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.
In mid-2012, it was widely reported that the Town of Snow Lake was poised to develop over 100 lots in areas east of Crystal Street, south of Copper Road, north of English Drive and near the golf course. Permits to begin land clearing were in position and that process began last spring on all but one of the areas. That one in particular (the area near the golf course) was in abeyance, with QMX Gold not wanting to relinquish their mineral rights. The cost of these developments was to be supported through a 50/50 funding arrangement between Manitoba Conservation and the Town of Snow Lake. Mayor Clarence Fisher stated in an early 2012 interview that the development was part of a 'deal' with Conservation; however, at that time he couldn't disclose the details. When asked if any of the costs were to be borne by the local taxpayer, he stated: 'Hopefully notÉ it is going to be a lot of moneyÉ a budget of $2.3 million. We are trying to find other folks who would be willing to pay for part of that or other ways that we can do it, so that the money doesn't have to come out of the town budget/local taxpayers.' Around that time, Fisher also said it was council's position that they preferred not to fund the development through taxation. 'It's hard to tell someone that they really can't get their road patched, because we had to put in these lots,' he reasoned at the time. In support of Fisher's statements, town CAO Jeff Precourt added that not only was the development to be 50 per cent cost-shared on expenses, but the project was to be cost neutral with a 50 per cent split of revenue on the sale of the lots. Fisher also confirmed at that time that the new lots would all be sold at cost _ total cost of development, split by number of lots. In other words, any money spent will eventually be returned to town coffers. With that deal seemingly in place, a Request for Proposals (RFP) for engineering on the subdivisions went out in October of 2012. Five proposals were received, and in what was to be the last that was publicly heard on the issue, it was reported council had done their part in reviewing them and were waiting on the province to do likewise, prior to the contract being awarded. The next step in the process was supposed to be the issuing of an RFP for actual construction of streets, lots and infrastructure. Now comes word that the Town of Snow Lake has decided to cancel the Engineering RFP with Conservation due to the fact they could not come to an agreement with them on the new subdivisions. 'The Department of Conservation first approached us in regards to making a deal on the three separate pieces of land that were originally proposed in the sustainability plan,' said Fisher in an e-mail exchange. 'We have been working on this deal with Conservation for over a year. In the end, they kept changing the parameters of the agreement they were willing to make with us. See 'Less' on pg. Continued from pg. While the agreements that they were first proposing to the town were beneficial to all parties, as time went on, they began to be less satisfactory, beneficial and economically responsible for the Town. After working with them for a year, we could no longer responsibly pursue them and needed to cancel the RFPs.' Fisher noted how extremely disappointed he, fellow council members and staff were with the process, as well as the loss of a great deal of work and time. 'At this point we are attempting to put together another deal with another partner for these pieces of land and their development,' Fisher said, 'but it hinges on us being able to acquire Crown lands from the province, a process which has been frustratingly slow and filled with politics.' Not surprisingly, the glacial pace at which Crown lands are dealt with is no secret. Over the past year or so, their lethargy has had the Town of Snow Lake shaking their heads collectively in disbelief. With everyone who is aware of that situation, it begs the question: Why don't things improve? In conclusion, the mayor asserted with clarity that the town continues to work on moving housing lots ahead in all of the areas of town that were cleared last summer. 'While we are frustrated with the progress that we have made with the province, we are determined and hopeful that ultimately these lots will move ahead,' he said. 'As for the Strilkiwski subdivision (a 39-lot private development east of Crystal and joining Olson), I cannot give too much detail on this as the legal agreements are still being worked out in full detail, but this area is moving ahead as well. As I said, the agreements are still being worked out, but there is no reason that some progress should not be made in this area in the summer of 2013.' My Take on Snow Lake runs Fridays.
