Ad: The Terrace Standard, Wednesclay, November 17, 1999 TERRACE. STANDARD ESTABLISHED APRIL 37, 1988 PUBLISHER: ROD LINK ADDRESS: 3210 Clinton Street Terrace, B.C. * V8G 5R2 TELEPHONE: (250) 638-7283 » FAX: (250) 638-8432 EMAIL: standard@kermode.net Issue is money IT’S UNFORTUNATE two ideas to reduce mul- tiplex borrowing costs have surfaced so late in the game. There simply isn’t enough time for voters to absorb the information, ask questions and add it to the mix of deciding whether the multiplex is worthy or not. . The first idea comes from the Municipal Fi- nance Authority, the body which borrows money on behalf of local governments across B.C. for large-scale projects. . . It has in place a program in which local resi- dents can invest in local projects. The investment would pay more than money in a chequing or savings account but less than the interest the au- thority would pay if it issued bonds on the big money markets. That not only means a cost sav- ings but, since the investments are RRSP-eli- gible, there’s a bonus for the local investor. The second idea comes from Mayor Jack Tal- stra and dates back to the failed 1996 bid to merge Terrace with Thornhill and other rural areas. If the merger had gone through, the city would have received $1.26 million from the province. Talstra’s suggesting that $250,000 be used to give Braun’s Island a water system, provided its residents agree to become part of Terrace. The re- maining $1 million would then be used to reduce the overall borrowing needed for the multiplex, providing a slight decrease in the city property tax hike needed to pay for the project. Ambitious and complicated, the Talstra plan leaves many questions hanging, not the least of which is whether a cash-strapped provincial gov- ernment has the money. kicking.around. And it places Braun’s Island residents in the delicate po- sition of being a deal-breaker or deal-maker for the multiplex. These plans speak to the crucial multiplex fi- nancial issue — just because voters are being asked for approval to borrow up to $7.6 million, does it mean the entire amount will be borrowed? Multiplex backers say every effort will be made to raise money in other ways to trim the amount to be borrowed as much 4s possible. They also say it’s tough to line up alternate financing in ad- vance of voter approval. In other words, voters are being asked to say ‘yes’ as a matter of faith that other sources will be found or, indeed, are there and are waiting for voter approval before being unveiled. That’s a substantial request, given the natural reluctance voters have to accepting monetary pro- mises. As well, the multiplex yote is also wrap- ped up in the suspicions Thornhill and other rural voters have to any project requiring money they feel is city-driven. Had multiplex backers been able to demon- strate there is other money out there, voters just might be more comfortable this Saturday with the idea of voting ‘yes’. PUBLISHER/EDITOR: Rod Link ADVERTISING MANAGER: Brian Lindenbach PRODUCTION MANAGER: Edouard Credgeur NEWS Jeff Nagel » NEWS/SPORTS: Christiana Wiens NEWS/COMMIUNITY: Alex Hamilton FRONT OFFICE: Darlene Keeping CIRCULATION SUPERVISOR: Carole Kirkaldy ADVERTISING CONSULTANTS: Sam Bedford, Mark Beaupre & Stacy Swetlikoff TELEMARKETER: Stacy Swellikoff DARKROOM/COMPOSING: Susan Credgeur AD ASSISTANT: Julic Davidson, Kulwant Kandpla SUBSCRIPTION RATES BY MAIL: 1998 WINNER CCNA BETTER NEWSPAPERS COMPETITION BITE THE HAND! HUE THE HAND ET. 2 yi ‘ b Tm me Hie, Make that FRBC q case of RIP VICTORIA - Forestry experts have said it for years. So has the. Liberal opposition. And sa have J, for that matter. Now the province's: fiscal watchdog, Auditor General George Morfiit, has made it official: Forest’ Renewal B.C. has been spending money like a dranken suilor. He didn't quite put ‘it that way, but in the language of accountanis, his comments are as condemning as: mine. "FRBC doesn't have a good handle on where it's going, what it's doing or what it has - accomplished,” Morfitt says in his- report released . last week. The Crown corporation, he says, “has ‘struggled with: the principles: of . Wise spending." To me, that sounds -- pretty much like:the descrip- tion of a drunken sailor's spending habits. - Forest Renewal ‘has. spent about $1.8 billion since its in- ception five years ago. ‘Of that. according: to Morfitt, $1.2 bil-_ lion was spent without, FRBC knowing what it’ wanted” to achieve. Staff, increased from an initial 30 to 56 in early 1999, Like so many ideas gone awry, this one, too, was born of good intentions, Forest Re- newal B.C. was set up in 1994 Morfitt’ said, . FROM THE CAPITAL HUBERT BEYER by then premier Mike Harcourt to help forestry-dependent communities which were fac- ing a bleak future. — Dwindling demand for our lumber, coupled with drasti- cally reduced annual allow- able cuts, which were ‘prompt ed by the realization that our forests were not “forever,” as... ‘the industry had wanted us to _ believe, pushed many. ‘forestry. communities. to the brink of economic ruin, Forest Renewal was. to change all that or. at least some. of, The plan was simple enough: Forest. companies would pay a surcharge on-roey- alties payable to the :govern- ment for timber harvested on Crown Jand. That money would be spent by Forest Re- newal on any number of pro- jects, such as retraining of job- less forest workers and small niche industries that could create more jobs with less tim- ber. ~ Initially virtually everyone, including the industry, the op- position and the media. were onboard, And- why wouldn't. they? It Was a- good plan that held great promise. Alas, problems developed early on. At one point, Forest Renewal had ‘hundreds of mil- lions of dollars in the’ bank ‘and few plans how to spend ‘it. With all that beautiful mon- ey lying around, doing nothing, the government played with the idea of grabbing $200 mil- lion to reduce its deficit. Only after a public outcry did the. government abandon that iden. Soon crilies came oul of the’. woodwork. One man who had done’ some contract work. for” Forest Renewal said publicly that ‘the ‘organization. was spending. money without ac- countability, giving . specific examples. The apposition referred to Forest Rgpewal’ as an’ NDP slush fund, ‘The’ corporation, - they said, gave preferential treatment to projects undertak- en by goverament friends. Forest Renewal was able lo fend off much of the criticism on the not entirely unjustified grounds that the opposition had a political ax to. grind and ‘the media were traditionally con- ~ troversy-driven.: It's a little more difficult to shrug off the auditor general's findings, though. Morfitt has no — . ax_to grind, At least I hope the government. and Forest Rene- wal won't’stoop to that accusa- tion, Alcan rate, his term is up is year. This is probably his last major report. * Forest Renewal officials, of course,.are trying hard’. to.con- trol the damage to ils image done by Morfitt’s report. The “statement thal the corporation doesn't know where it's going, one official. says,is “totally false." FRBC, hé says, has a new five-year plan that sets out exactly where it's going: and how i it's going to get there. Well, I've. seen’ ‘too! Tany fi ve-year ‘orgdnizational” plang,” trom ‘the ones’ the Soviet Union kept promising, to".the NDP! government's. debt- management plan that keeps. being revised, to have any confidence in FRBC's: alleged: blueprint for the future, I have the distinct impres- sian that Forest Renewal's days are as numbered as the NDP government's. L wouldn't bet on the future blueprint of either. Watch MASH and fireworks After years of straining to learn what Terrace cily coun- cil was mumbling about, the new sound system in council chambers is a treat. Without it, T might have missed David Hull’s motion to restrict the use of fire- works ta-those possessing a pyrotechnics licence. A wise motion, long awaited. Now, if only the re- gional district backs up city council witha similar resolu- tion. Next year our Hal- lowe'’en could be a lot more peaceful and safe. Every year some B.C. kid loses an eye, a couple of fin- gers, or injures a friend by ig- noring commonsense rules , for safe use of fireworks. And every year dozens of dogs are. frightened out of their wits. by the random ex- plosions of noisemakers, An- ~ nually, on that single night, ° more dogs escape their yards: in panic to become dag pound statistics, according to the SPCA. Cily council ts equally THROUGH SIFOCALS: CLAUDETTE SANDECKI concerned a misdirected fire- work might intentionally or accidentally cause a fire, such as‘in Surrey where fire. de- stroyed’an entire elementary school. Although that fire - may have been speeded along by the contents of a gus can scen carried by one arson suspect, With council chamber’s better quality sound, council “meetings can be more enter... taining than some Monday night programs, Council. has certain similarities to M.A.S.H. There’s the Corpo- ral Klinger councillor who | can get anything for you bet- ter than wholesale; he .asks and he receives, whether it's six loads of gravel, 14 yards of concrete, or a fax machine, The mayor presides over’ operations like Colonel -Pat- ter, keeping the team working — together. Last week, faced with an uprising of citizens over. the cutbacks at Mills Memorial Hospital, the mayor cajoled, trying to prev- ent blood being spilled on the floor, Following «the citizens’. presentation, TV viewers watched a soundless inter- mission, much like/a muted commercial. Councillors, all _ up for re-election, spoke on- on-one with spectators. How. I wished could lip read.. Summing up the delega- tion's impact on council,’ the mayor spoke. one. true thing: he said council’s.influence’ on the provincial-government. de- pends largely on taxpayers’ obvious support for council's efforts, When council meets with government in Victoria, the health ministry counts them.as seven dissenting voices. Big — deal. But if Victoria sees do- zens of citizens. taking the trouble to ‘crawd council chambers or to pack a health council meeting, even this premier and’ health minister tnight cluc in thal Terrace, not just-council, expects, nay de-. _ mands, -more funding for Mills. One delegate ‘noted spend- ing seems out of whack when. $40 million is*to be spent building a highway for Kinco- ‘Tith’s 600 citizens, when a hospital that serves.the north- --west-region mus! fly patients to Vancouver for routine care because we lack beds for our. ° doctors to admil patients. In view ‘of the sparks spit oul by citizens angry over — hospital cutbacks, Hull's mo- tion restricting fireworks | was, well timed: “THE NEXT T1 $57.30 per year; Seniors $50.75; Out of Province $64.39 m MY CANCER PROTECT | AND MY ‘Don’ \ 4 TL GOTA gt GREAT HEY 7 Outside of Canada (6 montis) $158.25 _ Gor A OR OnIR 7 Feast aie PNET ON MY ADRIIERN| LES SET GENERATION OF ( ICES INCLUDE GST) i (En : STER IS GON EXAM// FIRE TOTHE / MEMBER OF 40 THE DISTRICT ECOLOGY HYPARITES ! 8,¢, AND YUXON COMMUNITY NEWSPAPERS ASSOCIATION. COMPETITION ! CANAOLAN COMMUNITY NEWSPAPERS ASSOCLATION AND 8.C, PRESS COUNCIL G@ cna Sarving the Terrace and Thombill area. Published on Wednesday of each week af 3210 Clinton Slreat, Terrace, British Columbia, VBG 582. Storles, photographs, illustrations, designs and typestyles in the Tentace Slandard are the preperty of the copyright holders, Including Cariboo Press (1969) Lid., its illustration repro services and advertising agancias. 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