The Town of Bonnyville has learned that Jessie Lake isn't a good candidate for aeration.
After conducting research over the summer, the Lakeland Industry and Community Association (LICA) had other recommendations to improve the lake.
"Basically what we're looking at with the aeration, due to the shallow depths, in order to get any kind of current in the lake it would require a lot of aerators," explained Colin Hanusz, manager of environmental programs for LICA, during council's regular meeting on Tuesday, March 12.
Detailed testing showed the lake is only 1.75-metres at its deepest.
While Hanusz believes aeration could be an option in the future to deal with the smell from Jessie Lake, he offered other suggestions, including cleaning up the algae along the shoreline and continuing with the riparian restoration. To monitor the progress, he also recommended they space out water testing to once every five years to see if the programs in place are making a difference.
The prospect of aeration at the local lake was introduced at the beginning of 2018 to help with the smell that emits from Jessie Lake during the spring and summer.
"The root cause of (the odour) is the phosphorous levels. At over a thousand units per litre, it's off the charts. It was the highest in Alberta tested this year," Hanusz noted.
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Bonnyville partners with Kehewin Cree Nation
Council is taking steps to forge deeper bonds between the Town of Bonnyville and Kehewin Cree Nation.
Following discussions with Kehewin, the town decided to pass three motions to address the solutions that were identified, including holding regular leader meetings and the formation of a working group.
Mayor Gene Sobolewski, Coun. Elisa Brosseau, and Coun. Chad Colbourne were appointed to the working group.
"(The working group) will meet on a regular basis to discuss common issues, work on projects, and discuss potential reconciliation activities between the communities," explained assistant CAO Bill Rogers.
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Consultation to begin for aquatics centre
BR2 Architecture, the Edmonton-based firm chosen for the aquatics centre feasibility study, will begin the public consultation process in the coming weeks.
"As they start doing that, we're looking at doing target surveys, open surveys, meeting with all of the interest groups related to the aquatics centre, as well as anybody in the community that's interested in providing input," detailed Coun. Brian McEvoy, who sits on the aquatics centre board.
The information from the consultations will be gathered and presented to both the Town and MD of Bonnyville to decide on a plan moving forward.
Council supports public house for Bill C-69 review
Town council is voicing their support for the standing committee reviewing Bill C-69 to host a public hearing in Lloydminster.
The decision came after they received a letter from Lloydminster Mayor Gerald Aalbers, who was requesting a meeting be held closer to the Lakeland region.
"The three places (closest) to us were Saskatoon, Fort McMurray, or Calgary," explained Sobolewski.
While dates aren't known, Sobolewski noted it could be within the first two weeks of April.
Motion passed for Resource Communities Canada
The town voted in favour of joining the Resource Communities of Canada Coalition after receiving a letter from the Alberta Urban Municipalities Association (AUMA) president Barry Morishita.
The coalition's mandate is to advocate for responsible resource industry, ensure municipal perspectives are being heard in issues impacting resource development, and share factual information regarding resource development interests.
