The Bonnyville Municipal Library is hoping for a larger contribution from the MD of Bonnyville for their 2018 budget.
During a delegation at the Town of Bonnyville council meeting Tuesday, Oct. 10, library director Ina Smith explained the difference in funding between the town and MD.
“The usage of the library is about 50/50, give or take a little bit. We're serving the Town and MD of Bonnyville equally, but we're not getting an equal amount from both municipalities,” detailed Smith.
The town currently provides more funding per capita than the MD, they'll contribute just over $128,000 to the library, while the MD will contribute around $117,000
Should they receive an equal per capita contribution from the town and MD, Smith intends to improve staffing and other services the library provides. The library has yet to make the request to the MD, however should it be approved; it would be a significant boost to the library's operating budget.
“If the MD were to give the same amount as the town, that would be about a $63,000 increase to our budget. That would mean we could staff our library better, and improve various other things around the library,” said Smith.
Upgrades to the Bonnyville Regional Fire Authority (BRFA) radio system and the 911-dispatch centre has started to take effect.
BRFA deputy fire chief Jay Melvin was in front of council Tuesday night to give an update on the progress of the new radio system.
Currently, BRFA is in the process of changing all of their stations, as well as the MD peace officers, communications from analog to digital. The new radio system has been in place at some stations for a month now and the improvement has been noticeable.
“Our MD constables have been online for the last month and the Bonnyville Fire Department has been online for two weeks. Everything seems to be rolling very well. Our MD constables are using it and testing out the dead spots in the previous system. The volunteers have been very receptive of it,” said Melvin.
The Goodridge Fire Department is also up and running with the digital system, with the remainder of BRFA stations to receive the technology in October and November.
Town of Bonnyville council is already looking for a replacement venue for those who utilize the Lyle Victor Albert Centre.
“At some point in time there's going to be a bulldozer leveling the Lyle Victor Albert Centre. By the time that occurs, we might want to be ahead of the game. The residents will be coming to us, not the school boards, and they'll be saying ‘what do we do now?'” said Bonnyville Mayor Gene Sobolewski.
There is a theatre worked into the upcoming modernization of Bonnyville Centralized High School (BCHS), but the centre will be demolished long before the upgrades to the school are complete.
The town will discuss possible solutions with the theatre's board before the impending demolition, which is expected to take place in the spring of 2018.
“Six months is not a long time. Maybe we can see if we can get some dialogue going because I have already had groups approach me on this,” said Sobolewski.
The Town of Bonnyville voted in favour of contributing $2,000 to Ecole des Beaux-Lacs to help with the operation of the Provincial 1A Volleyball Tournament the school is hosting Nov. 23 to 25.
“This is the first major provincial event brought to the area by Beaux-Lacs, and it would be a fantastic event for the town to sponsor,” said Coun. Jim Cheverie.
The town also discussed whether or not they would put a cap on how much they offered similar events, but ultimately decided to deal with them on a case-by-case basis.
