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.
Jonathon Naylor Editor City council will have to decide whether two beautification projects _ one that already exists and another that is planned _ are worthy of tax dollars. At their meeting last week, councillors were asked to contribute $8,000 toward the purchase of a towering artificial Christmas tree for Pioneer Square and $5,000 to maintain Flinty's Boardwalk. 'With this financial support, the Flin Flon Main Street Committee would then move ahead with the purchase of the tree,' wrote Dianne O'Brien, chair of the committee, in a letter to council. O'Brien said the committee has already raised $17,000 for the 24-ft. tree but is short of the $25,000 required. 'I am requesting the City of Flin Flon to consider covering the remaining $8,000,' she wrote. If the city commits the cash, O'Brien wrote, the committee would proceed with fundraising to add to the project items such as fencing, decorations and recognition of donors. She stressed that the purchase must occur by May to ensure all final reports are submitted by mid-June relative to other grant funding. The $25,000 figure O'Brien mentioned includes not only the tree, but also the new string lights that debuted on Main Street this past holiday season. Request Council also reviewed a request for financial aide from the Flinty Committee, which oversees the boardwalk and adjacent 'Flinty Submarine Park.' 'During the past several years, the Flinty Committee has been very successful in securing support in cash and in kind from a variety of sources (including the City) for...a number of major projects,' wrote committee chair Dave Price in a letter of his own. 'Until quite recently, we were able to depend on funds to cover ongoing expenses in part by working bingos. Presently, our main source of funding for this purpose is through the sale of (engraved) boards (along the boardwalk path).' Price asked council to consider helping the committee cover ongoing costs such as fertilizing and mowing, maintenance and electricity, which has gone up substantially with the addition of lighting along the boardwalk path. 'I would suggest that $5,000 would be a very significant contribution,' he wrote. Council had no comment on either letter, referring them both to the Finance Committee for further deliberation.
