget will still have some resemblance to balance, The newly-discovered and admitted-to $200 = million deficit in the budget will in- variably make this session a llors veering off Pulling the kids on hold until a skating area can be in- corporated into a recreational complex is fine except these kids will be taxpayers before that happens, Christy Park only recenily opened its change rooms. Planning them began before 1983. As for five weeks from ap- plication to decision for devel- opment permits and rezoning requests, that’s not long. It’s especially short notice for neighbors who may have a thing or two to say about changes to their community, Finding out about an applica- tion, mobilizing opposition, and arranging to meet with city hall cannot be done in the wink of an eyc, Especially in sum- mer when many residents may be out of town. Developers know the time it takes to jump council's permit course, Rather than shrinking Tesidents’ reaction window, let developers apply earlier. Why they always apply so that they break ground in November is BRECACL' RECALL’ REcaie! «IS IT FOR THE. nastier one than it would other- wise have been. Liberal opposition members will keep balancing on the precarious edge of par liamentary language and decorum, and stop just short of calling the premier a liar. Some may even do that and have themselves evicted from the Legislature, just to make a point, Having said all that, don’t be suprised if the NDP govern ment, in the end, balances the budget after all. Clark has, on numeraus oc- casions, shown that he’s a keen student of the politics of WA.C. Bennett. It should, therefore, not have escaped him that Bennett wrote the book on over-estimating ex- penditures, while’ ‘under estimating revenues, which in- variably made him look like a better fiscal manager than even he predicted. The $200 million shortfall is about one per cent of the whole budget, and it isn’t too difficult to reduce tolal ex. penditures by that amount. Hubert Beyer can be reached af: (Tel) 604-920. 9300; (Fax) 604-385-6783; E-mail: hbeyer@coolcom.com course another unfathomable phenomenon. No construction worker thanks them for it. The present permit system —~ applying to council, having it go before the planning com- mittee, then retuming it to council for a final vote — was designed to allow the public a chance to make their feelings known, and no doubt came abont after a contentions permit got council into hot waler. Fast-tracking —_ applications directly to the planning com- mittce does three things: 1. Public reaction time is halved, 2, Because a committee has only three instead of seven councillors, fewer angles or consequences may be consid- ered, And 3. When the Praposal comes to council pre- blessed by the planning com- Mittee, it’s carrying extra weight on the Yes side. As for committee agendas posted on a wall at city hall... “Most of us learn about coun- cil’s doings from the media, WELL a iL THAT IS) INPUT: NORTHERN ANNIVERSARY you REMEMBERED. UH WOMAN WEARING OF YouRFinsr} © “= T MEAN... SKIRT INTHE BUSHI! TRIPTOTHE — a mr SEARCH UNDER: WOMEN TRAPLINE? | OL >< meer WEIRD BEHAVIaUR, DATES " err Me PLACES, OCCASIONS .: ot P args he o —_> THE NORTHERN ad SOPER COMPUTER: 46 © 2.ucquiagr