Marilyn Rowe was reacting to a regionalization plan adopted by Municipalities Newfoundland and Labrador (MNL), which was one of the topics of discussion at a Southwest Coast Joint Council meeting this past Saturday.
Council chair Peter Fenwick said the plan could lead to four large municipal groupings in southwest Newfoundland. For local service districts in the region, it could mean becoming part of a municipality with 4,000 residents and significant increases in property values.
MNL guidelines call for a municipal grouping with a minimum of 4,000 residents and $300 million in property valuation.
Fenwick said applying that guide to southwest Newfoundland would mean one town for the Port au Port Peninsula, with Port au Port East and Kippens inclusive.
Rowe said Sheaves Cove has always been and will continue to operate as its own independent body, and the district has no desire to be controlled by a larger super town.
“We have our issues, but we’re more than willing to continue dealing with them,” Rowe said.
She said it’s unfortunate Ray Skinner, chair of the Piccadilly Slant-Abraham’s Cove Local Service District, resigned from his position because of problems collecting garbage fees. She said Skinner’s situation does not affect how she and her colleagues feel about the operation of their own local service district.
“Many of our residents live on fixed incomes and we cannot fathom adding yet another fee/tax onto them simply because another community has an issue it needs rectified,” she said.
Rowe forwarded Fenwick’s email regarding Saturday’s meeting with MNL representatives to other district leaders because, to her knowledge, only three had been invited.
“This is very disheartening, especially in a democratic society where people should be included and are not,” she said. “The fact we have only a couple days’ notice of such an important meeting leads me to question Fenwick's motives.”
In addition to the Port au Port super town, there would be another town stretching from Stephenville Crossing to Bay St. George South, and a third town from the Codroy Valley to Burnt Islands. Stephenville, with its more than 7,000 residents, would remain as it is.
Fenwick said to date there is little information on how small remote towns like Ramea and Burgeo would fit into a regional structure.
He said MNL’s policy calls for the towns and local service districts to voluntarily accept integration into these regional bodies. He said, however, with 25 local service districts along the southwest coast who have refused town status to date, it is difficult to see any voluntary association working.
