Bulldogs start season with 1-2 record
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Tuesday, September 22, 2015
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FEDERAL ELECTION
Ideas offered for Port Alberni to grow Candidates put forth solutions for stagnant population ERIC PLUMMER ALBERNI VALLEY TIMES
Port Alberni Toy run The engines roared through Cathedral Grove at noon Saturday during the opening stretch of the annual toy run. Although the rainy weekend brought just over 600 motorcycles – less than the 1,000 organizers expected – thousands of dollars were raised for childrens and family programs, plus piles of donated toys for local kids at Christmas. [ERIC PLUMMER, TIMES]
MUNICIPALITY
City saves $250,000 for aquatic centre from surplus RCMP funds MARTIN WISSMATH ALBERNI VALLEY TIMES
City council has started saving for a new pool in Port Alberni. Council decided to split a surplus for over half a million dollars in the city’s RCMP budget, putting money into the Land Sale Reserve and creating a budget line for a new aquatic centre. The RCMP surplus topped the $1 million operating reserve already in place for the local police detachment for use in major crime investigations; that left an extra $573,790 available. A unanimous vote divided the surplus, placing $289,895 each into the land reserve and pool budget. Director of finance Cathy Rothwell recommended the full amount be transferred to the Land Sale Reserve Fund. The fund was “depleted at approximately $77,500,” Roth-
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SAUVE
well noted in her report to council last week, “which limits the city’s ability to acquire lands that will enhance council’s strategic plan. A transfer of the excess RCMP Operating Surplus Reserve to Land Sale Reserve will somewhat restore the Land Sale Reserve in the absence of city owned land sales.” But the city needs a new pool, too, said Coun. Denis Sauvé, noting that it’s also included in
the five-year financial plan. “We need a pool; we need to start investing into that,” said Sauvé. “I’m not talking about a Disneyland pool here, nothing like that – too expensive.” A better pool in Port Alberni, with a slide, could attract people from the West Coast who travel to Nanaimo to use the aquatic centre there, Sauvé said. “The only slide I saw at the pool – I wouldn’t dare climb that thing,” Sauvé joked, referencing the Echo Centre’s small plastic children’s slide. According to the city’s Parks, Recreation and Heritage department, the local aquatic centre costs the city $1.2 million per year, with nearly half a million in maintenance costs. Only about $290,000 of the total costs are recovered each year from user charges and admissions. Coun. Sharie Minions suggested the RCMP surplus be
used to pay down municipal debt. Rothwell said that idea wouldn’t work given how the debt is structured with the Municipal Finance Authority of B.C., which holds all the city’s $11.1-million debt longterm with a guaranteed rate of return with its investors. If the city paid down debt early, it would reduce the rate of interest paid to the MFA, which would likewise reduce the rate for investors. Paying debts off early could also end up costing the city more, Rothwell said, since the MFA could at times lower the principal amount to be repaid if markets outperform expectations in the long term. If and when the city decides to construct a new aquatic centre, it would likely need to borrow the funds, Rothwell added. “Unless we get grant money, which would be nice,” she said.
When the communities of Alberni and Port Alberni amalgamated in 1967, they created what was the second largest city on Vancouver Island outside of the Victoria area. Since then the city’s population has remain relatively unchanged – currently sitting at 17,743 residents according to 2011national census – while the size of several other communities along the east side of the Island have significantly grown. Some of the Island’s surging populations include Campbell River growth to 31,186, Courtenay’s 24,000 residents and Nanaimo’s 83,810. These cities all had fewer than 17,000 residents when the national census was taken in 1966. Federal election candidates in the Courtenay-Alberni riding were asked what’s needed to attract new residents to Port Alberni. The following excerpts were taken from their written responses, which will be posted on the Alberni Valley Times’ website later this week. Liberal candidate Carrie Powell-Davidson pointed to the effects of Alberni’s declining forestry industry over the last generation. “With the Catalyst mill employing less than a quarter of the workers it once did in the 1980s, the trickle down effect is disastrous for Port Alberni,” she said. “Fewer jobs mean less spending, which leads in turn to more job losses throughout the community.” Powell-Davidson pledges to invest in local infrastructure – especially the Port Alberni Transhipment Hub, a container facility proposed to transfer loads from massive ships onto smaller barges bound for the Lower Mainland and US coast. “We have a unique opportunity to take advantage of the natural waterway,” she said. See ELECTION, Page 3
Pet owner finds rat poison left for dog
Cub found in tree after mother killed by a car
A South Port canine is recovering after consuming poison left at its owner’s property last week.
A 63-pound bear cub has joined the group of black bears recovering at the North Island Wildlife Centre.
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