The possibility of the MD of Bonnyville having a agriculture recycling site is moving ahead.
During their Wednesday, July 24 meeting, council directed administration to express their interest in being one of 20 municipalities acting as a collection site for the Agriculture Plastics Recycling Group's (APRG) pilot program.
The APRG's working group hired Cleanfarms, a non-profit environmental stewardship organization, to be the program administrator.
Matt Janz, general manager for environmental and protective services for the MD, noted that while there are still a number of unknowns about the project, it would be beneficial to include the MD in the list of potential participating municipalities.
"Cleanfarms wanted to initially start these collection sites towards the end of 2019, get those worked in, and then look for additional ones after," he explained.
During a March 6 meeting, the MD voted in favour of sending a letter stating their interest in being an operator for a collection site, and also reached out to neighbouring communities asking for their support.
According to Janz, the municipality received four letters back with mixed responses.
"Most of their concerns were they didn't want to commit to saying, 'yes, we'll give support to the MD of Bonnyville on their program,' because they were in limbo with us not knowing what this provincial program was going to look like."
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MD hears first quarterly report from public safety
Council learned about what the MD peace officers have been up over the past three months.
Director of public safety, Chris Garner, explained during his first quarterly report that between April and June 2019, there were just shy of 300 provincial tickets handed out and 285 warnings were written. Twenty bylaw tickets were issued, with only one warning given.
When it came to case reports, which are created when a peace officer gets a call from a member of the public requesting a call for service or regarding a complaint, 117 were made about regulatory bylaws, 47 for provincial statutes, and 26 for crime prevention.
Garner noted vacant home checks have been very popular since the MD implemented the program in 2018, with 292 conducted during the second quarter. The majority were done in the Ardmore area with 91, while the Moose Lake east subdivisions had officers checking in 76 times and the Crane Lake area 31.
MD peace officers conducted 442 crime prevention patrols. Around 40 per cent were targeted, where they had specific information about a crime happening, according to Garner.
More to come.
Council discusses Cold Lake IDP
A representative from ISL Engineering and Land Services Ltd., the Grande Prairie-based business that was awarded the contract for the Intermunicipal Development Plan (IDP) between the MD and Cold Lake, reviewed the project for council.
The MD is updating their IDP with the city in order to align with new requirements after changes were made to the Municipal Government Act (MGA).
"The other (reason) was the recent annexation that Cold Lake obtained last year. Bringing in those additional lands into Cold Lake from the MD of Bonnyville, so the IDP has to be updated to reflect those boundaries and also, by extension, sort of revisit the longer term future, next growth area for the City of Cold Lake, and how that will work," explained land-use planning manager for ISL Engineering and Land Services Dave McRae.
While considering future expansion for the city, McRae stressed the importance of exploring, identifying, and protecting corresponding development opportunities for the MD.
Landowner engagement is expected to take place in September once ISL Engineering and Land Services has a draft of the plan to present.
Ardmore, Fort Kent fire halls moving ahead
The Ardmore and Fort Kent fire halls are expected to go to tender by mid-August, according to Caroline Palmer, general manager for planning and community services.
Since the new fire trucks have been delivered, there was a concern from council where they would be stored because they don't fit in the current buildings.
"These trucks are 25-years-old or more," detailed CAO Luc Mercier. "So what's a few extra months if we can't use the new ones short-term because we have building issues? I don't think we're going to have that issue, we're going to have a way to house them, but we've got to talk to (Bonnyville Regional Fire Authority chief) Jay (Melvin) on that."
A concrete timeline of when the projects will be completed will be available once a tender is awarded.
Council allows access to Hoselaw Tower
The Cold Lake Amateur Radio Club will be able to use to the MD's Hoselaw Repeater Tower, and will receive VHF two-way radios as a donation as well.
Janz said the public safety department isn't using the repeater since they switched over to the Alberta First Responders Radio Communication System two years ago.
"Right now, we have radios that aren't in use anymore with public safety, and Chris (Garner) feels they're available to use also," he continued.
In a letter to council, the club said having access to the tower would expand their current coverage area and would allow them to support the MD. The group is comprised of federally licensed amateur radio operators who are local residents.
Road classification accepted
In order to guide the future planning and upgrades for transportation infrastructure, the municipality decided to move ahead with a road classification system.
Six classes for local roads were included, which will determine upgrades made to them in the future.
The categories are determined by traffic volumes and composition, function, and design.
Online campground reservations in the works
The MD is offering the option to book a spot at three of their campgrounds online, with the intention to include more in the future.
Through the Canadian Campground Reservations website, families can reserve a spot at Muriel Lake, Minnie Lake, and Crane Lake.
With the exception of Wolf Lake, the municipality is hoping to include the remainder of their campgrounds next year.
