TUESDAY AUGUST 7, 2012
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A23
Rail tax has few takers
City, RDN opposed to ICF rail service proposal NEIL HORNER
news@pqbnews.com
A proposal to go to municipal-level taxpayers to fund a multi-million shortfall in bringing back rail service to Vancouver Island isn’t gaining any steam in the Central Island. The proposal, made last week by Island Corridor Foundation (ICF) chair Graham Bruce, got a big thumbs down from City of Parksville mayor Chris Burger, Qualicum Beach mayor Teunis Westbroek and Regional District of Nanaimo chair Joe Stanhope. Although all strongly favour the reintroduction of rail service as proposed by the ICF, none of the local leaders think municipal taxpayers should or even necessarily can foot the bill. The ICF recently received $15 million in joint federal and provincial funding to upgrade the track between Victoria and Courtenay, but this total did not factor in necessary rail bridge repairs, which are estimated to cost an additional $5.4 million. Burger said those same funding sources should be tapped for the bridge money as well. “In my view senior government needs to pony up the dollars to get it up and running,” he said. “This kind of infrastructure falls under their responsibility.” He said he’s worried about the possibility that once the city opens the funding tap to pay for such a move, it might be hard to turn it off. See RDN WILLING, page A9
LISSA ALEXANDER PHOTO
TEEN THEATRE: Local teenagers in Bard to Broadway’s Teen Musical Theatre looked like a big happy family as they worked together to prepare for the upcoming production of A Kidsummer Night’s Dream musical. TMT goes public August 16 and 17 at 7:30 p.m. and Aug 18 at 2 p.m. at the Village Theatre in Qualicum Beach. Visit www.b2btheatre.com for details.
City council will be tested Parksville mayor Chris Burger says local politicians are in for a busy fall AUREN RUVINSKY writer@pqbnews.com
Parksville council is enjoying a bit of a lull in official duties over the summer, but mayor Chris Burger said things are picking up through the end of the summer and into the fall. He is giving “a general heads up for people who are interested in politics to pay attention, it’s going to be a busy season.” “The staff are working very hard in a number of areas,”
and staff and council will be tested in their commitment to the budget and hiring freezes they initiated early this year, he said. Among the big items to watch for are the first draft of the long awaited official community plan (OCP) update, a possible new water rate structure, the city’s long term capital plan and new or updated bylaws dealing with tress, development cost charges (DCCs) and business licences. See CITY TO RANK PRIORITIES, page A7
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