DOZENS of New Skeena pickup trucks, forklifts and other equipment was
hauled to the city’s public works yard last week. JEFF NAGEL PHOTO

Northwest towns
send in the bailiffs

Raid hauls away everything ‘not nailed down’

By JEFF NAGEL
THE CITY of Terrace
seized trucks and heavy
equipment from New
Skeena Forest Products
last -week in its latest
move lo try to recover un-
.. paid property taxes.

’ Tt was part of a coordi-
nated move against the
company’s assets by four
_ northwest towns that began
Nov. 12.

Bailiffs seized trucks
-and other movable assets

at other New Skeena mills
on the orders of the towns
of Prince Rupert, Port Ed-
ward and New Hazelton, |

Officials for the four
communities said they
can't wait any longer for
’ New Skeena te pay its lax
bill.

“We're taking what we
feel is ours and we’re
looking at selling it,” said
Terrace chief administra-
tive officer Ron Poole
‘said, “Anything that isn’t
nailed down or bolted
down.”

- Equipment was driven
or hauled out of the yard
‘and five blocks to the
city’s public works yard.

“By Friday 23 pickup
: trucks, 15 pieces of heavy
“equipment ike forklifts
and loaders, and nine fire
- trucks or: tankers had ar-
_fived: Also seized from the
Terrace. office were chairs,
desks, computers, photo-
" copiers, plants and even
the boardroom table.

The city decided not to

remove the phones, com-
puters or desks of mill em-
ployees still at work.

New Skeena owes Ter-
race $1,852,000 for proper-
ty taxes covering 2003 and
2002, Poole said.

Prince Rupert is owed
roughly $7.9 million.

+ Older unpaid taxes —
$576,000 for Terrace and
nearly $11 million due to
Prince Rupert. ~ are to be
paid out over eight years
starting next spring under
the terms of an agreement
struck when the former

“We’re taking
what we feel is
ours.”

company, Skeena.Cellu-
lose, was restructured.

The City of Terrace had
placed liens on all mobile
equipment Sept. 5 but had
not moved until now to
seize anything.

The towns plan to put
the seized equipment up
for auction to recover
money to apply against the
outstanding taxes.

The towns haven’t deci-
ded how long to wait be-
fore selling the equipment,
Poole said.

But they’wauld consider
releasing the seized equip-
ment in-exchange- for some
portion of the unpaid taxes
— not necessarily the full
amount. “That’s negoti-
able,” said City of Prince

Rupert administrator Vic-
tor Kumar, ;

But Poole said any new
offer from- New Skeena
president Dan Veniez
would have to carry an ir-
on-clad guarantee — a che-
que backed by a bank.

“If he. really feels he
needs the stuff, then come

forward and talk. to. the

communities and give us
that guarantee,” Poole
said,

Veniez said the equip- |
ment seizures complicate

the company’s efforts. to |
either get investors: on.

board to provide startup fi-
nancing or to sell off the
operations lo a new owner.

“To do this and to do it.

now ‘simply defies all
logic,” he: said: “We're
going to start selling sec-

ond-hand pickup: trucks’

that aren’t worth $2,000 a
pop?”

cils refused New Skcena’s

overtures to talk before.

sending in the bailiffs.
“This does nothing to

protect assets -—it only —

puts assets in jeopardy,”
Veniez said.
way to secure ihe tax base
of the northwest-is by get-
ting Skeena up and run-
ning again.”

“It’s another hurdle,
self-induced by the very
people-who should have a
yested interest in working
with us to make this hap-
pen, that we're going to
have to overcome.”

He said the town coun-

“The only

_ The Terrace Standard, Wednesday, November 19, 2003 - A?

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