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.
Trevor Miller The city and cottage association need to come back to the table and work out at least a temporary agreement for the winter, and perhaps the province ought to mediate. The $300 per cottage the city is asking for is unreasonably high, given that it exceeds the annual tax rates of many homes in town, while offering but fire protection. While it may be too much to expect the city to copy the deal that cottagers around The Pas have ($50 to $75 per cottage), demanding four to six times what The Pas charges their cottagers for the same service borders on extortion. Ken Mansell This problem is far from over and may not be until there are some big fires that are not attended to by anything bigger than a garden hose. Cabin owners that are willing to pay the $300 could form an association of their own to deal with the problem. Provincial officials could offer mediation or impose a fire tax. The city and the province would have to agree on the terms and it may not be $300 per cottage. Denny Hyndman Cottage association members were at least able to get limited seasonal protection from Manitoba Conservation. This is far from ideal but at least there is some movement. Last weekend I visited another northern town, once thriving now with a populace of less than 500, and they have maintained services like fire. Maybe we could look at how other communities have maintained services amid population decline. Unfortunately, taxes will be raised on cottage owners and raised on city dwellers _ if you really believe that taxes will be lowered in the future, please, visit a library (Flin Flon's is excellent) and stay out of the poll booths next time.
