Going for gold |
Terrace’s sensational |
teenaged curlers aiming
high at the Canada Winter
Games\SPORTS B7

Overpass oops |

The latest tipover of a
logging truck rekindles

an old debate over
industrial traffic\NEWS A3

# Creative sword play
z Actors duel with kitchen

utensils in a. new high

- school play

 \COMMUNITY B3.

$1.00 plus 7¢ GST -
($1.10 pius 8¢ GST.
outside of the Terrace area)

bat

THE CITY OF

TE RRACE |

ANNIVERSARY

2003

“VOL 15:NO..4

By JEFF NAGEL
THE CITY will give up its animal
shelter and surrounding parkland to
make way for expected development
of a Wal-Mart store southwest of the
new bridge. ,

The tentative deal merges the city
land with Glen Saunders’ riverside
property to create a roughly 10.5-acre
‘L’-shaped property. east of Pacific
Northern Gas and the Kinsmen base-
ball diamond. - ,

In exchange for giving up 2,5 acres
of land, the city will get money plus a
1.5-acre 15-metre wide strip of park-
land along. the river for a riverside
trail, city development services direc-
tor David Trawin said Friday.

“They will give us $397,000 so we
can rebuild the animal shelter in an-
other location,” Trawin said.

City council gave first readings to
bylaws Monday. night to rezone the
animal shelter and city park land to
service commercial. i

The developer is listed as’a num-
bered company in city records, but the
Standard has learned it is First Profes-

sional Management Inc. — Wal-Mart's |
preferred land developer and the same

firm that paid for geotechnical drilling
on the land in early February.

First Professional calls itself Cana-
da’s largest retail developer, opening a

_Tew shopping centre every four weeks
‘under its First Pro Shopping Centres .

fame. The firm runs 110 First Pro

“They will give us
$397,000 so we can rebuild
the animal shelter in an-
other location.”

shopping centres in Canada, most of
them anchored by Wal-Mart stores.
‘The land swap is a condition of the

rezoning — even if the project fails.or -

is delayed for other redsons.

And Trawin said there’ s til, muh '

uncertainty. = *

Construction depends ¢ on approval

of the transportation ministry, which
controls highway access, and the
water land and air protection ministry.

ww.terracestandard.com:

Trawin said developers want rules

relaxed that ban development within

60 metres of the edge of the riverbank.

The goal is to get Victoria’s appro-
val to reduce that setback to about 20
metres, Trawin said, based on mea-
surements that show the erosion rate

there is less than six inches per year.

“Based on.that the: building could be
there for 360 years," Trawin noted,
Environmental approval is also nee-

‘ded to build on the city land because

old underground ‘fuel tanks there are
considered a soil contamination threat.
In addition, the city will change the
Official Community Plan designation,
triggering a March 10 public hearing.
_ There’s no firm site plan yet or de-
velopment permit submitted, although
Trawin expects an application soon.
Stakes marked “building corner”
are planted near the southern edge of

_ the city and Saunders properties, close
lo homes ona section of Kerr St. just

north of Haugland Ave.

» Trawin- says: the: ‘land could fit: a
maximum store size of about 100,000
square feet if developers get a reduced
setback from: the river. That’s about
double. the size of Canadian Tire or

"Wednesday, February 26, 2003

Wal-Mart strikes deal for city land |

City to get river trail, move animal shelter

STAKES mark corners of the plan
ned store south of Hwy16.

achieves the city’s riverside trail goal.

The developer must pay to build the
1.8-metre wide gravel walkway to cily
standards and replace trees along it to
achieve a natural look, Trawin said.

“Even if nothing happens there, the
benefit of securing that land for public
purposes along the river justifies this,”
Trawin said.

City council overrode Saunders’ ob-
jections last year when it approved a
plan for an eventual riverside: trail al-
lowing the city to insist it be built
when development happens there.

Pacific Northern Gas operations
manager Russell Wintersgill said Wal-
Mart reps also. approached PNG, but
the gas utility wasn’t interested,

Trawin said the proposal. involves
only the city and Saunders property.

Meanwhile, Wal-Mart spokesman
Andrew Pelletier continued to deny
any immediate move ta place a Wal-
Mart store here. _

“There is not a confirmed store

the Real Canadian Wholesale Club.
Trawin said it's... worthwhile for the
city because commercial use in that

area makes se!

Pool
needs.
roof fix

THE ROOF of Terrace’s
aquatic centre leaks and
must be fixed.

“The whole roof has to
be replaced,” public works
director Herb Dusdal told
city councillors: last week.

The entire’ project
would cost about $200,000
to-$300,000, he said.

But Dusdal said. he
plans to start this. year by
re-roofing a test strip at a
cost of $60,000.

“T want'to try to see if it
works before we do- the
whole thing,” he said.

Leaking because of the
metal roof design plus
condensation from inside:
is causing the east wail of ~
the pool to rot, he added.

Councillors David Hull
and Rich McDaniel said a
full engineering study of
the problem should come
ahead of spending money
that may be wasted.

“We have to take a
good fook at it before we
risk losing another $60,000
in taxpayers” money,” Mc-
Daniel said.

But councillor Stew
Christensen, who used to
have Dusdal’s job, backs
the plan.

The high humidity at

the pool,. high. tempera-
tures and roof structure ~
combine to create. special
problems there, he said.

Dusdal said he'd come
back to council for final
approval,

“7 No fun like snow fun

FOUR YOUNG pals took advantage of Friday's day off school to play human sleds on a pile of snow
dumped in a comer of an unpaved downtown parking lot. Enjoying the day were Nic Anenson (left),
Kameron Thomas, Owen Schulmeister and Bradley Kuchener. JENNIFER LANG PHOTO

planned as of yet,” he said last week.
Announcements of First Professio-

nal-led Wal-Mart developments. in

some Canadian cities have come just

and ‘because it weeks after denials by Wal-Mart.

eniez to

| timber cut

By JEFF NAGEL
NEW SKEENA Forest
Products boss Dan Veniez
is surrendering to the pro-
vince timber the company
failed to log over the past
several years, Skeena
MLA Roger Harris says.

The so-called undercut
is 2.7 million cubic metres
of timber Skeena Cellu-
lose was supposed to log
but didn’t over the past
five years. Veniez had said
he'd seek approval to add
it to the future cut, holding
out the promise of drama-
tically increased logging
for contractors here.

But Harris said Veniez

indicaled he won't fight”
the province’s move to

take back the timber and
distribute it to other users.

“My understanding is
he’s not going to contest
the takeback of the under-.
cul,” Harris said.

“It puts thal volume
back in the hands of gov-
ernment.”

Up in the air is to what
extent Victoria will exer-
cise its power to: punish
the company for failing to
meet its duly to cut at
least 90 per cent of its an-
nual cut. over five years.

Penalties could range
from zero to the- full
amount of the undercut
~ potentially permanently

taking away most of the -
company’s annual cut in
each future year.

The province is also
secking a ‘five per cent
timber takeback of all the
forest licences triggered by
the sale of the company,
Harris said.

And ‘there’s also’ a
broader review planned to
assess how much Crown
timber the company needs
to supply its mills.

The province has also
begun a court-ordered
drive to reconsult area
aboriginal groups .on the
company sale.

Timber taken. away
from Skeena could: go ‘to
community forests, abori-
ginal groups and various

. §maller-scale timber users,

Harris added.

“There’s.a need within
the community to develop
a timber basket,” he said..

New Skeena officials
also warned last week ‘a
scheduled May startup. of
the Prince Rupert pulp
mil may not be possible if
elusive financing doesn’t

_ come together. -

“It is dependent on fi-
nancing,” chief financial
officer Martin. Hope told
the Prince Rupert: Daily
News last week, adding
New Skeena is looking for
$40 to $50 million.

Heartlands pledge rolls out old road cash

By JEFF NAGEL
MUCH OF the $609 million Victoria
is promising for rural roads and high-
ways over the next three years was al-
ready set aside for that purpose.
The roads promise; the: cornerstone

of ihe Liberals new :‘heartlands econo- .

mic strategy’, includes $216 million —
or more than a third of the total — that
was already earmarked for rural high-
way improvements.

That: budget. for. rehabilitating main.

routes outside‘ the lower mainland wil

be bolstered: by, an. éxlra’ $146 miflion

in new: ‘money to $362 million,

iransportation ministry spokesman
Shawn Robins.

The province spent about $135 mil-
lion province-wide for road and high-
way rehabilitation in 2001-02, he said.

“New. money is being concentrated

onthe building and improvement of

tural. sideroads and resource roads.
About $210 million out of $225 million
committed for that purpose is new.

A further pledge of $37 million for

Toads. to‘aid the: northeast: oil and ‘gas

program announced last year.

Once the ‘old’ money is stripped
out of the $609 million three-year an-
nouncement, it boils down to about
$118 million per year in new money
for rural highways androads,

Paying for the infusion of new: ‘road :
dollars is the the 3,5 cent per litre in-

crease in the provincial fuel lax,” ‘set to
take effect. March |. That will raise
about $650 million over three years. _

. Raising the gas: tax'to pay. for. Toad

. |-previous iractice -OF be
rowing Money through’ a:vehl

“othe: BC: ‘Transportation Financing Att tof

thority which was then added to the
overall provincial debt. The gas tax
will flow’ through the authority and
won't be lumped into general revenue.

Besides the highway upgrades and:

sideroad and resource road work in the
‘heartlands’ areas, Robins said, the
gas tax will also generate $132 million

for priority areas’ like the Rogers Pass

and Sea-to-Sky Highway, plus $93

million for border crossings and $30

million for airports and pons :
sts :.c

tation plan.

- The province expects to come up
with a further $1.7 billion for trans-
poration over three years. Some of
that, the province hopes, will come
from the federal government.

‘But more: money. will come from
private sources and: that ‘will mean
tolls and other fees from companies to
recoup their investment. ~

Robins said tolls are an-unlikely

prospect i inthe ‘heartlands’ areas, add-

ing it’s‘more: likely’ they. would be used
on routes in-the lower mainland,
. See € page A2 for budget highligh, a