nop

Up, up and away

Local volunteers are always
honing their airborne search and
rescue skills/NEWS PAGE AS

UNBC’s first graduate

Signed up-

A local person is the first to
receive a degree from the new
facility/COMMUNITY B1

Fernando Mil-Homens is to.
become a Kermode in Wolves
clothing/SPORTS C1

WEDNESDAY
MAY 11, 1994

- STANDARD =

ibrary grant oh so close

Helmut Giesbrecht

City
rent

policy
probed

IT’S TIME council came up
with a sel policy on waiving
rental charges for  cily
facilities, says councillor Val
George.

George taised the maller in
response to a request from the

Umpires for Slo-Pitch Softball. ©

They had asked the cost of
renting the Riverside and
Rotary Park ball fields be
waived for the Saturday of its
May 6-8 tournament.

They also pointed out the
saving would allow a larger
donation (o the Midget Girls
sofiball team which is hosting
this year’s provincial
championship,

While agreeing the cause
was worthy, George said he
was concerned at the ad hoc
way in which these requests
are dealt with.

He suggested the city should
have a defined policy in such
CASES,

The ball field waiver request
was approved, but at that same
mecling council rejecied a
Kinsmen Club request to
waive the $600 arena rental fee
for a planned Canada Day
Festival.

Money raised by that event
was to go toward the cost of
upgrading the Kids’ Kamp at
Lakelse Lake.

Administrator Bob Hallsor
pointed out the idea of a policy
had been raised before, but
past councils had declined to
adopt one.

Council agreed to ask the
Tecrealion commitice lo
consider such a policy and
bring back suggestions.

Roslyn Kunin

Ir’S NOT final yet, but expect
the library expansion project to
receive a healthy grant from the
provincial government.

Skeena MLA Helmut Gies-
brecht declined last week to
reveal the exact amount, but did
say it was ‘“‘significant?’ and
more than $100,000.

A provincial government com-
mittee last week recommended
that a grant be given but the Trea-
sury Board, the government body
which authorizes all spending,
must now give approval, he said.

“It’s passed one hurdle but has
one yet to go,’’ said Giesbrecht.
“There’s nothing definite, but it
is looking good.’’

Giesbrecht expecied word

within two weeks.

The grant would come under
the provincial government’s BC
21 program, the successor to the
previous government’s GO B.C,
effort.

An original = request ~—for
$600,000 was turned down by the
province earlier this year after it
said it had run out of money,

But Giesbrecht, library and city
officials convinced the province
to bend the rules and reconsider
the application immediately.

The money will be used to help
top up the amount needed for a
$1.743 million expansion to the
current library.

Already committed is $1.235
million in borrowing approved by

# Striding out

THE BOYS and girls of summer are in action once again. Hundreds of youngsters hit the
fields last week as minor softball and baseball seasons got under way.

city and regional district tax-
payers two years ago. That’s been
boosted by $150,000 through
Promised donations by the
regional district, city and library
board.

The library board is also work
ing on the city to break out the
cost of replacing the roof of the
current building from the ‘expan-
sion project.

The board says the roof needs
replacement regardless of the ex-
pansion going ahead and so the
cost should be regarded as a sepa-
Tate capital expense.

City administrator Bob Hallsor
said the city and low bidder
Wayne Watson Construction
have now agreed on a contract

Cheap housing proves attractive

Brace yourself for the boom |

FIND SOMETHING sturdy and
hang on.

Terrace is sitting on the edge of
a population and development
wave and it betler be prepared.

“You have to realize, you're in
an awfully attractive place," said
Roslyn Kunin, an economist and
consultant who spoke here recent-
ly to northwest realtors.

The wave has already hit the
Okanagan, the Kootenays and
mid Vancouver Island and. now Is
on its way north, — -

“You can't draw a line. If

30,060 people want to move to
Terzace, they’re going to, You
can’t sland on the road and keep
them out,’’ said Kunin.

She ranks Terrace about one-
third of (he way down on the list
of locations which will see more
growth in the next few years,

The attributes of small town
living — affordable housing,
closeness to work, closeness to

schools, clean air.and the like —.

are the main attractions.
But what. draws. people here
will ‘change 8 more and more

has

newcomers arrive.

And what is defined as
desirable is different to each per-
son, said Kunin.

“For people from Asia, ‘Van-

couver is still a small town, rela-.

tively speaking. But for others its
a huge city,"’ she noted.

Just one small example is patk-

ing, said Kunin.
‘'You ‘usually find that. the

“number of spaces has stayed the -
"same. It’s the number of cars thal -
grown,’? Kunin sald: when.

told that downtown parking here

price of $1.456 million.

And he said a formal contract
was ready to be signed as soon as
the grant was received.

Architect fees, referendum costs
and interim financing costs make
up the balance.

The original construction cost
was estimated at $1.8 million but
a planned basement was deleted
to bring down the price.

For sake of comparison, Gies-
brecht two weeks ago announced
the Kitimat Curling Club was
receiving $333,000 from B.C. 21
for a new curling tink.

That was the entire amount re-
quested by the club and
represents one-third of the rink’s
construction cost.

City to

75¢ PLUS 5¢ est |
VOL.7NO,4

Stewart
named

THE MUNICIPALITY of
Stewart has won honourable
mention as community of
the year by a professional
association.

The community at the end
of one branch of Hwy37 and
at the head of the Portland
Canal was recognized by the
Economic Development As-
sociation of B.C. for efforts
to diversify its economy.

“Stewart has taken a num-
ber of broad-based steps to
flesh out its options,’’ said
Peter Monteith, chairman of
the associalion’s awards
committee.

move

on Kitselas

ARMED WITH A government
grant, the city is about 1o sccure a
tight of way from the end of
North Sparks St. to the municipal
limit...

And, says engineering director
Stew Christensen, that likely
means expropriation, or forced
sale by the owner.

The right of way is part of the
present access fo. the Kitselas
Valley and has been the centre of
controversy for more than a year.

The problem is the road is on
privately owned land, known as
Lot 5.

Under a registered agreement,
owners of property just to north
of that land were able to use a
33ft, easement to cross the private
land.

By leasing that northern lot, a
number of Kitselas property
owners sought to take advantage
of that agreement to get lo their
properties beyond.

However, the owners of Lot 5
installed a gate and threatened to
close off the access completely.

Christensen sald the city had
entered negotiations with the
property owners, Nei] Purchase
and Wendy Harwood, last year.

The city had offered to buy the
right of way for $15,000 and a
subsequent assessment had set its
value at $13,400.

However, he added, at a public
meeling held late last year, the
owners had come up with a pur-
chase proposal which Christensen
said could have ended up costing
the city ‘‘in excess of 10 times
that’’.

While declining to give details,
he said the owners had indicated
they wanted certain conditions at-
tached to the sale and it was these
thal were the problem.

Now the city had. received a
provincial grant for: $12,500

toward, the cost of: Purchasing th the:

has become a problem in the past
few years.

And while there’s not much
anybody can do about population
growth, local governments can
make plans to better absorb the
impact.

‘You have’ to plan for rea-
sonably orderly development. A

city should ‘extend its Ilmits by.

the widest possible margins,”
said Kunin.

That enables 8 local ‘g govern- ,

ment to make regulations to help

“keep the kind’ of character in™

Stew Christensen

dight of way.

Tf it is unable to come to an ac-
ceplable arrangement with the
owners, ‘‘we would probably ex-
propriate al $13,400,"*
Christensen suggested.

The matter would be put in the
hands of city lawyers to deal
with.

Christensen also confirmed the
city last week received a further
grant of $25,000 to upgrade ‘the
right of way.

As for securing the right of way:
beyond city mits, that falls un-
der the jurisdiction of the High-
ways department.

District manager John
Newhouse said the department
had talked to most of the affected
property owners and they were
prepared to sell.

However, before that happened
the proposed route would have to
be surveyed and valuations of af-
fected private property carried
out. That done, there was still the
question of finding the money to
buy the land.

Newhouse said that won’t be
available this year so the com-
plete Kitselas access will not be
finalized before “next year, at
best’. oe

place which rade | a city attractive
in the first place. -

‘You don’t want lo stop devel-
opment completely. If you want
your kids to stay here, for in-
slance, and have jobs, there have
to be some trade offs, 7? said
Kunin. .

And as the clty changes, so will
the ways in which people earn

_ their living, -.
_ There may still bea dependence
-upon - natural . resoutces, but the

~~ Cont’don Page Az