By Kevin J. Sabo
For the Advance
The Village of Halkirk has moved one step closer towards its viability review.
Council was informed during the Feb. 10th meeting that the village had been approved for an Alberta Community Partnership program grant worth $120,000 to go towards an infrastructure study as part of the review.
The next step in the viability review will be putting out a request for proposals to get the assessment done, which is something that the County of Paintearth Chief Administrative Officer Michael Simpson is helping with.
Once the request for proposals goes live, companies submitting proposals will have until April 7th to submit, with council awarding the winning company during their meeting the same day.
The assessment must be completed within six-months of the award date.
Water Bylaw
After deciding to adjust the water rate within the Village during the January council meeting, administration brought the required utility bylaw amendment forward to the February meeting.
The amendment, which passed all three readings during the meeting, is effective as of Feb. 1st and will set the flat rate for water at $55 per residence for 10 cubic metres of water.
Municipal Development Plan
After a flurry of back and forth between the Village of Halkirk and Palliser Municipal Services, and a special meeting held by council Feb. 3rd to discuss the document, the Village council are ready to present the Municipal Development Plan to the residents of the community.
The development plan, Bylaw 2021-02, passed first reading during the Feb. 10th council meeting, and set a public hearing date for 4 p.m. on March 10th.
The Municipal Development Plan, a requirement under the Municipal Government Act, will be made available for resident review on the Village of Halkirk web site, located at www.halkirk.ca.
Steno Support
While not an official member of the agreement between the Town of Castor, the Town of Coronation, and the County of Paintearth which pays for the RCMP Steno-clerk position in Castor, the Village of Halkirk has been a voluntary contributor.
During the Fab. 10th meeting, with a motion made by Coun. Sherry Jamieson, council voted in favour of continuing the $525 annual donation to the position.
Director of Emergency Management
New Village of Halkirk Chief Administrative Officer Marcy Renschler has been appointed as the director of Emergency Management.
“We are required to have a person appointed,” said Doris Cordel, who has been helping Renschler settle into the role, and was the previous director in her tenure as Chief Administrative Officer.
Coun. Jamieson moved to appoint Renschler, though did have in her motion that the Village should open discussions with the County of Paintearth to see if there is some way, or interest from, in being able to designate someone from the County into the role.
RCMP
Sergeant John Pike, the new commander of the Coronation RCMP detachment, whose jurisdiction Halkirk falls under, sent an email to the village introducing himself, and attached October to December crime statistics for the village.
In total, the Coronation RCMP responded to 11 complaints in the region of the Village during the time period.
Of the 11 complaints, five were related to property crime, four were traffic offences, one fell under a federal statute, and one was an animal call.
In an effort to engage the community, Sgt. Pike is accepting submissions from the community in between Feb. 15th and Feb. 26th to help provide guidance for the detachment as far as policing issues in the region go for the upcoming year.
Submission can be mailed to “Coronation RCMP, 4909 Royal St, Coronation, AB, T0C 1C0” or by email to KCoronationDet@rcmp-grc.gc.ca.