Representatives on the Sioux Narrows/Nestor Falls transition committee are now into the nitty-gritty after meeting for the fourth time Tuesday night to discuss next year’s amalgamation.
The committee, struck to prepare recommendations for the municipal council of the new municipality of Sioux Narrows Nestor Falls, has finished prioritizing issues and yesterday put their heads together to begin tackling them one at a time.
“The meat of the stuff will come up [now],” said Sioux Narrows Coun. Dan Bouvier, one of eight people sitting on the transition committee.
Sioux Narrows Reeve Dick Motlong, representatives from four local roads boards, Leona Forsyth from the Nestor Falls local services board, and Municipal Affairs and Housing rep Kevin DesRosiers also sit on the committee.
“We’ve had [three] meetings and they’ve been going very well,” said Forsyth. “We’re just getting down to serious discussion and how they’re going to go, like land ambulance, bylaws . . . .”
All the meetings are open to the public, with the last one, held in Nestor Falls, attracting a crowd of about two dozen residents.
“It’s quite different to get an unorganized area into a municipality,” admitted Forsyth. “We’re going to be different. People in Nestor Falls have trouble grasping that I think.”
John Callan, manager of Operations and Facilities for the Town of Fort Frances, has been hired by the committee as a consultant.
“There is a great deal involved in the Nestor Falls commission because they are going to be incorporated into a municipality,” said Callan.
“I asked the transition committee to prioritize the issues and basically we are looking at the issues in the ‘A’ category,” he noted.
The committee can only make recommendations, which will be presented to the new municipal council after it is elected this fall and takes over Jan. 1.
Fort Frances Times
Local News from Across the Rainy River District
