Duane Hicks
As activity starts at the site of the new Robert Moore School, the nearby outdoor rink is being dismantled.
Operations and Facilities manager Doug Brown told council last night that Public Works removed the boards at the rink yesterday and the ice surface is officially off-limits, adding trucks will be carrying a total of 43,000 tonnes of fill onto the site starting March 16.
This will make for a pile some 12 feet high by 300 feet wide by 400 feet long.
“It’s quite a bit of fill that will be trucked in there,” noted Brown.
“So if you see big trucks going down Second Street, [they’re] going to be hauling that site,” said Mayor Avis.
Outdoor rinks located on Fifth Street East, Portage Avenue, and Colonization Road West are still available for use.
The new Robert Moore School will be built on the same lot as the current one on Second Street East, but further north.
Upon completion of the new school, the old one will be demolished.
The Rainy River District School Board is hoping to open the new facility in the fall of 2010.
Also at last night’s meeting, council:
•passed a bylaw authorize an agreement with Wayne George Grading Ltd. for the sale and removal of trees at the municipal airport;
•passed a bylaw amend the Traffic Control Bylaw to add stop signs at the southbound and northbound corners of Mowat Avenue and Church Street, making the intersection a four-way stop (these signs already have been erected);
•passed a bylaw to amend the zoning bylaw to add “retail sales” as a permitted use for property at 1533 King’s Highway (the former Fort Rental building), which already was zoned as Highway Commercial (this will be a store run by Karen Melanson which sells slightly-used clothing);
•passed a bylaw amend the zoning bylaw to change zoning for 625 Nelson St., the property east of the Riverwalk Condominiums, from Residential Type 3 and Tourist Commercial to Residential Type 4 (to accommodate the possible future development of an apartment dwelling);
•passed a bylaw approving the standards for the maintenance and occupancy of property within the municipality.
•held a public meeting regarding applications for tax adjustments for SM119 lots 58-70, Part River Parcel 37-2, and 533 Sixth St.;
•agreed to a request from the Canadian Red Cross to proclaim March as “Red Cross Month” in the Town of Fort Frances;
•received an invitation to attend the Rainy River Valley Safety Coalition’s strategic planning session on Tuesday, March 31 at La Place Rendez-Vous, noting all members of council are welcome to attend;
•referred a request to make a donation to the “Community Chest” fundraising social on Friday, March 20 at the Memorial Sports Centre auditorium to the Administration and Finance executive committee for its recommendation (this was done with the understanding council could possibly donate to the cause after the March 20 event has happened); and
•received a letter from local residents Allan T. Bedard and William Krukoski regarding mill closures and related forestry issues (this letter was published in the Feb. 25 edition of the Times).
