Days before final approval of a new Customs facility here, the town has been faced with the option of purchasing the international bridge.
The idea, brought forward by local lawyer Lawrence G. Phillips in a letter to council last month, caught the attention of Abitibi-Consolidated’s general manager Jim Gartshore, who called Mayor Glenn Witherspoon.
“I received a phone call from Jim Gartshore and he said although Mr. Phillips is not a representative of Abitibi, his [idea] does have merit,” Mayor Witherspoon told council during a special meeting Thursday afternoon.
“He said they’re about to sign a contract from the federal government for the Customs facility but asked that before he does that, do we want to buy the bridge?”
“They are willing to vacate the bridge with the railroad and build a railroad bridge rather than a Customs facility,” the mayor added.
Although making that decision would take serious research and preparation, council passed a resolution to pursue the possibility in the hopes that if a deal is made, the federal government would reimburse the mills for the cost of building the Customs facility.
“With the question before us, council, in all fairness, doesn’t have the info to say ‘yes’ or ‘no’ by tomorrow,” noted CAO Bill Naturkach. “[But] if council is of a mind, there are ways to do an analysis to decide whether to say ‘yes’ or ‘no.’”
Abitibi-Consolidated and Boise Cascade are required–through federal legislation–to pay for the new Customs facility if they charge tolls on the international bridge.
To help recover the costs, tolls were raised last year, prompting criticism from area residents, businesses, and town council.
There also has been movement to build a new, publicly-owned bridge to link Fort Frances and International Falls.
Fort Frances Times
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