Legislative Library. Parliament Ren Victoria, Be

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Vol. 40, No. 12

Counci

By RON NORMAN Editor

Castlegar council agreed Tuesday

Ald. Nick Oglow's request for a special audit of the city’s

industrial park.

Ald. Albert Calderbank, chairman of the administration and finance committee, and Ald. Len Embree opposed the

report.

Mayor Audrey Moore was also opposed to the report, but because she never actually voted against it, she was recorded in favor. Moore said in an interview today that she

simply forgot to raise her hand.

=.

by a split 5-2 vote to

Embree said he opposed the. special auditor's report because he felt it isn't needed.

“I don’t think that it would serve any useful. ee to spend taxpayers’ money for the report; he said.

yA PREM ape che ag

members “if certain specified and prescribéd conditions are

not adhered to.”

But Moore said in an interview ey the Bankrupt

Act does not apply to

4 Sections (A, B,C &D)

Jan. 27 council meeting. He said then he had concerns about

i $1.5 million debt the city owes the provincial government

can become i

But Ogiow charged that council and Casth

have been

“persistently industrial park debt will be forgiven.

misled”. by suggestions the

“There has been no forgiveness and there is no written

commitment of foregiveness,” he Ki He asked how close the city is to bankruptey — “or are we there now?” And he suggested there may be legal

ramificationss and possible - personal liability for council

any debts. But she quickly added: insolvency.”

As well, Moore said no council member can be held liable for the industrial park debt unless fraud is involved. she said.

“There is no fraud involved,”

ough , at which point fe province takes over

“we are

for a

‘ for the industrial park. Oglow’s request sparked heated debate and was eventually referred to the sdministration and finance

Oglow first requested the special auditor's report at the

: SLUGGING IT OUT. . . Doug Bennett (left) and the Slugs during Monday night's show at the Hi Arrow Arms Motor Hotel. Doug and the Slugs performed to sold out house. Review page A4.

CasNewsPhoto by Ron Norman

ASSESSMENTS DROP

Tax rate to increase

By RON NORMAN Editor

The City of Castlegar will have to increase tax rates this year to make up for a sharp decline in property values, Ald. N Oglow warned Tues day

Oglow made the comment after council received a report from the B.C. Assessment Authority showing the Castlegar assessment roll dropped 22.5 per cent between July 1, 1984 and July 1, 1986.

The July 1, 1986 assessment roll totalled $209.2 million compared to $269.9 million on July 1, 1984, a drop of $60.7 million.

“The depressed economy and con tinuing loss of jobs in the Trail/Castle- gar/Nelson area (eg. Cominco layoffs) has resulted in market

value levels *

which are still lower than the levels established for the 1985-86 assessment roll and have continued to decline since July 1, 1986,” area assessor John Collins said in a report to council.

Collins said residential property values dropped an average 15 per cent between 1984 and 1986. Industrial assessments fell five per cent, commer- cial assessments 12 per cent and util ities assessments five per cent.

And the assessment roll could drop another $12.5 million if Celgar Pulp Company's appeal of its assessment is successful.

The pulp mill was assessed at $107.5 million, but was sold last fall for only $95 million to a consortium of Canadian and Chinese companies.

Celgar is appealing the assessment on the basis that its true property

value is only $95 million — the price the mill ietehed.

City administrator Dave Gairns told council that he hasn't worked out how the city will be affected if the appeal is a success.

However, Mayor Audrey Moore ex pressed concern about the appeal, saying it could cause “a great deal of havoc” with city finances.

“It was certainly an anxiety of mine when it (the mill) changed hands,” Moore told the Castlegar News in an interview

She added that it is another way in which the city’s tax base has shrunk.

Moore said the Celgar appeal is especially worrisome because it could take two or three years before a de- cision is handed down. If successful, the

continued on page A2

Park changes spark concern

By SURJ RATTAN Staff Writer

Changes recently announced by Environment Minister Stephen Rogers for Kokanee Glacier Provincial Park

have been met with both approval and“

criticism.

Rogers, acting on the recommen. dations of the province's Wilderness Advisory Committee, announced on Jan. 29 several boundary and classi. fication changes for a number of B.C. parks.

The changes announced for Kokanee Glacier park include classifying 24,000 hectares as Class A status from Class B status. The area in question will be subjected to a two-year mineral evalu ation study by the provincial energy,

mines and resources ministry to de.

controlled exploration would be to pay

termine if there are sufficient minerals in the park to begin mining operations.

In addition, 111,300 hectares of land will be added as recreation areas, while 50,200 hectares of land, considered to be of low park value,<will be removed from the park's boundaries.

Rogers said his ministry decided to look ai the possibility of opening the park to mining after the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that the Province must recognize the rights of those who hold mineral claims in the park

“It is only with great reluctance that the government is making some of the tenure management changes. In some cases the only alternative to permitting

bly high compensation fees to the owners of existing tenures whose rights have been clearly estab.

lished by the Supreme Court of Can- -

ada,” said Rogers.

But Colleen McCrory of the Valhalla Wilderness Society told the Castlegar News that the changes Rogers has an nounced would be “gutting the whole heart out of the park.”

She added that the 50,200 hectares the provincial government plans to de lete from the park is needed to act as a “buffer zone from the mining.”

“The worst thing about the changes announced is allowing the mining. It

continued on poge A2

Voters to decide on firehalls

By MIKE KALESNIKO Staff Writer

A referendum scheduled for Satur- day could determine the fate of the Area I and J volunteer fire depart ments.

Area I director John Voykin ex. plained at an informational meeting at Tarrys Hall Tuesday night that unless voters approve a tax hike, firehalls in Robson, Tarrys and Pass Creek could be in jeopardy.

Voykin explained to about 50 people at the meeting that the drop in funds necessary for operating the firehalls came about when the provincial government made machinery — such as that at Kalesnikoff Lumber or West Kootenay Power and Light Co.'s Bril- liant Dam — exempt from taxation. Also, the decline of property values and subsequent drop in taxes has added to the burden.

“I don't really like to speculate on things that haven't happened yet,” Voykin told the Castlegar News. “I'm more positive about the vote’s outcome than negative.”

Voykin explained that the tax in- crease will keep the halls in operation and will give residents the added security of fire protection. As well, homeowners will have the additional benefit of less costly fire insurance be. cause a firehall operates in the com munity

“We're getting cheap fire protec. tion,” he said. “We would be losing so much by shutting down.”

Approval of the referendum would mean authorization of a maximum tax levy of $150,000 per year for Tarrys/

Continued on page A2

the never met to discuss the with city administrator Dave Gairns and presented a memo to council in which he recommended Oglow’s request be

and finance Instead, Calderbank met

continued on page As

Another

waterslide

in works

By CasNews Staff

Another waterslide has been prop- osed for Ootischenia — this time;near the Sunset Drive-In off Highway 3A.

Ald. Nick Oglow told Castlegar council Tuesday night the waterslide would go alongside a campground al- ready planned for the area.

The Regional District of Central Kootenay board gave the green light to the 54-site campground last summer when it approved a request to rezone 8.8 acres adjacent to the drive-in from commercial to campground use.

Last week the regional board rejec- ted a request to rezone six acres on Highway 3 near the Ministry of Highway weigh scales to allow con- struction of a $2 million recreational- tourist complex that included a water- slide.

However, Oglow, chairman of coun- cil’s planning and ‘development com- mittee, pointed out that the property near the drive-in is already zoned for

Man killed in crash

By CasNews Staff

A Castlegar man was killed in a single vehicle crash northeast of Nel- son Monday afternoon.

Lloyd Edward Hall, 58, of Castlegar died approximately 28 kilometres northeast of Nelson on Highway 3A near Redfish Creek.

According {to Nelson RCMP, Hall was driving a 1985 GMC pickup regis- tered to A and Z Parcel Delivery Ltd. at the time of the crash.

RCMP, who were called to the scene at approximately 2:50 p.m., say Hall was the lone occupant of the vehicle. He was pronounced dead on arrival at Kootenay Lake District Hospital.

The cause of the accident is still under investigation.

inside

ALL HEART: Eleven rinks took to the ice Sunday morning in the second annual curl-a-thon. Curlers raised more than $2,500 for the B.C. Heart Fund... C1

CATSCAN APPROVED ...

campground use and would only require an amendment to allow the waterslide.

Council agreed that the city's in- terests wouldn't be affected by the zoning amendment, but stopped short of officially endorsing the waterslide.

Oglow also indicated that since the city supported the earlier waterslide proposal, it would only be consistent to support this proposal as well.

But Ald. Len Embree said council shouldn't take a position on the prop- osal. Embree, who had opposed coun- cil’s support for the waterslide along Highway 3, said any decision on the waterslide should be made by Ootis- chenia residents. ~e

In. other news, Embree said the water quality in south Castlegar has improved, according to ‘testing per- formed by the Central Kootenay Health Unit.

“There's been a considerable im- provement,” he said.

Embree said tests around Christmas showed higher bacteriological counts and problems with the city’s chlorine system.

There were complaints the water tasted and smelled like chlorine, Em-

He noted that the major reason for the problem was the reduced water flow compared to summer when large quantities of water are used.

Embree also said bacteriological counts vary as surface runoff varies.

Meanwhile, minor changes to the new $445,000 library building specifi cations have saved the city $9,700.

Gairns said different roof trusses and insulation helped lower costs. As well, some areas around the building prop- osed for been eliminated.

Council agreed to a proposal to relocate the historical CP Rail station to the corner of 13th Avenue and 3rd Street, a short distance from its present location.

The station will be shifted so that it is on an angle facing the old Castle Hotel site.

Trail Regional Hospital has been given

the green light to order a CAT scanner

WORK PROCEEDING .. .

Work is continuing on sections of the

Zuckerberg Island Heritage Park chapel house destroyed by fire

Ab

REBELS WIN: Castlegar Rebels emerged from a fight-tilled contest against Rossland on the winning side of a 9-7 decision

LEGION INSTALLED: Royal Canadian Legion Branch No. 170 recently

installed its 1987 executive .

PLATOON NOMINATED: BEVERLY HILLS, Calif.

Platoon, a grim

saga of a young soldier's loss of innocence in Vietnam, and A Room With a View, an elegant comedy of vacationing Britons in Italy, have each received eight nominations for the 59th Academy Awar-

ds.

Both were nominated today for best picture of 1986, along with Children of a Lesser God, Hannah and Her Sisters and The

Mission. Aliens. seven nominations apiece

Hannah and Her Sisters and The Mission scored

Lee Ny