As a Flin Flon homeowner, Scott Cole is bound by municipal laws requiring he upkeep his property.
Now he is wondering who is holding the city to the same account.
Cole is disgusted by the mounds of asphalt, wood and debris he says city trucks have been discarding at the snow dump area near North Avenue Park.
“It’s become like it’s the new dump for Flin Flon,” says Cole, a retired serviceman and bush airline owner.
“I’d like to see that mess cleaned up and [for trucks to] stop dumping. We’ve got a perfectly good landfill just out [near] Channing there and that’s what they should be using.”
Cole agrees the asphalt and debris is particularly unsightly given its close proximity to the western end of the Flinty’s Boardwalk trail near North Avenue.
He is also concerned about runoff from the asphalt, a petroleum product, posing environmental risks to Ross Lake below.
“We have been made aware that there’s concerns about runoff from the city dump [flowing] into Schist Lake,” Cole says. “That runoff [from the snow dump] goes into Ross Lake, which goes into Schist Lake. It also goes all the way down to Little Athapap, down the creek and it’s pervasive. It’s all over.”
Cole says he began observing city trucks dumping material at the snow dump site three or four months ago, generating concern in his uptown neighbourhood.
Coun. Bill Hanson, chairman of the city’s Engineering Services Committee, did not know the specifics of the situation but said he would find out.
“I don’t think we should be dumping anything down there other than snow,” says Hanson.
Holes
Cole’s concerns don’t end at the snow dump area.
He also points to two holes in the ground off the side of the road on First Avenue, where motorists often stop to enjoy the panoramic view of Ross Lake and the community. He is worried a vehicle’s tire will become lodged in one of the holes.
Cole is also worried about a hole more than a foot in depth in the grass along nearby Hamell Street, saying someone walking in the area could be injured.
He says he has reported the latter hole to the city several times, but to no avail, and has taken it upon himself to partially fill the cavity with debris.
