S TANDARD TERRACE
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$1.24 PLUS 6¢ GST
VOL. 26 NO. 19
www.terracestandard.com
Wednesday, August 21, 2013
Industrial park deal struck By Josh Massey THE CITY of Terrace has found a first customer for its Skeena Industrial Park located just south of the Northwest Regional Airport. Global Dewatering Ltd. and the city have a tentative deal worth $250,000 for the former to buy 4.384 hectares of uncleared land located on the north side of the access road leading into the property from Hwy37. Global Dewatering specializes in the removing of groundwater to
make industrial sites drier. The company has been working on Rio Tinto Alcan’s smelter modernization project in Kitimat and has its eye on the northwest’s industrial potential, says company president Bob Cartwright. “We think it’s a good position to be in Terrace in that anything that has to go through to Kitimat or Prince Rupert has to go through Terrace. We think it’s a good strategic location.” “Anything that requires groundwater dewatering,” Cartwright said
of his company’s expertise. “Just for localized excavation and buildings and that sort of thing. We have systems that will lower the groundwater table to enable a dry excavation.” Cartwright wants to begin using the Skeena Industrial Park site in September for equipment storage and then eventually build a 4,000 square foot warehouse in the next few years as well as a fenced lot. The company first looked for land in Kitimat but then settled on the Skeena Industrial Park because
of cost, said Cartwright. “The price point in Kitimat was not very favourable, let’s put it that way. They are asking a lot of money in Kitimat,” he said. Originally formed in Kelowna two and a half years ago, Global Dewatering has so far only done work on the Kitimat smelter modernization project. To date they have done this work for a larger company named IDL which is the prime contractor for the earthworks component on the smelter project.
“Global Dewatering only employs half a dozen people now but we piggyback with IDL projects and do stuff with them and they employ probably 500 or so all over. We would jointly occupy the site,” said Cartwright The purchase of this city-owned land south of Terrace will mean increased property tax in municipal coffers, and mayor David Pernarowski said he is excited about closing this particular deal as soon as possible.
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City shakes up its giving By Josh Massey COMMUNITY groups used to receiving financial assistance from the city may find themselves out of luck should city council change the way tax exemptions and grants are handled. Council members are specifically looking at whether groups that bring in their own revenue through various methods should also continue to qualify for city grants and tax exemptions. The topic was discussed at an Aug. 13 committee of the whole meeting aimed at policy changes later this year. Tax exemption applications need to be made by Aug. 31 and the deadline for a grant application is Oct. 15. The list of community organizations that qualify for grants remains largely unchanged year to year, and council also examined the merits of a system that favours previous recipients. “I have some concern about complacency,” said councillor Marylin Davies during the discussion. “We bend over backward to get the information,” she continued, falling short of actually naming community organizations who challenge council with “late and incomplete applications.” Councillor Stacey Tyers also spoke out on the issue, wondering if the city might be “doing a disservice to those organizations that are just starting” by using previous qualification as the benchmark each year to get on the selection list. Mayor David Pernarowski said that he wants to see a separate body take care of the application process in the future, most likely the Terrace Community Foundation. The city has been gradually building up the interest-paying capital base of this foundation since it formed in 2011. As well, the city’s community forest has also stepped into the grant picture to make contributions from its profits to community groups.
josh massey PHOTO
■■ Sibling greenery For sister and brother Anne Rauschenberger and Dieter Bahr summer means feeding the people. The siblings set up tables on Saturdays at the Skeena Valley Farmers Market 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. The goods are grown out at Bahr Farm in Old Remo.
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Artsy side
City works deal
Death race
30 years and running strong is Terrace Gallery \COMMUNITY A23
Could Skeena Industrial Park lands finally sell? \NEWS A2
Local runners go to Alberta to test extremes \SPORTS A29