Meet community standards or leave town!

A debate is raging in Terrace that may have some resonance in our city for some, the question of public drunkenness and uncivil behaviour.

It’s been a concern of some in Prince Rupert who have raised the issues of public drunkenness, vandalism and anti social behavior here on the local bulletin board htmf and in the coffee shops of the city.

In Terrace it seems the problem is much the same if not worse, according to one local councillor there. Councillor Marylin Davies is quoted in a front page story in the Terrace Standard that those that there should be standards set for public behavior and that those that “cannot meet them, should leave town.”

We’re not sure how easy it would be to banish the people that continue to wander the streets in a stupor, somewhere we’re sure is a civil rights lawyer that will argue that mobility rights dictate that you can’t be banned from a community. But the argument does go to show how prevalent the problem seems to have become. And how some answers are needed to what seems to be a growing a community problem across the Northwest.

There will no doubt be many in Prince Rupert who will read the accounts of Davies' recent tour of her city and see a reflection of this one in her words and her ideas.

Councillor calls out public drunks
The Terrace Standard
Sep 05 2007

CITY COUNCILLOR Marylin Davies says something needs to be done about public drunkenness.

She favours setting standards for public behaviour and if people cannot meet them, they should leave town.

“I’m not talking about the homeless or low income people you might see. What I’m talking about are the incorrigible alcoholics,” said Davies last week after a ride-along with the RCMP.
“What we have to do is set standards and if people don’t want to accept them, no problem. Move along,” said Davies.

“When it comes to alcoholics, I’m not very charitable. I’m sorry.”

Davies said she and other municipal councillors have discussed the problem but not in a formal, public and organized fashion.

The problem, said Davies, is that the behaviour of public drinkers affects others who want to enjoy themselves in public spaces.

And the spectre of public drunks provides people thinking of moving to Terrace with a bad enough impression that they might strike the city off the list as a place in which to invest and live, Davies added.

A good portion of the problems tied to public intoxication take place in and around George Little Park.

When it comes to activity in George Little Park, Davies said it’s not uncommon for librarians to phone the police because of what’s going on there.

Just two weeks ago, she said she was passing by the bandshell at the park and noticed two people fornicating.

“It was about 4 p.m. and on the stage, actually on the edge of the stage.”

“If you want to do that, go into the bushes, that’s fine, but not out in public,” she said.

The councillor said officers are so busy as it is, they might not be able to respond quickly to what she calls “irritating crime.”

What Davies now wants is for anybody with an idea of what could be done to contact city council.
“It might be they’ve read a report about something, or have come across something that could trigger something else that might work,” she said.

“They can call city hall, they can call me, they can contact the city’s talk-back line. We want to hear from them.”

The councillor’s comments take in other public order matters.

Davies is also researching initiatives in Vernon which address public order in that they give authority to the city to cut off utilities to crack houses.

Her RCMP ride-along last week is an annual event inasmuch as the city pays for a substantial portion of the RCMP budget here.

“I also think it’s important we support them. Too often they’re the first to get blamed when something goes wrong,” Davies said.

“I think we’d all be amazed with what they do out there.”

Sheesh, haven’t wars have been started over lesser things!

Money, get away.

Get a good job with good pay and you’re okay.

Money, it’s a gas.

Grab that cash with both hands and make a stash.

New car, caviar, four star daydream,

Think Ill buy me a football team.

Money, get back.

I’m all right jack keep your hands off of my stack.

(Pink Floyd-Money)

They have more than a few things to keep them occupied in Kitimat these days, but we suspect that around the council chambers, Mayor Wozney and his councillors might be humming a Pink Floyd tune. Curious as to the intentions of their neighbours up highway 37 to the north.

The Terrace Standard has a report in this week’s paper examining the covetous eyes of Mayor Jack Talstra and his thoughts on all that potential tax money that floats around Kitimat thanks to the anticipated construction of a new Alcan smelter in Kitimat.

Somehow we don’t think Mr. Talstra should start spending, let alone counting piles of Alcan cash just yet!

Mayor wants taste of Alcan taxes
The Terrace Standard
May 16 2007

TERRACE MAYOR Jack Talstra says the District of Kitimat shouldn’t be the only local government to benefit from increased property tax payments that will flow if Alcan goes ahead with its planned $2 billion smelter rebuild.

Talstra estimates Alcan could pay Kitimat at least $15 million and possibly more at current property tax rates should the rebuild take place. This year it is scheduled to pay Kitimat $8.48 million.

“Really, what we would have here is one community, Kitimat, becoming a ‘have’ community and other communities in Alcan’s world not being ‘have’ communities in taxation,” he said last week.

“It’s what First Nations have been talking about here for the last 200 years and that’s having everyone have economic opportunities. There has to be a way to balance the region with money to every community.”

Talstra’s framing his argument around the concept that local governments should share in the tax base of industries outside their boundaries if that industry’s employees and business activity use that government’s services.

In Alcan’s case, as many as 250 of its workers live in Terrace out of a current roster of 1,500 people.

Talstra also bases his idea on the northeast where the provincial government has specific revenue sharing agreements with municipalities tied to assessments on rural industrial development.

“Oil and gas is a natural resource and we see the same here with water as being a natural resource,” said Talstra in referring to Alcan’s hydro-generating facilities at Kemano which provide the power to run the smelter.

The mayor did acknowledge that the District of Kitimat can adjust its tax rates so that any new smelter won’t result in payments in excess of the current figure.

Talstra isn’t the first northwestern politician to speak about tax issues connected to Alcan.
Just two weeks ago the District of Kitimat released what it called “negotiating objectives” tied to Alcan’s rebuild plan.

One of the points was the removal of the current property tax exemption Alcan enjoys on its Kemano hydro-electric generating facilities within the Kitimat-Stikine and Bulkley-Nechako regional districts.

The Bulkley-Nechako regional district has raised that issue over the years and former Skeena Liberal MLA Roger Harris mused about the same in 2002.

Skeena’s current MLA, NDPer Robin Austin, has taken a slightly different approach. He says Alcan should pay more for water used to generate electricity that it sells onward as opposed to water Alcan uses to generate electricity to smelt aluminum.

Austin argues that Alcan makes far more selling power than making aluminum so that it should pay more for the use of the water in the first place.

The northeastern revenue sharing plan is based on rural industrial assessments with a portion of the resulting revenue being provided to municipalities in the region.

The province signed a 20-year deal in 2005 which paid out $20 million in the first year alone.
“Communities in this region cannot access what ordinarily would be their municipal industrial property tax base,” a provincial statement at the time indicated.

Fort St. John received the most at $15 million for the first year while Taylor the least at $258,299.