December 2 2016

Page 1

Nickel Belt News

Volume 56 Number 48

Friday, December 2, 2016

Thompson, Manitoba

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North of 56 Kin Club established in Leaf Rapids There was a Kin-vention in Leaf Rapids Nov. 19 as presidents and member of Kin, Kinsmen and Kinette clubs from around Manitoba gathered to welcome a new member to their ranks: the North of 56 Kin Club. District 2 governor John DeBeer of the Brandon Kinsmen Club and Zone 1 deputy governor Holllee Babcock of the Flin Flon Kinettes were in attendance along with the presidents of the Thompson Kin Club, The Pas Kinsmen Club, the Boissevain Kinsmen Club and the Neepawa Kin Club, as well as representatives from the Stonewall Kinsmen Club. “In Leaf Rapids, we as a community realized that there needed to be a concerted effort to build a healthy future for our youth and provide them with safe places to gather and play,” said North of 56 Kin Club president Paul Gannon in a news release. “After visiting the Kinsmen Club of The Pas on three separate occasions in the last year, we determined that the

Kin Canada movement gives up the opportunity to organize, plan and develop opportunities in a concerted effort in Leaf Rapids.” The establishment of the club comes after discussions over the past several months with both Kin Canada and The Pas Kinsmen Club. “I cannot tell you how thrilled I was to have the folks in Leaf Rapids call and ask for our help in joining the Kin family,” said The Pas Kinsmen Club president Kevin Carlson. “As someone who has lived and worked in the north for over 20 years and a member of the Kin family previously in Thompson and now in The Pas, I know firsthand the good work our wonderful organization does in each community we are present in. I have spent a lot of time in Leaf Rapids and I am confident that the 19 new members of the North of 56 Kin Club will have an immediate positive impact on the youth and the entire town of Leaf Rapids.”

Nickel Belt News photo courtesy of The Pas Kinsmen Club Representatives of Kin, Kinette and Kinsmen clubs from throughout Manitoba were in Leaf Rapids Nov. 19 to celebrate the establishment of the North of 56 Kin Club.

Water treatment plant transfer agreement nearing completion BY IAN GRAHAM EDITOR@THOMPSONCITIZEN.NET

The City of Thompson and Vale will hold an open house Nov. 6 on the transfer of the water treatment plant, which is expected to be finalized by mid-December. Vale Manitoba Operations director of smelter and refinery and production services Don Wood appeared before council at their Nov. 28 meeting to provide an overview of the transfer process. “Dec. 12 will be a council resolution on the various agreements,” Woods said at the conclusion of his presentation. “Vale, we’ve submitted to the board of directors requesting approval for the transfer. That we expect to receive on Dec. 14. Assuming the resolution of council on Dec. 12 and the board of directors approval from Vale , Vale and the city would sign off on the various agreements on Dec. 15. The actual transfer process would commence on Jan. 1, 2017.” Under the terms of the transfer, Vale will continue to operate the water treatment plant in 2017, covering three-quarters of the operations cost with the city responsible for 25 per cent. Training of city operators will also begin next year in preparation for the city taking ownership of the plant in 2018, when the costs will be shared equally. In 2019, the

city and Vale will share costs based on the actual share of treated water each organization uses.” Vale’s right to transfer infrastructure such as the water treatment plant to the city is outlined in the 1956 agreement that laid the ground rules for the establishment of the Thompson townsite. “The ’56 agreement defined the terms of the development of the townsite of Thompson between Inco at the time and now Vale and the province of Manitoba,” said Wood. “It required Inco of the day to construct all the municipal infrastructure that we have here in Thompson. However, it did not require Inco to continue to operate and/or maintain that infrastructure. It also defined under the terms of the agreement that Inco could transfer any of those assets to the city of Thompson and the city was obligated to accept the transfer of those various assets.” The process of transferring the water treatment plant began during grant-in-lieu discussions in 2012 to establish how much Vale would pay the city and school district in lieu of property taxes for the period of 2013 to 2018. “With our operation in transition with the announced closure of the smelter and refinery, our reduced potable water consumption

that’ll result from that closure and the need to ensure the sustainability of our operation we feel that the timing is right for the transfer of the water treatment plant to the City of Thompson,” said Wood. “In light of that in [the fourth quarter] of 2014 a committee was established to start those transfer discussion. The committee’s been meeting approximately every two weeks over the last couple of years and the committee’s been made up of three members of the current sitting council, city administration and at various times up to five members of Vale management.” Vale and the city signed a letter of intent in 2015 to begin negotiations on the development of a transaction agreement, which outlines the roles and responsibilities of the city and Vale and contains provisions for training and a transition period. It also includes ancillary agreements. Among the ancillary agreements are a water and supply services agreement, which defines the allocation of costs of the plant’s operation, and an easement agreement, which allows Vale access to its sulphur dioxide (SO2) environmental monitoring equipment and network hardware. “The SO2 monitoring equipment will only be required until closure of the smelter in 2018 and then that equipment will be re-

moved from the water treatment plant if the city desires,” said Wood. “The network hardware supplies communication on to the river pumphouse so access to that will be required long-term, as long as Vale continues to operate the river pumphouse.” The other ancillary agreements are a licence agreement, which has a provision for a minimal annual fee for allowing Vale access to its equipment in the plant, and a technical services agreement. “[The technical service agreement] is really a provision for interim support for the city in the event that they’re unable to recruit a Class 3 operator in charge,” Wood said. “Vale would provide that support on a short-term basis to the city. As well the water treatment plant is highly automated so it requires instrumentation support and the technical service agreement provides access for the city through Vale to our instrumentation mechanics. Again each one of those would be based on a fee for service. There would be a fee for those services provided by Vale.” The open house regarding the water treatment plant transfer, which will include a presentation as well as an opportunity to ask questions, will take place Dec. 6 from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. at St. Joseph’s Hall.

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December 2 2016 by Nickel Belt News - Issuu