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.
During a recent talk with Snow Lake Mayor Garry Zamzow, he advised that the town had just received a signed contract back from the person they hired into their Chief Administrative OfficerÕs (CAO) position. ÒThis individual is named Jeff Precourt,Ó said Mayor Zamzow. ÒHe is the current CAO in Grand Rapids.Ó Zamzow explained that Precourt responded to the townÕs ad for the position and the council managed to negotiate a contract with him. As a result, he and his wife will be moving to Snow Lake and Precourt will be reporting for duty in mid-June. Zamzow says Precourt is very well educated and a fully qualified Municipal Administrator. ÒHe recognizes the situation that the town is in and coming into,Ó said Zamzow. ÒHe is ambitious, raring to go, and I think he can handle almost any given situation. I see this individual as a shining star. I see him as a really good communicator, IÕm overjoyed.Ó The Precourts are originally from the south and do not have children, but Zamzow jokes that the town will do what they can to encourage that. Snow Lake has been without a permanent CAO since the resignation of Arnold Assoignon in early April. However, a former Town of The PasÕ CAO, John Marnock, stepped in on a contract basis and provided the needed expertise to keep the town and all present and planned developments secure and in operative mode. Mayor Zamzow also advised that he was having some problems getting a response out of MTS, on when the community would get cell phone service. ÒAs of our last council meeting (May 6), I brought the topic back to the table,Ó he said of this never-ending quest. ÒI sent another e-mail with specific questions. Number one: Where are we? And IÕm really not getting a good vibe, because they have always responded promptly in the past. At this point, we are still on hold.Ó Zamzow noted that the corporate utility has in the past expressed that 2008 was Snow LakeÕs year, but said during that initial interview that he felt MTSÕ recent national business moves might have precluded them from taking Snow Lake on. ÒI know this much, and that is that Jim Rondeau (Manitoba Minister of Energy and Mines) is keen on seeing us get the service. He has advocated for us. I know he is prepared to go to bat for us. We just have to re-connect and find out what their (MTSÕs) position is.Ó To this end, Greg Burch, a Media Relations Person with MTS, was recently asked if MTS had received and considered the poll (a list of who would sign up for cell service) that the town took a few months back, and if so, if they had decided when Snow Lake would be getting the service. ÒAll I can tell you is that Snow Lake is on our overall plan, but it will not be in 2008,Ó wrote Burch in his May 23 e-mail reply. ÒI cannot confirm at this time whether it will be in 2009. With this in mind, I cannot provide you with an exact date that service will be received. ÒI donÕt have any information about the poll you refer to in front of me, but I can tell you generally that the rate of adoption(who would sign up) is a big factor, but there are a variety of other factors that go into our planning for new sites. This applies to all aspects of expanding services everywhere in Manitoba, including Snow Lake. Certainly any information provided from the community, together with the information we gather as part of our business, will be part of our decision making process for 2009 and beyond.Ó To this development and MTS inability to go forward with their national business plan, Zamzow stated by e-mail, ÒDo believe weÕve a new door to open with MTS in light of their national cell service not happening. Have a new plan to think about and work on Ð stay tuned.Ó I guess weÕll have to continue to wait in order to see what the future holds for Snow Lake! My Take on Snow Lake runs Fridays.
