The Town of Bonnyville has a few projects they will be bringing to the table for the first Regional Partnership Committee meeting.
A fine arts facility, non-emergent transportation staffing, 911 building renovations, emergency facility expansion, and hospital parking upgrades are the projects council will bring to the first committee meeting on July 24.
Coun. Brian McEvoy said presenting five projects would give the town options in case some of their ideas were dismissed. This way, they would still have possibilities to discuss at the committee meeting.
Mayor Gene Sobolewski added, “It gives the committee members a direction from council as to what we’d like to do.”
Projects pitched by the six communities on the Regional Partnership Committee have to benefit the region in order to qualify for the $6-million regional ID 349 funding, as detailed in the draft terms of reference released by Alberta Municipal Affairs.
Coun. Elisa Brosseau found it difficult to brainstorm projects. She suggested selecting ones that would bring jobs to the area.
“It was so hard to decide on one, because what’s good for Bonnyville might not be good for the region,” she expressed.
A fine arts facility was one of the top choices for council members. They already have a rough plan to put forward.
Coun. Lorna Storoschuk said there isn’t a similar centre anywhere in the region, and municipalities would be able to utilize the space.
The facility plans include 250 seating capacity, a large stage, and will be sound conducive, making it a location that can host productions, rehearsals, and conventions.
Along with the arts, focusing on upgrading health departments was very important to the town.
McEvoy said enhancing the Cold Lake and Bonnyville emergency departments would greatly improve the facilities, and would enhance treatment time for emergency cases.
“The Cold Lake ambulance bays in their emergency department are too narrow to get modern ambulances inside,” McEvoy explained.
In order to create better availability for ambulances, council decided to propose funding for staffing a non-emergent transportation unit.
“There’s an overuse of ambulances for transfer,” detailed McEvoy. “They aren’t as available for emergencies, and funding a non-emergent staffing unit would significantly reduce the amount of non-emergent transfers being done by emergency crews.”
The unit would organize transportation that is currently handled by ambulance crews. This would free-up crews so they can focus on emergency situations.
The 911 emergency centre provides assistance to the entire MD of Bonnyville. Council wants to expand the facility to allow the program to continue to grow.
Upgrading the hospital parking lot will provide more spaces at the Bonnyville hospital, and will continue to allow people to park there for free.
Providing recommendations to the Minister of Municipal Affairs regarding how the funds from ID 349 budget are spent is one of the functions of the committee. They will review the projects during their meetings and must come to a consensus before sending them to Municipal Affairs for approval.
