WEDNESDAY, Janu

18, 1995

Serving the 19,000 people of the Castlega’ Area, The Castlegar Sun
Sterling Newspapers Lid at 465

PUBLISHER MARILYN STRONG
RON NORMAN
ACTING EDITOR
KAREN KERKHOFF
REPORTER

JEFF
SPORTS
MARGE LALONDE
OF

editorial comment

Some good news

The sale of the remaining 15 lots at the Castlegar
Industrial Park is very good news. Castlegar coun-
cil deserves considerable credit for ridding itself of
what. was one of the biggest white elephants in
Castlegar’s history.

The industrial park was undertaken in the the late
1970s when the B.C, economy—like economies
across the country—was booming. Governments in
Ottawa and Victoria encouraged the city to expand its
industrial land base with special low-interest loans.

But no sooner had the ribbon-cutting finished
and the park was opened, than the recession hit.
The park remained virtually vacant and the lot
prices plummeted.

Slowly, over a number of years, lots were sold
and the park began to fill with tenants.

Now, with the final 15 lots sold, council can
finally put the park debacle behind it. But the
park’s effects—both good and bad—will be felt for
a number of years yet.

First the bad: despite selling all the lots, the city
still owes more than $900,000 on its low-interest
loans. That debt won’t be paid off until after the
tum of the century. It amounts to some $100,000 a
year added to the city tax bill.

And now the good: the new owners will begin
paying taxes on their land and soon after that on
their buildings. Those are taxes that will be paid for
years and years and eventually could provide the
city with a profit, if you take a long—very long—
range view.

Ron Norman

A word of advice

In light of the public drubbing Rogers Cable has
taken the last few weeks, Castlegar cable sub-
scribers are waiting to see what Shaw Cable does
when it i di its new ch ls in the West-
Kootenay in March.

A Shaw spokesman says his company is moni-
toring the Rogers’ situation and hasn’t yet decided
if it will negative bill, as Rogers is continuing to do
despite the public outcry.

A word of advice to Shaw: don’t

Negative billing is a scam, pure and simple. How
is it different, for instance, from those rackets
where suppliers send invoices for items you
haven’t even ordered,

It’s like The Castlegar Sun sending a paper to
every household in the area and telling readers that
unless they contact the newspaper office and say they
don’t want to receive the paper, they will be billed.

Or Safeway adding groceries you never ordered
to your shopping cart and then making you pay for
them, unless you tell them you didn’t want them.

Whether it's newspapers, groceries or cable
TV—negative billing is all the same: # scam.

Ron Norman

ERRORS:

The advertiser agrees that the publisher shalll not be liable for
damages arising out of errors in any advertisement beyond the
amount paid for the space actually occupied by that portion of the
advertisement in:which the error occurred, whether such error is due
to the of its servants or and there shail be no
lability for non-insertion of any advertisement beyond the amount
paid for such advertisement. All advertising subject to publisher's

completed

within one year from contract

ANO THE REASONS
FOR THESE RETURNS
MADAME ? .,.

The city’s new Major Road Net-
work Pjan is a fact. A done deal.

So whether or-not the plan is a

ood really doesn’t amount to
a hill Of beans. (For the record, it's
my view that while the plan has
some serious flaws, it is, for the
most part, quite satisfactory—but
more about that later.)

My problem is with the process:
the plan sailed through third read-
ing and final adoption on Jan. 10
without so much as a hiccup from
the six councillors and Mayor
Mike O’Connor.

I don’t think anyone would
argue that they like to see politi-
cians talk just for the sake of talk-
ing. But there's a difference
between talking and explaining.

Most voters want—and I would
go so far as to suggest they
demand—explanations from their
elected representatives. Especially
on contentious issues like the road
plan. It is the blueprint for Castle-
gar’s street network for the next
decade. A street network, by the

_ way, that is pretty dismal right now.

Roads are an issue that have
attracted their share of interest
over the years. Everyone has an
opinion on Columbia Avenue,
for example.

It was no surprise, then, that
the public hearing drew 20 resi-
dents with concerns. Some of
those concerns were addressed at

the public hearing. But because it
was a public hearing in which
council must listen to residents
and not engage in debate, all con-

WSS
Council needs to explain itself better

Afterwards, I had a number of
residents come up to me and say
that while they didn’t agree with
council approving third reading

for the Riverbend

You would
think, then, that
the time to
speak out and
allay residents’
fears would
have been dur-

cerns were not
The view
from here

Ron
Norman

ing third read-

development,
they appreciated
the fact that it
didn't just rubber
stamp it.

So why didn’t
council do the
same thing last
week with its

ing and final
adoption.

But that wasn't the case. There
was no mention of the residents’
concerns or how council would
address them.

This isn’t the first time council
has given third reading to a con-
troversial issue without so much
as a cough from councillors or
the mayor. The other was when
the proposed Emerald Green
manufactured home park came
before council

I thought council might have
changed its ways when, during
third reading of the Riverbend
subdivision rezoning at bert it

I d why it was p

Residents at that meeting were
pleased with the way councillors
went around the table and individ-
ually. talked about why they were
voting the way they were.

road network
plan? It has everything to gain and
really nothing to lose by explain-
ing its actions to voters.

In fact, I would expect that
some of the pressure council has
been under from residents because
of rapid changes affecting the
community would be alleviated
from such a move.

At the very least, council
would acknowledge that it has
heard the residents and listened to
their concerns.

As for the road network plan
itself, the biggest problem is with
its implementation. It is all well
and good to draw ‘a blue line on a
map and say that street will now
be a collector street.

It is something else altogether

tor street includes proper street
lighting and sidewalks along with
a much wider road surface than
most Castlegar streets have.

Take a look at Southridge
Drive. That's a proper collector
street. It is the proper width (a 20-
meter right of way and 10.8
meters of road surface) and has a
sidewalk down one side.

Take a look at Sth Avenue. It,
too, is a collector street. It has a
right of way of perhaps 12 meters
and a road surface seven meters
-wide: No curbs, no sidewalks and
no proper streetlighting.

The challenge for the city is to
bring 5th up to the same standard
as Southridge

But when will that happen? The
Ministry of Highways has just $15
million a year to help pay for
streets like Sth. That’s $15 million
for the whole province.

It could be years before Sth sees
any provincial funding. In the
meantime, we are going to see
more traffic routed down there.

That, after all, is the goal of
making it a collector street; to take
pressure off Columbia and move it
down streets like Sth.

It doesn’t make much sense to
complain that Columbia is narrow,
congested and unsafe, and then wy
to fix the

to follow through-with the ch
that are required to make the street
an actual collector street. A collec-

PLANNING FOR CITY'S FUTURE

by
the traffic to a street like Sth,
which is even narrower.

Let's talk before making decisions

We are strongly opposed to the

_new_ Major Road Network Plan

for Castlegar.

The major reason for our reject-
ing this proposed plan has to do
with the threat to the safety of road
users and local residents, especial-
ly pedestrians and including young
children, who will be affected by
increased traffic on an already too-
narrow street. We do not see how
Sth Avenue can be widened to
meet presents standards set by the
city for secondary -access or “‘col-
lector” roads without excessive
cost to the taxpayer, cither through
local or provincial taxes.

In Our opinion it would be
unethical, if not illegal, for the city
to assign secondary access or col-
lector status to Sth Avenue without
a commitment to widen the street
and add sidewalks and street light-
ing and the other requirement for
this type of road. It is our under-
standing that the city iS not willing
to make ‘such a commitment
because of cost. so why go ahead
with the new designation?

As well, for the city to suppon
this amendment simply to allow the
Riverbend Subdivision to go ahead
is, in our view, unacceptable
Unless the subdivision is allowed
access onto Columbia Avenue, it
shouldn't go ahead. Development
at the south end of town is not a
priority in the Official Community

Plan and we are not convinced it
should become a priority now or in
the immediate future.

This proposed bylaw is only
one example of what we would
characterize as fragmented, short-
term, isolated and reactive devel-
opment in Castlegar. Concern is
certainly growing among a sub-

My “Turn

stantial number of residents
regarding the effects of rapid
growth and change in the city.

It is our opinion that unless con-
fidence is soon restored regarding
the future of the city, there will be
mounting anger and resistance that
will have a serious negative effect
on many aspects of this communi-
ty’s life. People want their voices
and ideas to be heard and taken
seriously. They want to feel part of
ahe process, not treated as unim-
portant and insignificant ‘blockers
of progress”.

We would therefore like to take
this opportunity to suggest that
now is a very good time for the
city to involve the residents of our
community in a planning process
whereby their ideas, visions and
concerns can be incorporated into
a 20-year plan for the city.

In fact, we fail to see how the

city can possibly come up with a
20-year plan for capital expendi-
tures without such a participatory
exercise having taken place.

We believe that the residents.

of this city want to have a
chance to work with others to
put forward workable and realis-
tic ideas regarding what we want
our city to look like and how we
want it to serve its residents in
20 years’ time. Areas of particu-
lar concern to us include:

+ the transportation network in
the city;

+ the development of parks,
trails, bike paths and other such
recreational resources,

+ designation of parts of the city
suitable for commercial develop-
ment,

+ designation of high-density
residential areas.

For example, we question the
expansion of Columbia Avenue
into a multi-lane major highway
cutting through the residential
south end of town. Perhaps there
are other options for moving traf-
fic through this part of Castlegar
rather than concentrating exclu-
sively on making Columbia
Avenue wider and wider.

We want the opportunity to talk
with others in this community
before decisions are made by offi-
cials who often don't even live
here and certainly don’t have to

put up with the consequences of
their solutions to problems.
Other communities in the
Kootenays and elsewhere have
gone through very successful

P P y?P P

There are many models to choose
from and experienced people
who can guide us through such
an exercise.

Of course, a planning process
must go way beyond “open house”
and one-time public meeting. It
has to include the opportunity for
local residents to work together
with others in small groups, with
appropriate resource people, in
order to develop ideas and put for-
ward suggestions.

It has to be a process that is
accessible and understandable, and
one which draws people into tak-
ing part. Most of all, residents
have to have the confidence that
they will be taken seriously and
their input valued.

In conclusion, we would there-
fore propose that any amendments
or rezoning with regard to Castle-
gar's transportation network or
major new developments be-put
on hold until an in-depth, serious,
and participatory planning process
resulting in a 20-year Plan for the
City of Castlegar can be imple-
mented.

Ann and Bud Godderis ure Sth
Avenue residents.

Wednesday, Janyary 18, 1995

The Castlegar Sun

Letters to the Editor

Page 7A

Don't destroy Zuckerberg bridge

Dear Editor:

The news in the Jan. 4 Castle-
gar Sun editorial that Castlegar
council is considering disman-
tling Zuckerberg Island suspen-
sion bridge has prompted me to
write. The first time, some
months ago, when I read that one
end needed repair and that our
council felt it may not be worth
doing, I thought: “There's no
way, it’s a rumor!”

I saw it reported again later,
felt disturbed, but again thought,
“They won't do that!”

However, I*ve seen it enough
times now to believe it and I, for
one, will do what I can to oppose
this decision.

Council must be aware of the
special value this suspension
bridge has as a tourist attraction.
How many places outside of Van-
couver have one?

The first place we take visitors,
young and old, is to Zuckerberg
Island; and it is a must to go there
when our grandchildren visit. We
never use the causeway to get
there, Walking the suspension
bridge is a fascination and the
highlight. It wouldn't seem like
an island without the experience
of goifig over water to get there

The clearing that the bridge
leads to is interesting in that we
see the reconstructed Salish pit
house and the Hiroshima memo-
rial garden. One wants to explore
further to see what's next. I don't
feel this excitement from the
causeway approach.

Though I was not one of thém,
I remember the bridge took much
hard work by many local volun-
teers; first to advertisé the need
for the connection. This resulted
in getting the attention of the 44th

Dear Editor:

Over the recent holiday sea-
son, we heard advertisements
on the radio asking that area
residents shop locally, thereby
supporting local business. I
think this is a good concept as
it keeps our community. busi-
nesses vibrant and healthy.

At this time, I would like to
ask this same group of business
people to make the same pitch
to our city council. Recently,
council voted to continue with
the lowest bidder policy even if
that bidder is not from the local
area. For example, downtown
revitalization went to a Kelow-
na company and the sewage
plant upgrade to an Alberta
company.

By contracting to other than
local businesses, council not
only exports jobs on the actual
worksite, but it also exports

Put pressure on council

accounting, payroll and bank
ing jobs. I believe our local tax
dollars should be spent locally
and I think the business com-
munity should put their weight
behind the concept of spending
local-tax dollars on local con-
tractors.

I would like to commend the
Castlegar school board for at
least attempting to ensure that
local people are employed on
school projects and would like
council to reconsider its policy.

Local tax dollars spent local-
ly stay in the community to
ensure the continued success of
our business community.

If the business community
wants us to shop locally, then
they should also put pressure on
council to do the same thing

Neil Austin
Castlegar

The need

Dear Editor:

Regarding the article in the
Jan. 11, 1995 issue entitled
“House values drop”, written by
Karen Kerkhoff.

I feel the need to clarify this
misleading article. In my discus-
sion with Ms. Kerkhoff, I indicat-
ed that I felt about 10 per cent of
the residential assessed values, as
per the 1995 property assess-
ments, would be higher than mar-
ket value (the price someone
could expect to receive from a
knowledgeable purchaser).

This is not an uncommon per-
centage in any given year. There
will also be a percentage of
assessments that-are lower_than
market value.

The intent of the article was to
discuss assessed value as it relat-
ed to market value and to reas-
sure the public that a 25 per cent
increase, for example, does not
necessarily equate to a 25 per
cent increase in the amount of
property tax they will pay.

The amount payable is deter-

More Letters
to the Editor
on page 8B.

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to. clarify

mined by the tax rate set by the
jurisdiction in which their prop-
erty is located.

I wanted to emphasize that
when selling a home, one
shouldn’t depend entirely on
assess value to determine the
asking price.

A well-documented market
evaluation, which should pro-
vide you with very current com-
parable sales, is a better
indicator of value.

Jordan Watson,
Broker/Owner
Countrywide Southcentre
Realty Ltd.

HOSPITAL
AUXILIARY
TREASURE SHOP
Great Selection of clothing,
hardware & miscellaneous items,

Field Engineer Squadron of Trail
They had a project to construct; a
pedestrian suspension bridge. Out
of three possible places and much
study, our Zuckerberg Island
location was the one chosen.
However, there was a hitch.
The squadron was to destroy it
after completion. The Rotary

for repairs?

As a note of interest and coin-
cidence, my husband and I, with
a group from Western Canada,
travelled to. Normandy, France
last June for the D-Day celebra-
tions. Through this, we met Mike
and Vivi Heppell, a friendly cou-
ple from Victoria.

club, local industry, b
and citizens came to the rescue
with grants and material, which
enabled us to keep the bridge

This bridge won the Hertzberg
Award, the highest militia engi-
neering project award in Canada:
a feat that speaks for itself.

How can council destroy
something that has been such a
worthwhile project done by so
many citizens in the area?

What has been the mainte-
nance of this bridge over the
years and exactly what will it cost

He bered Castlegar as
he was the Brigadier General of
Pacific Command who came to
participate in the official opening
of the bridge. That was 12 years
ago. I made mention of this to
show the. bridge does make
impressions.

Castlegar has some unique
qualities and the bridge is one of
them.

Do not destroy it!

M. Culley
Castlegar

Response was not
very reassuring

Dear Editor:

Readers of your paper who
noted my November letter to the
Canadian Radio and Television
Commission may be interested in
the response of the CRTC.

My letter asked the following
(summarized) questions: How did
the CRTC verify the capital
expenditure for which out fees
were being increased? Did the
CRTC monitor the cost recoveries
so that out rates would be reduced
when the cable company had
recovered the allowable portion of
their cost? How can I be charged
extra for a service I am already
paying for? What is a pass-
through fee? What cost could
there be for transferring between
services, both already on the cable
and already being paid for?

In reply, the CRTC sent.some
“fact sheets”"—summaries of
some of their regulations—which
told me

1. A pass-through fee is a
CRTC-approved “increase in the
wholesale rate of:a-Canadian spe-
cialty. programming service
offered on basic service”.

It appears we can expect this
addition to our fees to go on
forever.

2. Increases for capital expen-

ditures, called capex increases
(except for an addressable
decoder cost) “cannot exceed of
the previous year’s basic service
monthly fee, less taxes, pass-
through charges and any previous
capex increases”.

It seems to me that checking
on this limit could cost a bundle,
but maybe the cable company has
to show it meets this test

There's also reference to a
clause requiring individual
capex increases to be removed
after five years - I-wonder
who's checking this one, as I’ve
seen no reductions in over 30
years. Mind you, since 1993 this
clause is suspended (indefinite-
ly?) “for cable companies who
contribute half the correspond-
ing revenue to the Canadian
Program Production Fund”
Another of the hidden taxes so
popular with governments and
their bureaucracies

As you see, few of my ques-
tions were even dealt with, much
less answered, and all that I read
did nothing to reassure me that
the CRTC is an effective watch-
dog for us.

Jack Yolland
Castlegar

Fal

== pili

8:30 pm. $28 plus GST

April 4, 6:30 - 8:30 pm. $60 plus GST,

the door, $79/couple plus GST.

Selkirk College

Drawing: Do you enjoy drawing but have never been able to get much beyond a
childlike level? Are you already drawing and want to improve? This class is for the
beginner as well as the more advanced artist. Wed., Feb. 8 - April 26. No classes on
March 15 & 22. 7:30 - 9:30 p.m. $65 plus GST.

Introduction to Microcomputers: Become familiar witha personal computer by
trying your hand at a variety of programs and games. Sat., Jan. 21, 9 am - 2 pm. $30

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Kick the Habit - Quit Smoking: This five week self-help program, based on the

Beginners Japanese: This course focuses on the basics of conversational Japanese
The goal is to help participants become proficient in daily expressions and dialogue
Some grammar is included. Wed., Jan, 25 - March 29, 7-9 pm. $60 plus GST.

Beginners Spanish: Plansging a trip to a Spanish spefiking country? These classes
give students basic vocabulary and tourist plus a ge of the
phonetic alphabet and pronunciation adequate for simple dialogue. Tues., Jan. 31 -

Successful Money Strategies: Learn about taxes, inflation, compound interest,
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and more. Wed., Jan. 25, Feb. 1, & 8, 6:30 -

CASTLEGAR CAMPUS
08

Dear Editor:

It is disturbing to read in The
Castlegar Sun that our city
council would even. consider
cutting down the remaining
woods at Kinnaird Park to build
yet another ball field. To replace
the present natural beauty of the
park with another flat, wire-
fenced ball field is inconceiv-
able, This would. destroy the
esthetic aspect of the park for
the ball players,.who are a
minority of the park's users.

The park is there for the
enjoyment of all citizens, The
majority of users are the chil-
dren who come to play in tLe
woods and playground, the
family picnickers, the walkers
and joggers, and the various
groups who gather for barbe-
cues and games of bocce, etc,

The ball fields already take
up at least 50 per cent of the
park. They are used for two or
three hours in the evening for
three months a year, The ball

Say no to ball field

players monopolize the park
for several weekends each
summer, While the ball dia-
monds sit empty, the other park
users enjoy the remaining area
for all but three or four months
each year. Should the majority
of users have their enjoyment
of the park taken from them for
the short period of use by the
minority of users?

I urge all the citizens who
love our Kinnaird Park as it is
to telephone Councillor Brenda
Binnie at 365-5096 (she told
me she would appreciate any
calls of dissent during the
evening). You may also phone
city hal) at 365-7227 to register
your protest. Finally, you may
make a petition and have your
friends and neighbors sign a
statgment of opposition to the
proposal and mail it to me at
1200 Park Lane, Castlegar,
B.C. VIN 4H7.

W.M. Yule
Castlegar

LOST in Robson:
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| Red with black guard

hairs, white face, chest,

legs, underbelly.

Tatto in right ear KC6.
Choke chain with
Castlegar vet tags.
Last seen January

9/95. $1000 reward.

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