The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
Cottagers near Flin Flon no longer have fire protection from the city and are urged to contact provincial authorities in the event of a blaze. This took effect Monday after cottage owners and the city failed to reach a funding agreement in time for a city-imposed deadline of July 1. Mayor George Fontaine said the disagreement came down to money. 'We want $300 per cottage for firefighting and the simple fact is that once people agree that it's worth $300 for firefighting, then we'll have an agreement,' he said. 'Until then, we don't have one.' Ian McKay, co-chair of the North of 54 Cottage Owners Association, which represents area cottagers, said the group had hoped the city would extend the July 1 deadline to improve the chances of a deal. McKay said the association is not yet a legal entity and therefore 'can't enter into any agreement with anybody.' Mandating a fee on cottagers is therefore a duty that would fall to the province, he said. In the event of a cabin fire now, McKay said cottagers may phone the Department of Natural Resources. See 'Cottage...' on pg. Continued from pg. He said the department does not have the same training as Flin Flon firefighters, but they 'could action a fire' and presumably summon help if needed. In terms of fire protection, McKay described the feeling among cottagers as one of making do with what they have 'until something else develops.' The city's pulling of fire protection marks the end _ at least for now _ of a decades-old arrangement in which Flin Flon firefighters battled cottage blazes in the absence of any legal obligation to do so. The city argues that cottagers' insurance does not typically cover the full cost of fighting a blaze, nor does it help offset the ongoing expenses of running a fire department. Mayor Fontaine wrote to cabin owners last year to request that each year-round cottager pay Flin Flon $882 a year for municipal services, of which fire protection was one. Cottagers balked at the proposal as a whole but agreed a 'better arrangement' was needed for fire protection. Mayor Fontaine focused on fire protection in a follow-up letter in which he contended that both year-round and seasonal cottagers should pay an annual fee as long as their property is accessible by road. In a March 8 letter, he announced that a deal would need to be in place, or reasonably close, by July 1 in order to ensure continued fire protection. Though Mayor Fontaine had initially sought $126 a year for fire protection, he increased the asking price to $300 _ something that did not go unnoticed by cottagers. Mayor Fontaine said the initial amount was 'ridiculously low' and 'part of a package' of services he hoped cottagers would help fund. 'When they said they wanted to buy ? la carte, then it comes at an ? la carte price,' he said. McKay said the cottage association is 'not happy' with the $300 asking price. 'We haven't got a (different) number in mind yet, but it's certainly not that,' he said. McKay said the association has been talking with the province to try and implement a system similar to that of The Pas, which has a fire service agreement with surrounding cabin owners. Flin Flon firefighters will continue to respond as needed to vehicle accidents outside city limits, as those costs are reimbursed by MPI.
