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Vol. 120, Issue 126
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PROUDLY SERVING THE COMMUNITIES OF ROSSLAND, WARFIELD, TRAIL, MONTROSE, FRUITVALE & SALMO
Area B considers user pay for Trail facilities BY SHERI REGNIER Times Staff
Linda Worley questions the fairness of paying almost $140,000 annually to Trail when only a handful of Area B residents actually use the city’s recreational facilities. The regional director has a big decision to make on behalf of her 1,410 constituents before the current five-year agreement, which has property owners paying about $73 annually, ends in December. Combined with public insight from a previous community meeting, the regional director says feedback shows the majority of residents want to go with the reimbursement plan. Her observation follows an online survey on the Regional District of Kootenay Boundary website that was made public in July and closed Aug. 7. Three questions were asked – should Area B enter into a new agreement; based on user statistics, should the dollar amount remain status quo or decreased; or should the Trail Resident Program (TRP) be scrapped entirely in favour of a reimbursement model or userpay system. She was disappointed with only fifteen SHERI REGNIER PHOTO respondents, but said the Swimming lessons at the Trail Aquatic and Leisure Centre are a popular activity covered replies echo conversations under the Trail Resident Program (TRP). Pulling out of the TRP would have Area B resi- and telephone calls Worley dents paying double the fees to access recreation in TALC, the Trail Memorial Centre,and has already had with her the Willi Krause Fieldhouse as well as various ball parks and soccer fields. constituents.
WARFIELD
BY SHERI REGNIER
Residents voice opposition to converting vacant church
Buying an old village church and turning it into a mom-and-pop shop hasn’t been the peaceful venture Tina and Roger Larose hoped for. “We’ve owned a house in Warfield for eight years now,” Tina said, addressing a roomful of Warfield residents Tuesday evening. “We just love it here and want to retire here. We want to be part of the community, have our business contained in the church, and
Times Staff
“The survey results were evenly split between reimbursement, user pay and a rec deal with Trail,” she added. “But for far less than the previous amount being paid.” Based on only 12 per cent of Area B residents accessing the TRP, Worley says the public was very clear that paying $702,000 toward the program since 2011 is considered “outrageous.” “Most voiced that they would rather user pay or go to reimbursement, rather than have the balance of taxpayers in Lower Columbia/Old Glory (Area B) have to pay for them using the facilities,” she explained, noting Trail provided the TRP numbers. “Having said that, I still feel it’s important to have that conversation with Trail to see if there is an appetite for a much lesser contribution.” Worley pointed out that the electoral area has many of its own recreational halls and parks to maintain as well as development of a trails system throughout the unincorporated communities of Genelle, Rivervale, Oasis, Casino, Blackjack, South Belt, Sheep Creek and Paterson. “What we tax for in Area B’s parks and trails doesn’t just cover the recreation program with Trail,” she said. “That covers all the parks, trails and halls in
make it nice to fit in with everything else that is here.” The couple plans to develop the former St. Joseph’s Church into a retail site. First, they need to have the Lytton Street property, which has been vacant 15 years, rezoned into General Commercial (C2). That means going through a process of amending the village’s bylaw – which included the public hearing prior to council’s decision on the change.
Too much traffic, no parking, and fear of the future was the general consensus among 30 residents who addressed Warfield council Tuesday night, voicing reasons why the politicians should refuse the Larose’s request. “These are nice people and it seems like a nice business,” said one Forrest Drive resident. “That’s today. You, Mr Mayor, and members of your council have to think not just about today but the future,” he added. See VILLAGE, Page 2
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Supporting our community West Kootenay Brain Injury Association Support for Survivors and their Caregivers in the community. Visit their store every Thursday at Waneta Plaza beside Crockett Books to view the artistic endeavours of their clients
Area B. So I have to be very conscious of the taxpayer dollars when only 12 per cent are using Trail recreational facilities.” Area B Parks and Trails absorbs about 10 per cent of annual property taxes, and based on the average home assessed at $175,000, property owners pay $73 annually for the City of Trail rec agreement. “I do think it’s important that I meet with (the city) to see what we can do,” Worley added. “I feel that a much lesser amount would be a more fiscally responsible use of the taxpayer monies.” TRP expenses have been in the spotlight for a number of years, and became a hot topic in 2014 following Beaver Valley (BV) recreation’s decision to not renew an agreement with Trail. Montrose, Fruitvale and Area A collectively paid about $1 million towards the TRP over five years. Aside from the program’s cost, talks between the parties stalled because of the unknown impact of Trail’s proposed boundary expansion on the area’s tax base. After recent negotiations, BV recreation and Trail announced that a one-year agreement was reached July 31, with the three municipalities contributing $125,000 for the term. See BEAVER, Page 3
Canada Post, Contract number 42068012
Free kids playroom and ball pit
www.wanetaplaza.com
5 min. east of Trail on Hwy 3B