Hours cut Town wants to meet with MNDM officials

Ken Johnston

Mayor Glen Armstrong expressed his concern Monday evening to town council about the cuts being made to hours at the Ontario Government Services Office (Ministry of Northern Development and Mines).
Armstrong said that the office will no longer be open at lunch time in what he understands to be a move to save money.
“A lot of people use the office at lunch hour,” said Armstrong who feels, “Again Rainy River is getting the shaft.”
Armstrong said it is his understanding that this cut in service is only happening in Rainy River’s office.
Councillor Ed Tymkin echoed the mayor’s concern on that issue and also the fact that MNDM official, Moe Fenlon, had been pressing Rainy River last year to enter into a shared office space arrangement and had yet to respond to a proposal from the town offering three possible options for that offer. “We need to know what they want so we can make decisions about what we want to do.”
Councillor Gerry Marchuk also agreed that MNDM should have responded by now. “They pressured us to make an offer by March and we did.”
Tymkin said Fenlon should come and meet with council.
Dept. Clerk Treasurer Jean Klosowicz said she would be speaking with Fenlon today and would bring the matter to a head. She had been in discussions with the Ontario Realty Corp. (the company that looks after all government property) and was told to speak to Fenlon.

Bridge delays
Councillor Debbie Ewald asked if Canada Customs had responded to council’s concerns about the traffic backlog on the international bridge coming into Canada. She raised the issue last month and wondered why the second lane at customs is not opened when it is busy.
Councillor Gerry Marchuk said that he spoke to one customs officer and was told, “They do not have the manpower to do that.”
Klosowicz said the letter from the town went out last week and she is hopeful there will be an official response from customs later this week.

Other business
•Ewald raised concerns about the fact that the natural gas bill at the town garage was $800 last month and why heat would be on at this time of year.
•Council unanimously passed a motion to appoint the runner up from the last election, Dean Wiersema, to town council. He will serve the remaining term of office left by Larry Armstrong who resigned from council this spring.
•Council passed its general, water, sewer and cemetery budgets for 2005 with no tax increases.
•Council approved the hiring of Kathy Scott to work at the railway museum.
•Council approved the hiring of Delbert Kirkrude, Jeremy Bonhomme and Ron Ernst as summer workers for the town.
•Council agreed to pay 40¢ per capita to a fund to hire a lobby group to work on a strategy to help insure the future of the forestry industry in the region.
•Councillor Gerry Marchuk noted that work began on Monday to put the proper corner curbs in on Main St. to allow wheel chairs and other similar vehicles better access to sidewalks.
•Council agreed to hire River Image (Don Ricci) to revamp their website at a cost of $750.
•Ewald reported that the library hired Madeline Dyck for the summer and that work on a Trillium Grant application had been completed.
•Council replaced a door at the clinic at a cost of $1,490.