THE CITY is looking for four local residents to help decide the future of the former Terrace Co-op property on Greig Ave.
They’ll sit on a committee with two city councillors, a member of Skeena Diversity Society and a member of the Terrace Downtown Improvement Area Society and have the job of recommending a use for the city-owned property by the end of the year.
James Cordeiro and Brian Downie are the two city councillors in the group and all eight will have a vote on best use options.
Other voting members have yet to be chosen formally.
City director of development services Marvin Kwiatkowski will sit on the board as a non-voting member.
The committee will meet with groups and individuals regarding future property uses and will examine previous ideas and recommendations.
The financial implications of each property usage will be considered , including operating costs, who will pay for whatever goes there, and tax revenue generated for the city.
Since his election in November 2008, mayor Dave Pernarowski has always pushed for a revenue-generating use for the property.
He has several times urged council to put the property up for sale but that option never received the support of council.
The property was home for decades to a bustling retail complex owned by the Terrace Cooperative Association until a declining forest industry and changing consumer habits forced its closure in the late 1990s.
The property was bought by the city in late 2005 so it could have control over its future but the move has been heavily criticized ever since.
Last year the city spent nearly $300,000 taking down the the complex, a move considered necessary if the city was ever going to have a chance to sell the property.
