The Town of Bonnyville plans to learn more about Cold Lake First Nations' future land use plan.
Council discussed a letter sent by Cold Lake First Nations, outlining their plan for their lands and resources.
CAO Mark Power emphasized the significance of the letter during council's meeting on Tuesday.
"Our municipal government now requires us to notify Cold Lake First Nations of any changes in our statuary plans," he said. "They're recuperating by sending us this letter, even though they aren’t required to."
Bonnyville Mayor Gene Sobolewski expressed interest in reaching out to Cold Lake First Nations council. He suggested arranging a meeting or to attending an open house to learn more.
"We should respectfully ask to be in attendance, just to clarify things in the letter and to get more information on the land plan. "
For the full story, check out our website or next week's edition of the Bonnyville Nouvelle.
Regional Waterline may come in under budget
It looks like the cost of the Regional Waterline might be coming in under the pre-tender estimate.
Contracts for the waterline running from the water treatment plant in Cold Lake to the transfer station, and from the transfer station to the Town of Bonnyville, are estimated to be less than the pre-tender estimate after local contractors won the tenders for both projects.
"The local contractors know local conditions. It's local labour, local equipment, and local supply. They don't have to bring anyone in from out of town, and there's going to be a lot of local representation," expressed Sobolewski.
The pre-tender estimate for the line to the transfer station was originally estimated at $18.9-million, but when the bid came in, it was about $13.4-million. The line from the transfer station to Bonnyville was nearly cut in half. The cost for this leg of the project was roughly $45.8-million, but the bid was granted at $28.1-million.
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Town wants to get the ball rolling with the Regional Partnership Committee
Council discussed the draft terms of reference they received from Alberta Municipal Affairs for the Regional Partnership Committee.
The outline goes over the mandate, the roles and responsibilities, and how the committee will make decisions on the projects they should suggest to Alberta Municipal Affairs for the $6-million in regional funding through the ID 349 agreement.
Council members expressed interest in setting up a start up meeting to iron out some details not covered in the draft, and figure out how many members from each of the six communities involved will sit on the committee.
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Conversation continues on laws surrounding cannabis consumption
Sobolewski spoke with the Canadian Secretariat about where people will be able to consume cannabis once it becomes legal, and if it will be a regulated substance, like alcohol.
Marijuana consumption won't be provincially regulated, leaving municipalities responsible for deciding how they want to handle consumption of the drug.
Since legalizing marijuana is still in the early stages, Sobolewski believes this is a good start and that there's time to iron out all of the details as issues arise.
