One committee to deal with all disaster claims

by Ken Johnston
Editor

In a matter of urgency Rainy River’s Town Council appointed a citizen to sit on the Ontario Disaster Relief Assistance Program committee Monday night.

Long time resident, Ken Moore, agreed to sit on the committee to deal with local and neighbouring community claims stemming from the July 31, 2001 disaster which saw a tornado touch down in Morson and Emo areas and torrential rains flood much of the rest of the west Rainy River District.

Rather than establish committees in all affected townships, a consensus among all communities affected was reached at an ODRAP meeting held in Barwick on October 4th, that only one be formed. With that on the table, council had until October 14th to appoint a Rainy River representative and did so unanimously Monday night.

Councillor Dennis Ewald noted that many homeowners are going after the disaster relief announced last week for costs incurred in cleaning and fixing their property.

He noted that the relief aid will fund 100% of municipal expenses and said that he feels the town should go after cost recovery for the repairs that took place in town, by the town, immediately after the storm.

Councillor Brent Anderson said that the Municipal Administrator, Deb Bowman, has been instructed to do that.

Other Business

•Council received $3,381 as its apportionment in monies collected for Provincial offenses last year.

•Council approved paying $1 per capita to the Rainy River Valley Safety Coalition to help pay for the cost of hosting the World Health Organization’s 11th conference in May of 2002 in Fort Frances.

•Citizen Jeff Fraser has written council requesting a 4-way stop be erected at the corner of 2nd St. and Mill Ave. Council has begun looking into ways of making it safer for pedestrians in that area and for that matter around town. Trees at right of ways were discussed and will be looked at closely.

•Council approved the budgets for water, sewer, cemetery and recreation departments.

•Council paid Corey Dyck’s tuition for a course on Municipal Administration. Councillor Dennis Ewald raised the concern that in the past employees who have taken the course paid for by the town have left after short periods of employment.

Councillor Anderson noted that personnel is working on revamping the policies regarding the course to state that if the employee leaves less than a year after the town pays for the course they have to pay the money back to the town. He also noted that personnel feels it is good that employees want to improve their job skills.

•Some of the road work done this summer was questioned Monday. Particularly the road south of Rainy River High School and why the new prime and surfacing is caving in.

Public Works Chair Gerry Marchuk said that the crew did not rip up the old surface and the surfacing company went right over it.

Marchuk had no explanation as to why it was not ripped up by the crew.

Administrator Bowman said that the crew thought only one coat was going on the road there and did not rip it up for that reason.

It may now have to be ripped up and gravel put down until next year.

•Council instructed the administrator to write a letter of support to the Rainy River Future Development Corporation opposing Bell Canada’s proposed rate increases. RRFDC says that Bell provides sub-standard services that do not justify a rate increase. Bell argues it costs more to provide services in rural areas than it makes.

•No decision has been reached on amalgamation of area fire departments. However, Fire Committee member and councillor Lance Lindal said that based on the first proposal from Dawson Rainy River would be better to only share in joint training exercises and create a new set of fees for providing coverage to areas that Dawson can not.

“They don’t want to share in costs,” said both Lindal and Councillor Glen Armstrong. According to them, that was the main purpose for looking at amalgamation. However Administrator Bowman noted that the proposal from Dawson was only a very early draft and that council can offer its input on it and changes will hopefully be made.

•Council supported the bid by RR First Nations to put a Young Offenders Correctional Facility on Couchiching.

•Council supported Fort Frances’s bid to have a POD Correctional Facility built there, even though none of council knew what it was.

•Council expressed its deep sympathies to the American people for the Sept. 11 tragedies.