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RED DEER ADVOCATE CENTRAL ALBERTA’S DAILY NEWSPAPER
BREAKING NEWS ONLINE AT WWW.REDDEERADVOCATE.COM
BUDGET 2013
City cuts proposed tax hike DRAFT UNDERESTIMATED REVENUE FROM CONSTRUCTION GROWTH
TUESDAY, JAN. 8, 2013
Starved for hockey
BY CRYSTAL RHYNO ADVOCATE STAFF A reduction in Red Deer’s proposed property tax increase to 3.91 per cent from 4.15 per cent opened the first day of the city’s operating budget talks on Monday. City chief finan- CHARTERS TAKING cial officer Dean SHAPE A2 Krejci said staff under-estimated the revenue from construction growth, which in turn lowered the projected property tax increase. The revenue was estimated at roughly $1.9 million but after doing more number crunching, the figure increased to $2.14 million. Mayor Morris Flewwelling said the reduction started the deliberations on the estimated $284-million budget on the right foot. “It’s very encouraging at this point to have the tax increase at 3.91 per cent because council could pull it up a little more or bump it down a little,” said Flewwelling. “But nothing big is going to happen.” Flewwelling added that he is happy with the budget because at this point the budget is fairly tight with everything on the pages questioned and vetted all along the way. “It was wonderful news to hear today that the estimated building return will be higher. It’s always good to get good news like that,” said Flewwelling. “I think we’re in for one for (today) that isn’t quite as exciting so stay tuned.” The first day of budget talks went over with little fanfare as city manager Craig Curtis and Krejci gave an overview of the 2013 operating budget, much of which council has heard before in draft form and at the media briefing on Friday. On Monday, Elaine Vincent, the director of corporate services division, delivered the $18.5 million budget for financial services, information technology services, legislative services, and revenue and assessment services.
Please see BUDGET on Page xx
Photo by JEFF STOKOE/Advocate staff
Jersey City Employee Richard Skutar works in the Bower Shopping Centre location Monday moving NHL jersey’s to the front racks of the store. The store is hoping the imminent resumption of the NHL season will mean an increase in sales of hockey jerseys. BY MURRAY CRAWFORD ADVOCATE STAFF Fans have been feeling the pain of the lockout for the past 113 days, but so too have businesses that rely on the National Hockey League for revenue. The lockout came to a conclusion on NHL DEAL B4 Sunday when both sides tentatively agreed to the terms of a new collective bargaining agreement. The deal now has to be ratified. Bars and jersey stores have been through a down few months, in terms of sales and patrons, while the owners locked out the players, cancelling 625 games. And Josh Mizurek, manager at Jersey City in Bower Place Shopping Centre, said he has heard from numerous customers about their disgust with the situation. “I bet you I’m seeing four to five people a day come in and even if the NHL comes back, they say they’re not buying anything,” said Mizurek.
NHL STOPPAGES CHRONOLOGY 1991-92 April 1 — NHL players vote 560-4 to reject the owners’ contract offer, setting into motion the first league-wide strike in league history. April 11 — Players and owners agree on a contract through the 1992-93 season. The 30 postponed games are rescheduled. 1994-95 Sept. 22 — Owners announced they will lock out players on Oct. 1, when the season is scheduled to start, if there isn’t an agreement. Jan. 11 — On the 103rd day of the lockout, players and owners agree to a six-year deal with a reopener after the 1997-98 fourth season. Following the cancellation of 468 games, each team played a 48-game regular-season schedule. 2004-05 Sep pt. 15 — NHL owners vote unanimouslyy
“Just completely boycotting the sport. Where last year, everybody was looking, everybody loved their sport. This year, I had some regular custom-
to lock out players on Sept. 16, the day training camps were to start opening. Feb. 16 — Commissioner Gary Bettman canceled the season, wiping out the entire 1,230-game schedule and the playoffs. The NHL becomes the first major pro sports league in North America to lose an entire season to a labor dispute. July 13 — On the 301st day of the lockout, players and owners agree in principle to a sixyear contract. 2012-13 Sept. 13 — NHL owners vote unanimously to lock out players on Sept. 16, the day training camps were to start opening. Jan. 6 — On the 113th day of the lockout, players and owners agree to the framework of a 10-year contract that gives each side the right to terminate after eight years.
ers who were huge NHL fans who refused to buy anything.”
Please see REACTION on Page A2
Home sought for Bergen sculpture collection BY PAUL COWLEY ADVOCATE STAFF For the past five years, some of the world’s most talented sculptors have created monumental works of art in Morton Burke’s backyard. His annual Bergen Rocks Sculpture Symposium has seen larger-than-life sculptures carved out of granite and marble, creating a sculpture garden behind his home in Bergen, a few kilometres south of Sundre. In 2011, the venue was switched to Red Deer College and artists from China, Mongolia, Korea, Turkey and Italy showcased their talent. Burke took a year off from the show last year, but has also made it known he’d like to find a permanent home for the sculptures. He would like it to be in Sundre, although he is also putting word out to other communities. Town economic development officer Linda Wallace sees the merits of having such a unique collection listed among the community’s attractions. “We’re taking a look at whether there’s a way to get them,” said Wal-
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lace on Monday. “We certainly don’t have the money so we’re going to be looking into whether there’s something through Alberta Arts and Culture or anything along that line.” There are 19 large-scale sculptures in Burke’s collection worth tens of thousands of dollars apiece. Council passed a motion last month directing administration to look into the feasibility of acquiring the collection to create a tourist attraction. “There’s a whole market out there that does recognize the value of what’s there,” she said, adding that the sculptors are internationally recognized artists. “It’s a treasure, there’s no doubt about that.” It would be a nice surprise for visitors to come across the sculptures in a setting like Sundre, she said. “It just adds to the whole cache of having it here, to come upon it unexpectedly.” Wallace said she’ll likely report back to council in the spring. pcowley@reddeeradvocate.com
WEATHER
INDEX
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Four sections Alberta . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A3 Business. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C3,C4 Canada . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A5,A6 Classified . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . D1-D4 Comics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . D5 Entertainment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C5 Sports. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B4-B6
FORECAST ON A2
File photo by JERRY GERLING/Advocate staff
The air was thick with marble dust at the east end of Red Deer College, as artists from five different countries took part in an international sculpture symposium that required each of them create a monumental sculpture out of three different kinds of Vietnamese marble in one month. CANADA
LOCAL
CHIEF ADDS DEMANDS IN FACE OF AUDIT
RDC OPEN TO DIALOGUE
The battle over the plight of Canada’s First Nations escalated Monday amid accusations of a cynical public relations ploy by the Conservative government and new demands by a hunger-striking chief. A5
A dialogue between Red Deer College’s board and the community will open up later this month, with the intent of learning what each side has to offer the other. C1