‘Yes’ fest rolls through council

Posted by on 27 October 2009 | 0 Comments

Kootenay News Advertiser - October 21, 2009

Citing land-squeezes in Golden, Rossland and Nelson, proponents of Cranbrook’s boundary expansion continued to push for ‘yes’ votes during the municipality’s most recent city council meeting.

Wedged between Monday’s regular adoption of minutes and a well-presented annual recap of Cranbrook’s special city crew projects, Electoral Area C Director Rob Gay addressed council.

He offered support for the contentious proposal to incorporate 9,000 acres of private properties located east of the city limits and south of Highway 3/95.

“Cranbrook is in quite an enviable position when you stand back and look at it,” Gay said, pointing to challenges in land expansion in other Kootenay communities indefinitely penned by mountains and steep hillsides.
“The certainty of a land base is certainly worth the challenge,” he added.

“This piece of land would secure Cranbrook...for 100 years I think.”

Cranbrook Mayor Scott Manjak used Gay’s visit to quell rumours regarding the scope of the city’s expansion plans, specifically rumblings heard around Gold Creek.
“Incorporating Gold Creek is not on the table, never will be,” he said.

Later, other councilors continued to reiterate their ‘yes’ stance, fueled by a flyer being distributed around town listing 10 reasons to vote against the expansion.

“It’s at the least misleading,” Coun. Liz Schatschneider said of the flyer, adding at its worst the pamphlet pushed “untruths”. She mused expansion opponents might as well be trying to change to city’s newly adopted slogan “from mountains of opportunity to molehills of opportunity.”

One particular claim that seemed to raise the ire of Coun. Diana Scott was the opponents’ charge that taxpayers would be on the hook financially if the expansion went ahead.

“Taxpayers aren’t going to pay for the expansion,” Scott proposed, “the expansion will pay for itself over time…land is an investment.”

On Sept. 14, Cranbrook’s city council authorized a referendum be held to decide the fate of Cranbrook’s East Hill expansion. That referendum is scheduled for Saturday, Nov. 14.