Feeling abandoned

Dear editor:
I am in total agreement with the remarks made by Mr. Wendell Stevens when it comes to the Huffman School subdivision project, which ought not be proceeded with by town council.
I also agree that we do not need, nor should we be in, the private subdivision business at a direct and indirect cost of millions of dollars we just don’t have in these difficult times.
We also firmly believe the major increases in taxes, imposed against all residents, is foolhardy, ill-conceived, and very destructive to those on low but fixed incomes or seniors whose pensions are in real doubt and least can afford these huge hits in a very depressed economy.
I also concur strongly with the letter written by Mr. John Steinke regarding the failure on the part of the town to do its due diligence on old infrastructure and grants.
Great letters, Mr. Stevens and Mr. Steinke.
How can we get council’s attention? We are looking for leadership, wisdom, vision, and guidance—plus answers to the problems before this community.
The SRAPEA sent a letter to council many months ago requesting they put together a community meeting of all community stakeholders, including our elected provincial and federal members of Parliament.
We asked council to include the CEO of Resolute Forest Products Ltd. with this invite.
The council did not even respond to this letter, but ran off and met the CEO on their own, with no resulting community meeting being held.
We made this request of council so we, as a community, could address the serious concerns and economic needs of our community as a result of the loss of our major job base.
I guess council felt that was not important enough to discuss with the community, let alone meet with anyone about it.
Even if the kraft mill were sold and several jobs came back, it would not solve all the problems we face. Even the mining industry, once the environmental assessments are done and the discussions with the native stakeholders are resolved in 2016, does nothing to resolve today’s economic woes.
In closing, International Falls, Mn. has been very pro-active. They are doing everything we asked our council to do.
They held community meetings with all stakeholders. They have their state and federal elected officials on board, working with educators, state and federal program administrators, Boise Cascade, and affected workers and businesses.
They have strategies in place—and new ones coming in daily.
They are a pro-active as any council should or could be in these economic times.
Maybe we should encourage, and it may even be wise, to request International Falls town council adopt our council for a week and put on a training workshop for our town fathers so they may learn the ABCs of community leadership in these difficult times.
Yours truly,
Allan T. Bedard
Fort Frances, Ont.