this should stir up the shit, as it should. does anyone know who owns the land beside b.c. packers, the huge lot all fenced off? they used to have demolition derbies there in the 80’s, we used to ride our bikes in there too but then there was a rumor that the land is contaminated from a huge fire in the early 70’s. whoever owns it should have to clean it up, its bullshit they are able to leave it like that. they must know its going to be extremely expensive to clean it up, so they are gonna wait and sell it later when the economy in rupert gets better.
once the port gets rolling, then the increase in value for a spot like that will offset if not cover the cleanup costs, so we have to wait and look at that eyesore untill that happens. that is a choice piece of property once its been decontaminated, if its c.n. who owns it the city should get it from them, that could be a really nice park or something like that. we have paid enough taxes, we want something back that everyone can use.
Well I don’t really care about a big fenced in piece of property. As you say… once day perhaps the value of the land will be enough that someone will use it. It’s certainly not something to get in an uproar over.
I was there today taking pictures of 6 deer 2 were doe’s, the big male was on his hind legs kicking with his front legs at two other deer that were to close to the doe’s… I got some pictures but the fence makes it hard to get a decent picture. Anyways if the fence was down what would people do go take the contaminated soil… LOL… and what’s it contaminated with… I read an article about trees that had been altered so that they could soak up different types of pesticides and poisons. Then after a few months the ground is ok and they take the trees and incinerate them……cost is minimal
Last I heard it was owned by the Weston Corporation, the former owners of BC Packers before Canadian Fish and Jimmy Pattison took over the company.
Rumours have been bouncing around that someone actually purchased it for a warehouse once the port is up and running, but this being Prince Rumour good luck tracking that one down.
Weston put up the fence and it’s barbed wire topping, shortly after the deal between Canadian Fish and BC Packers was done, (maybe the final terms weren’t as friendly as one might think). At any rate it is too bad considering the amount of parking that the city is taking away from the folks who work at the plant it would have been a nice place for them to park during the salmon season.
Also a smart entrepreneur would use that land for storage of boat trailers for the sport fishery, could make a mint if you wanted to undercut Herb’s gang at city hall.
actually your damn right about that, an rv storage would be the cats meow in that location. i think the barb wire is to be sure kids cant wander in and contaminate themselves, i am not positive but i think they had to do that or clean it up, so they elected to fence it to make it “safe” . astro: it was a fire i believe, must have been some nasty stuff that burned. thanks for the info pod, damn yer smart.
There was no fire there from my recollection. MAybe small fires from the demo derbys in days of yore. I think the demo derbies were a part of sea fest. You used to be able to have sea planes fly over town dumping candy for the kids.
Only in PR would the citizens stand back while corparations and governt gobble snatch all beautiful waterfront land.
Wait till the conatiner port is running and the resident os of graham ave have perpetual daylight.
I would love to see a park land nestled next to a fish plant, not ideal but i would like it
Beautiful pics astrothug! I have no idea about the history of that property as I have only been in Rupert for 9 years and I believe they had just closed off access to it then but I had heard it was owned by the Great Jimmy! As is with other property in Rupert, Kwinitza, for one, Atlin, we citizens have more ideas for the development of our town than the developers do, but will they listen?
Hey man, that plant only has a smell comming from it two weeks of the year, it doesnt have a reduction plant, they truck it all to j.s. . i dont think the smell would be a problem at all, we rode our motorbikes in there as kids, and like you said they had seafest activities there too, i remember seeing a live band playing there one seafest while the demolition derby was going, was kinda cool, too bad the band sucked. i dont ever recall their being any bad smells worth mentioning in that spot, i too thought about that when i thought of the idea of it being ideal for a park, its already fenced, perfect to keep little kids away from the street and shoreline.
Anyone know how they clean up contaminated ground like that? do they dig it up and truck it away then replace with clean soil or do they have some decontamination process that cleans the existing soil? i was thinking of walking down there tonight and have a closer look, i am scared shitless of these goddamn wolves now, i feel like hunting the whole works of them now, they have taken over all my favorite places to go walking. does anyone know if there are any plans to relocate them or kill them? i love wolves and dont like the idea of any animal being killed just for doing what they do, but when it becomes unsafe to walk in your own neighborhood im not sure what else can be done. carry pepper spray i guess for starters, but at some point this issue will have to be addressed. i was talking with an old friend of my dad’s last night, told him about seeing them a couple days ago in the stairs and he said something i hadnt thought of, he said “if they are willing to take down a large dog, and they have killed a few of them, a small child it isnt that much different from their perspective”, now that scares me. do we wait for that to happen before it is a serious issue? i see kids that are under ten years old down in those trails all the time with no parent, they may even think they are dogs, it is a scary thought.
they would dig down until the soil was not showing any more contaminated ground, then put new soil in… i think our city will let it leach into the ocean if hasent already hasent…
Give me a break. No one with any sense at all is going to want a park next to a fish plant.
It’s a piece of land. There’s nothing special about it other than the fact it’s sitting there unused. We all know why it’s not used, the land is contaminated. As has been stated… at some point in the future the land value with be such that it is cost effective to decontaminate the land. I’m certainly not in favor of spending my tax dollars to do the work to create a park. I love parks. I think we should have more of them. I also think that unless the city gets off it’s ass and fixes all of the crumbling infrastructure we’re going to be in deep. So pardon me if I prefer the city spend it’s money on water and sewer. I’ve got an even better idea for the land. The city should buy it up and fill it with rows upon rows of porta-potty’s as a backup for when the sewer system crumbles into nothing.
I’m all for green space and parks, but the city has plenty of better places to put them. Places that aren’t contaminated and require soil remediation.
I have to agree with CrazyMike on this one. I really don’t know if any of you have ever read the report that the Province initiated just prior to the last election. I guess maybe if you had, we would probably have a different council right now who has some vision about the future of Prince Rupert and the current situation regarding our infrastructure. Anyway, for any of you who are interested you should ask city hall for a copy of the Kennedy Report - it is extremely concerning when the report identifies that we need over $26,000,000 to fix our current situation. As it stands today, we don’t have a pot to piss in or a window to throw it out. Everyone will probably agree that we need more parks, but we need to worry about necessities first. Personally, I cannot afford another tax increase like I received this year.
The Land is contaminated? Who says? I have never heard anyting about it being contaminated. The waterfront near Kwinitsa fer sure, not that chunk. Back it up. I cant find nothing on the city web site about the Kennedy report. Do you honestly think that the powers that be, will invest hundreds of millions in Port development and will then sit idly by while the city crumbles.
Dont be naive. If the city was to crumble away to shit, it would of happened years ago after the mill fiasco. The city has come a long way in the past few years. I have a pot to piss in and when the pot breaks I have new windows to throw it out.
The city is dealing with things as they happen. Is that the way to do business? No. Its more costly but thats they way things are happening due to the economic situation.
Speak up and make some sugestions as to where there is “plenty of better places to put them”
Frankly, I’m not going to suggest anything. Nor am I going to prove the land is contaminated. Why should I when as I originally stated I could care less about this land.
You admit there are economic pressures but wax poetic on how "Only in PR would the citizens stand back while corparations and governt gobble snatch all beautiful waterfront land. " When they have to dig up the road in my neighborhood yet again, I for one will be thankful that the city can afford to come fix the ancient sewer lines instead of blowing it’s budget elsewhere.
Not sure what town you are living in mcsash, but I too experience my waterlines being dug up last week. Now, my water pressure and volume has dropped and I will be contacting the city on Monday to fix the problem. Rather than spending the money on rebuilding our infrastructure, your Mayor goes around bragging how is is rebuilding management at city hall, including hiring the Administrators wife and creating a title. Please don’t get me wrong, but if our city was not in a declining state, and we had the money to waste, I wouldn’t complain. However, when I am paying huge taxes and getting nothing in return, then I will state my opinion.
I have no idea about the history of that property as I have only been in Rupert for 9 years and I believe they had just closed off access to it then but I had heard it was owned by the Great Jimmy! As is with other property in Rupert, Kwinitza, for one, Atlin, we citizens have more ideas for the development of our town than the developers do, but will they listen? 