Bud Edwards is the latest to file his nomination papers to run for council in the November municipal election raising the number of those in the running to seven.
“I am very concerned about the future of Fort Frances, particularly the cost of municipal services, how they effect seniors who want to remain in their own homes, home owners & tenants, business and industry,” said Edwards, who threw his hat in the ring Friday.
“For the past few months I have been collecting and researching data from Kenora, Dryden and Fort Frances to compare costs in key areas,” he added. “The information comes from Performance Measure reports the Municipalities file with the Provincial government. The results of my enquiries are startling.”
Some of the info Edwards related included:
•The cost of water treatment in Fort Frances is 468 percent higher than Dryden and 385 percent higher than Kenora.
•The cost of sewage treatment in Fort Frances is 95 percent higher than Dryden and an astounding 582 percent higher than Kenora!
•The cost of police protection between Fort Frances and Dryden is very close, with the Fort being 6.4 percent higher. But, it is 27 percent higher than Kenora. This is a very significant percentage when budgets involve millions of dollars, said Edwards.
•Fire protection in Fort Frances is 201 percent higher than Dryden and 114 percent higher than Kenora; and
•Lastly, the cost of Administration in Fort Frances is 38 percent higher than Dryden and 32 percent higher than Kenora.
“The calculations are based on Performance reports for the year 2000. Fort Frances and Kenora have supplied data for 2001 and I am waiting for the information from Dryden to do the same comparisons,” noted Edwards. “The Performance Measures reports contain a wide variety of information that is also being examined for comparative purposes.”
Data for 2002 will not be available until the municipal audits are completed, hopefully well prior to election day, Nov. 10, he added.
Edwards is joined by John Albanese, Tannis Drysdale, and Todd Hamilton, and current councillors Struchan Gilson, Roy Avis, and Sharon Tibbs.
Coun. Neil Kabel has said they definitely will run again, but has not filed. Only Coun. Dave Bourgeault has said he will not seek re-election in November.
Meanwhile, Coun. Cunningham filed his nomination papers for the position of mayor several weeks ago. He is joined by Dan Onichuk, who officially declared his candidacy shortly after Mayor Witherspoon announced in July that he would not be seeking a fifth-straight term at the helm.
As far as school board trustees go, both Gord McBride and Dan Belluz have filed to run for spots on the Rainy Rover District School Board, and Harold Huntley will try for a seat on the Northwest Catholic District School Board.
Anyone interested in running for mayor or council must file their nomination papers with Clerk Glenn Treftlin at the Civic Centre prior to 5 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 26.
Election day is Nov. 10. Canada Post is expected to send out the mail-in ballots to town residents in October.
Treftlin said local residents can now find preliminary lists of electors posted at the Civic Centre, museum, and public library until 8 p.m. on Nov. 10.
He stressed voters should check these lists to find out if their address is correct, and whether they’re designated to vote for public or separate school board trustees.
“If they want to be sure they’ll receive the correct mail-in ballot package, and be able to vote, they should check the list,” Treftlin stressed.
Fort Frances Times
Local News from Across the Rainy River District
