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The long and bitter dispute over the North Cape has not subsided at all. The latest political decision was to refuse Scandic to demand entrance fees from tourists.
The municipal director, who has been on a collision course with politicians, was fired in a secret meeting on September 10. But first he managed to deliver a recommendation that says the leader of the Center Party group, Heidi Holmgren, has been incompetent in the case.
Millions of income over several years
The background is that Holmgren was a member of the board of Nordkapp Camping. There, her husband is the largest owner. The company has a longstanding agreement with Scandic to profit from hotel operations in Skipsfjorden.
The deal was announced in the Sagat newspaper this summer.
Conditions on the Nordkapp plateau have a direct impact on the economy and customer base in the camp, says Kari Lene Olsen, leader of the Labor Party group.
Olsen has also previously mentioned the impartiality of his political opponent.
Heidi Holmgren believes the commotion has an undertone in a “shit package.” An anonymous letter has “gathered a lot of bizarre allegations,” he says.
– Altogether, it becomes an absurd lubrication. It’s easy for me to acknowledge many of the allegations and say they are wrong, Holmgren tells NRK.
The contracting party Scandic Hotels AS has a different opinion. In a letter to the municipality, they write that Nordkapp Camping received just under NOK 4 million in the years 2014-2018.
Scandic is referring to statements Holmgren made to the Sagat newspaper. There he said that none of the companies was a party to the license case.
“This may indicate that the representative has not assessed their impartiality on the correct basis,” writes Scandic Director Svein Arild Steen-Mevold.
Refused to answer
An email exchange accessed by NRK shows how Holmgren refused to answer questions about his own fairness. The reason was that he did not want to comment on the “anonymous and undocumented” allegations.
The municipal director, Einar Arild Hauge, said he had a duty to review the case when he found out. Furthermore, Rica confirmed that the agreement was genuine.
On September 4, six days before his firing, Hauge was supported by a prominent legal expert, attorney Rune Fjeld. Fjeld has served as the Chief Judge on the Gulating Court of Appeal and an Assistant County Governor. He writes that Holmgren was incompetent.
The tourist magnet in the North Cape has been a hot potato for several years, and a major reason the Labor Party lost power in the township.
Photo: Kristina Kalinina / NRK
Holmgren’s vote made little difference at the city council, where there was a large majority to deny Scandic’s license. However, the former AP policy was such a strong driving force in the case that it could have been decisive, Hauge believes.
You must process the complaint
In October, there is another round in the municipal council. The politicians will then take a position on Scandic’s complaint about the rejection of the June meeting.
Scandic would take a 50 bill from each guest to provide security, safety, garbage collection, toilet and cleaning.
When the politicians said no, the entrance to the outer zone was free this summer.
Among other things, Scandic criticizes the fact that politicians have mixed up two cases. The app only applied at a fee for visitors who wanted to enter the plateau. The issue of parking fees is another matter, but it was used as a justification for denying a permit to collect entrance fees.
The municipalities’ own advisor, lawyer Rune Fjeld, affirms that the company does not need permission from the municipality to operate a car park that is already regulated for this purpose.
A series of documents that NRK Troms and Finnmark have had access to show how the municipal director, Einar Arild Hauge, repeatedly gives politicians his views on how the law and previous decisions should be understood, without extending the hand.
I wanted to take power away from politicians
Scandic’s attorney believed that politicians had so overlooked all the case prosecution demands that they shouldn’t have another chance. The county governor should decide the case directly, demanded lawyer Andreas Rørvik.
That claim has now been rejected by the county governor.
Before the matter is raised in the presidency on October 19 and the city council on October 26, it will be examined by the new councilor.
You can read the recommendation of the fired councilor here:
Complaint – Nordkapp – license under the Outdoor Activities Act
