FROM FRONT Province Locating a major provincial government agency here — like the Forest Renewal B.C. headquarters for the north that was plunked in Smithers — would have also helped, says Talstra. City councillor Rich McDanie] agrees more is needed, noting the grant of $50 per Terrace resident is ‘‘peanuts”’. ‘Y think they need to put 2 lol more on the table than what they’ve presented to make it inviting,’’ be said, Terrace councillor David Hull says the province would still be money ahead if it upped the ante significantly. He says the value of the package doesn’t come close to the amount of money the province would save by ditching the cosis of providing police, road maintenance and other services to Thornhill, Over 10 or 20 years, he says, those savings would quickly top $30 million, far exceeding the cost of the five-year transi- tion measures being offered now to en- courage restructuring. And Hull says it only makes sense for the province to offer to share more of those savings to encourage Terrace voters to help share that burden. , Extra money or Crown land might help offset the extra policing costs, which are a big area of concern, ‘We're going to end up behind the eight ball,” says Talstra, ‘‘There will be a deficit, We'd like to close that gap.”’ Hull said the political will to restructure seems to exist locally, but not in Victoria. “The government isn’t terribly motivated,’’ he said. “‘And people are resistant to change.’’ Hull said there seems to be little interest in government to force amalgamations after a dismal failure by the NDP to do that with other municipalities about 25 years ago. And officials in Victoria don’t seem very willing to offer a larger carrot to entice communities to link up and get more effi- cient “Their attitude seems to be ‘If it happens, 1s ‘not ~ motivated’ to deal THE ROAD TO RESTRUCTURING municipal elections in November. WIf the newly elected politicians are still on side, prepara- tions would begin in earnest for a possible Feb, 22 referendum on the restructuring package. Early January would sec the start of an extensive public information campaign outlining the offer and attempting to answer questions and concems of Jocal residents. Wi If voters approve the deal, a new round of municipal elections would have to be held to either elect a Thornhill municipal council or else a Greater Terrace council with guaranteed representation from Thornhill. Mi The lobby effort to get a better package will begin im- mediately. A letter is to go out to municipal affairs minis- ter Dan Miller outlining new proposals, Local councillors and RD directors will work over provincial government ministers at the Union of B.C. Municipalities convention in mid-September, Wi The Terrace area restructure committee will decide if whatever new deal reached is good enough to put the pack- age out to the voters. WIE so, they will likely hand the package over to the new city council and regional district directors to examine after that’s nice, if it doesn’t, who cares’,”’ Hull said one of the most difficult ob- stacles to restructuring is the success of the Kilimat-Stikine regional district in govern- ing Thornhill. “‘The regional district has done to well a job,’” he said. He said it’s provided fair service to local residents, who would be clamouring for their own municipality if they felt overly oppressed or mistreated by the RD. Hull says all the items for Thornhill in the offer are desperatcly needed, “Thornhill can’t be a poor cousin to Ter- race,’ he says. ‘‘But how do you sell it to someone in Terrace?”’ Se SER a Facts about the Nahe Sn Talstra said they'll carry out a major push ® : now to persuade government ministers to u svete the pot new Firearms Act | That effort will begin with lobbying of A government ministers at the Union of B.C. : Municipalities convention that begins Sept. 17, Talstra says they want to nail down a final deal by mid-October. That would clear the way for a new coun- cil and regional district board elected in November to review the previous work, and then proceed with Restructure committee chairman Gordon Hull said they've set Feb, 22 as a target date for a referendum, to try to ensure the process doesn’t drag on indefinitely, Thomhill director Peggy Julscth was more enthusiastic about the offer than the Terrace councillors, describing it as worth working on, “By no means is it a done deal, but there’s enough there to pursue negotia- tions,’” she said, Elements of the offer that could lead to sewer/water infrastructure grants are partic- ularly important to Thornhill, she said. The restructure committee is also hiring a consulting firm — Municipal Management Services of Salmon Arm — to prepare an anlysis of the financial implications of restructuring, Ree How does it affect me? 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