Reasonable offer

There’s a new marketing push underway to promote Rainy Lake as a world-class bass fishery which, by extension, would mean more visitors choosing Fort Frances as a destination rather than just passing through.
Yet as that’s being pursued, Pithers’ Point Park—what should be our community’s jewel by the lake—continues to sit in limbo.
With the town’s 99-year lease of Pithers’ Point Park set to expire on May 1, and given discussion on its future has been going on for some time behind closed doors by lawyers for both sides, the chiefs of the four bands which own the land took the unusual step last week of publicly releasing a letter to Mayor Roy Avis and town council that proposes an extension of the lease, perhaps on an annual basis, until the litigation questions are resolved.
As the chiefs rightfully acknowledged, the park “affords both the First Nations and residents of Fort Frances the opportunity to partake in many family and recreational activities.” They’re also correct in saying the ongoing dispute “has preempted the determination of a viable utilization of the lands in question in terms of an economic, cultural, and/or recreational perspective.”
In other words, making it a park we all can be proud of again—and benefit from.
The catch is that the chiefs’ proposal hinges on the new lease fee being “at fair market value,” which is sure to mean a considerable expense for the town when the coffers already are tapped to the limit. But then again, the current fee of $35 a year, which may have been a lot of money back in 1910, is a farce here in 2009.
On the surface at least, the offer seems to be reasonable—a time-out, if you will, so both sides can explore how best to revive Pithers’ Point Park without the threat of a looming deadline hanging over our heads.
Quite simply, the uncertainty has to be resolved once and for all if we ever hope to attract more tourists here.