Marshall not appealing sawmill's assessment ruling

Andy Marshall will not be appealing the decision of the Alberta Composite Appeal Board on the assessment of Spray Lake Sawmills' Griffin Rd. property.

Still, he continues to believe it's is far too low and wants town council to take a good look at how the property is being assessed, and if it could reap more taxes if utilized in a different manner.,

Marshall says there was only a narrow window in which they could present an argument at the Court of Queen's Bench.

"If any case were made, it would have to be made on quite narrow legal points," says Marshall.

"But our interest is in gaining a public understanding of the principles at play here, and the view is still with us that Spray Lake is not paying sufficient taxes. It has a pretty good deal with the Town of Cochrane."

"The conversation we were hoping to open up is perhaps there should be a more serious look at better uses for that land. That land that produces so little tax revenue now could produce many millions more if used for other types of developments."

He says the SLS operation could move elsewhere in the community or even into Rocky View County without the hundreds of jobs it creates for Cochrane residents.

Just last month, SLS was visited by Alberta Agriculture and Forestry minister Devin Dressen and praised for its part in the province's economic recovery.

He says record-breaking lumber prices have underscored the importance of Alberta’s forest industry as an economic powerhouse in Alberta’s Recovery Plan. 

SLS directly employs about 200 people and another 80 indirectly through contractor and service providers.

A letter from SLS at the August hearing says the company has been constantly attacked by Marshall over the years, and it believes he has yet to provide any reasonable or compelling facts to support his argument.

"This is not the first time Mr. Marshall has made these complaints, which resulted in the town's assessment staff visiting the site to confirm and validate records of the site a couple of years back," states the letter. "After that re-assessment, there were no considerable changes made. It is hard to believe Mr. Marshall and his representative continue to attack our business with baseless claims."

Five reasons were cited by the provincial appeal board in their decision to side with the town in its assessment of the property.

Marshall has recently moved to Calgary after residing here for 36 years.