Following a request from the Town of Castor, Paintearth County council has approved assisting the municipality with the purchase of a pair of fire radios during its March 5 meeting.
Council received the request by email from Castor chief administrative officer (CAO) Donna Rowland.
The funding requested is to install a new radio into each of the Castor Volunteer Fire Department’s new water tender and rapid response trucks.
SEE ALSO: Castor Volunteer Fire Department receives two new trucks
When presenting the request to council, county CAO Michael Simpson noted that the current fire agreement stipulates that the county splits fire expenses on a 50/50 basis with its urban counterparts, but that since this purchase is for two new trucks these purchases fall outside the purview of the agreement.
“I think we have an obligation on the water tender,” said Simpson.
“But, if you want to be kind, you could cover 50 per cent of the other radio.”
After discussion, council agreed to fund 50 per cent of the total cost of the two radios, or just over $2,600, in a motion by Con. George Glazier.
Development permit variance
Council has seen fit to amend a previous variance granted to Capital Power in its Halkirk 2 Wind Project construction.
Capital Power had requested approval for the “occasional” construction of the project during the county’s bylaw-enforced “quiet hours” and subsequent approval was given for specific towers at a previous meeting.
Instead of specific towers, the developers were seeking blanket approval for the entire project.
“There was a difference in understanding between select turbines and the entire project,” said Simpson.
The exception passed in a split vote, with councillors Maurice Wiart and Terry Vockeroth voting against the variance.
While the variance does allow construction outside of usual work hours, each instance must be reported to county administration so that it can be communicated to county residents.
According to Simpson, the developer is to strive to do the work within regular hours and work outside of the hours “will be the exception, not the norm.”
Delegation
County council received a delegation of Kurt Cole, and Jeff and Raelynn Callaway, who were discussing Alberta’s Rural Renewal Stream.
The Rural Renewal Stream is a government of Alberta program that helps rural communities attract skilled workers to fill labour needs.
Cole and the Callaways have been involved with assisting outsiders in settling in the region, having assisted refugees from Syria, Ukraine, and elsewhere over the last several years.
According to Cole, the Rural Renewal Stream is an avenue that can be used to assist refugees and other foreign workers in earning their permanent residency in Canada; however, there’s a catch.
In order for the program to be implemented in the region, it must become a designated community, which is where Paintearth County would step in.
“I think we should be a community where we can get these people to work full time if they want to live here,” said Cole.
“We do have to become a designated community.”
According to Cole, Special Areas, to the east of Paintearth County, has already taken the step to become a designated community.
Since the designation would be an economic development piece for the county, Simpson recommended that the information be passed off to the Paintearth Economic Partnership Society to sift through, and have that organization bring back a report for council to make a final approval.
“I think, if it’s as good as it looks, it’s wonderful,” said Coun. Wiart, making the motion.
Intermunicipal water services
Council has directed CAO Simpson to begin the process of negotiating a master water service agreement with the urban partners.
Simpson recommended the development of the agreement to spur the development in county regions in close proximities to the urban centres.
According to Simpson, there are areas to develop close to communities like Castor, however, the municipalities are wary of connecting county residents to their services as there is little recourse if that individual decides to quit paying their bill.
Under a master agreement, the county would take on the responsibility of the consumers connected to municipal water systems.
“It’s to the town’s benefit,” said Simpson.
“It’s one client (the county), for all water consumption.”
If the individual ratepayer quits paying their bill, then the county does have recourse in collecting, such as adding the outstanding amount to the tax roll.
Coun. Wiart motioned that Simpson begin the negotiation process.