SPECIAL REPORT: The life of a convicted sex offender A5 Wednesday, April 11, 2012 Oh ... it’s a chocolatelover’s delight A14
Newsline 250-564-0005
www.pgfreepress.com
Group starts collecting signatures ■ River Road Dike Alternative Approval
More than 5,000 needed to force city to send borrowing issue to referendum DeLynda Pilon newsroom@pgfreepress.com
It will take a response from 10 per cent of the eligible voters in Prince George to force the city to go to a referendum in order to get permission from taxpayers to borrow the money needed to build a dike on River Road. Eric Allen is spearheading a campaign to get those signatures. Allen’s first issue is with the Alternative Approval Process. The city has two choices when it needs to borrow money that will take over five years to repay since it requires the permission of the taxpayers to proceed. One is a referendum, which is a vote on the issue, much like an election. The other is the AAP. When a municipality chooses the AAP, then it is up to the voter to sign a form, provided by the city, in opposition of the process. If you don’t sign, Allen said, then the inference is you are fine with the city borrowing the money. Allen referred to the AAP as a reverse onus process, and not one he approves of. “I have always felt for the bigger loans the city should go to referendum, but of about the six last major times they’ve borrowed, they’ve gone to the AAP. With the AAP, the onus is on us. If we’re opposed, then we have to go out and beat the bushes,” he said. “They are just going through the motions of giving us an opportunity.” Allen said he was at council while a decision was being made whether to take the issue to a referendum or use the AAP process. Most of the councillors said a referendum would be too expensive. However, he said, a few weeks later council gave out grants, including one for over $100,000 to Theatre Northwest. “I’m not knocking Theatre Northwest, but the question is why can they spend that kind of money on a theatre but they can’t spend it for people to have a vote?
The Face
of
Spring
A lla n W ISHA RT/ Fre e Pre s s
Mandy Paavola applies the finishing touches to a spring-themed paint job for Molly Makowichuk. Paavola was doing face painting at the Parents of Twins and Triplets Association’s Easter event at the Roll-a-Dome on Friday. There’s something wrong here.” Besides questioning the process the city chose to get permission to borrow the money, Allen also questions the validity of the project as well. “If you talk to people in the city about 90 to 95 per cent of them want the roads fixed, but the city wants a dike on River Road. If the people were given a choice I think it’s pretty clear which way they would go,” Allen said. He added River Road was upgraded in 2010 to a 200-year flood plain which was supposed to substantially reduce any flooding issues. “I would say now a dike is not necessary. A lot of people feel you’d get the same benefit if you dredged the river,” he said. “But the
real issue is what are we doing in the flood business? That is not a municipal responsibility. It’s up to the provincial and federal government.” Thus far in total, Allen said, the updates on River Road have come in somewhere around the $20 million mark, a number he compares to the $3.5 million per year city road budget. “It’s time for the city to change direction. It is getting sidetracked by these different projects.” Though Allen isn’t certain of the number of signatures received thus far, he believes there’s about 2,500 signed forms in. On Thursday evening at 7 p.m., Allen is hosting a meeting in the McGregor Room at the Coast Inn of the North to begin a final push
for signatures, which must be in by 5 p.m. April 24, and he is inviting everyone interested to attend. “We have that last two weeks to try to get the balance of the signatures. If you want to get a vote on this, get to city hall and sign,” he said. If the city is forced to call a referendum and the results of the vote are in favour of borrowing the $3.5 million, which will be combined with $2.5 million from the Land Reserve fund and $5.4 million from the government, Allen said he has no problem with the project proceeding. At least then, he said, residents will have had their say.
DL# 10842
Voted Prince George’s #1 Dealer!
BUY SELL LEASE TRADE
actionmotors.net Have You Been to Action Motors Lately?
NEW INVENTORY ARRIVING DAILY!
ACCREDITED BUSINESS
2010 Ford F150 XLT
4x4, Supercrew, Shortbox, V8, Auto, Loaded
250.562.6024
$
28 ,900
Toll Free 1.877.862.6024 1735 Queensway, Prince George