The Our Town - Clarenville Blog by Paul Tilley

Co-contributer Paul Tilley wrote an excellent posting about the issue of the Clarenville Fire Department providing fire protection services to the Local Service District (LSD) of Milton/George's Brook. I didn't think there was much to add to the topic until I read this week's Packet . The story doesn't seem to be posted on the website, however, the article is about the request of the LSD for a tanker truck from the provincial government. The LSD had requested that Clarenville Fire Department provide them with services and one of the conditions was a tanker truck to be stationed in the area to ensure adequate water supply. The Minister responsible indicates that should Clarenville become the regional fire department, an analysis would then have to be completed to determine the necessary resources required.  Fair enough. What caught my eye, however, was the last few paragraphs. The article indicates that "while the final decision to negotiate comes down to council

Clarenville is on a  slippery   slope if it assumes the role of the George's Brook - Milton Fire Department - even if there is compensation for doing it.  The implications go well beyond fire protection to affecting the future of our town.   It is my contention that some of the most available and best developable land in the greater metropolitan Clarenville area is located in Georges Book – Milton.   Smith Sound provides a “million dollar view” and thanks to its location in Georges Brook – Milton, you can get that view for a lot less than a million dollars and a lot less than you can in Clarenville.    Georges Book – Milton is not, in law, part of Clarenville. Georges Book – Milton is a separate entity known as a Local Service District (LSD). In NL, LSDs are not independent as Towns are; rather they are “children” of the Provincial government.   They have advisory committee’s made up of five to seven residents whose decisions need to be approved by the Minister of Mu