MUNICIPAL DISTRICT BONNYVILLE NO. 87
COUNCIL HIGHLIGHTS July 25, 2018
Keeping you informed of the services, business and development that affect YOU!
#1 Watch For The M.D. Recreation Assessment Postcard – M.D. residents will be receiving a postcard in the mail on August 10 that will direct them to an online Recreation Needs Assessment survey. Residents can also request the survey be mailed to them by calling the Parks, Recreation and Culture office at 780-826-3972 or fill out the survey at any of our offices (Administration, Parks, or Transportation and Utilities). Two open houses, one in Cold Lake and one in Bonnyville, will be held in mid-September. Meetings will be set up with various recreation user groups.
#2 Please Obey Traffic Signs For Your Safety – Municipal District of Bonnyville Public Safety Officers have been busy checking two areas where motorists are not following signs put in place by Transportation & Utilities – Lessard Bridge and Township Road 630 (road from Cold Lake to Kinosoo Ridge Snow Resort). The road to Lessard Bridge has been marked as a closed road with electronic signs, regular road signs, barricades, caution tape and traffic cones. Unfortunately, the barricades have been moved (and not been put back in place by people accessing the river), signs have been damaged or stolen and the cement blocks have been moved across the bridge. In response to these issues, cameras have been installed and officers are checking the bridge numerous times on their shifts. Currently, two charges have been issued. There are also approximately 15 charges pending against registered owners of vehicles that have been caught on camera going past the barricades. New gates have been installed at the bridge to keep traffic off of it. Consultants have completed the environmental study for the bridge and the repair tender will go out in September. Twp. Rd. 630 is under construction, and M.D. flag persons have been having problems with aggressive drivers not obeying their signals and driving past them into the construction zone. One vehicle nearly hit a flag person and then caused additional problems. The M.D. is urging everyone to please obey traffic signs set up on all the road and bridge projects to ensure their own safety, as well as the safety of our workers.
#3 Rural Crime Prevention Program Going Strong – The M.D.’s Rural Crime Prevention Officer is responding to many requests for the Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) property assessments. Public Safety has also received requests to do vacant home checks while occupants are away. The second Ladies Self-Defense Class at Ardmore School was a huge success. More classes will be scheduled in the future at community halls to be more convenient for residents. Due to numerous calls, officers checked for suspicious vehicles in North Shore Heights, Beaverdam, Ardmore and Hoselaw areas. In some cases the vehicles were stopped for traffic violations and the drivers identified.
#4 Flooding Surveillance – Crews are continuing to work on flooded areas as the M.D. responds to the recent downpours. They have been working on problem areas with property and infrastructure damage as the first priority. The M.D. is still receiving weekly complaints of flooded creeks due to the large beaver population.
#5 Planning and Development News – In June, 19 Residential Development Permits were issued, with a year-to-date total of $13,624,340. Year-to-date housing starts include 20 Single Family Dwellings and six Mobile Home Units. In June, 60 Plumbing, Gas, Sewer and Electrical Permits were issued. The M.D. has 19 Subdivision Applications to date. Final Reading was given to Bylaw No. 1691 for the Temporary Closure, Occupation and Lease of a Government Road Allowance at E/SE 35-60-4-W4M. First Reading was given to LU Bylaw No. 566 to rezone portions of Part NW 10-61-6 W4M (Fortier Area Structure Plan) for 29 acres to remain as Country Residential (CR3), 11.5 rezoned to Agriculture “A” and 6.5 acres rezoned to “CR” as subdivided. First Reading was given to LU Bylaw No. 567 to amend Bylaw 1667 for Direct Control District #1 – Wood Creek Resort – NE 30-60-6-W4M – to include Bunkhouse (RV Lots Only) as part of Permitted Uses, include in Section 3.0 – Development, and 8.0 Definitions to include “Accessory Building” and “Bunkhouse”.
#6 Waste Update – Just a reminder to residents who are doing their seasonal cleaning of homes and yards – bin sites are for household garbage only. Items such as building supplies, mattresses and other large household items should be taken to a M.D. landfill for proper disposal. The Waste Department has approval for the construction of a bin site and recycling area on the east side of Muriel Lake. The construction will start later this summer, with final completion of paving and fencing in the summer of 2019. Over the past month, an employee has been greeting 30 to 40 vehicles a day at the Cherry Grove Bin Site in an effort to educate residents on what is accepted at the site. Residents with large items or excessive amounts of waste are given locations to one of the M.D.’s many landfill transfer sites. The department will continue this education process periodically over the next couple of months. The Mattress Recycling Program is a great success. Since the program started over a year ago, eight sea cans of mattresses and box springs (over 800) have been diverted from the landfill. The main items that are created from recycled mattresses are carpet underlay and moving and shipping blankets. The main reason to recycle mattresses is to save space in our Class III pits that are close to reaching capacity, as they do not compact well in the landfills.
#7 Parks, Rec. and Culture News – Council approved a $10,000 budget increase (from $30,000 to $40,000) for RC Strategies to include a concept plan for the proposed recreation area on Highway 28 outside of Bonnyville. RC Strategies is carrying out the Recreation Needs Assessment for the M.D. The concept plan will be available at the open houses in mid-September. The boat launch at Vezeau Beach should be operational shortly. The M.D. is attaching buoys to the cement pads to delineate the edges of the launch. Unfortunately, the docking system at Vezeau Beach will take longer to fix and requires approvals from Alberta Environment. The goal is to have the docks operational next year. The M.D. is applying for a provincial Accessibility Grant to provide eight accessible campground stalls in four campgrounds for a cost to the municipality of $27,410.
#8 Agriculture Update –The Roadside Mowing Program has completed the first shoulder pass on all roads and is currently mowing in municipal reserves in the larger subdivisions that were done in June. The smaller subdivision mowers are in the Cold Lake area and are on track to finish the majority of subdivisions in mid-August. The large mowers will be starting the second pass (fence-line mowing) at the end of July. The full ditch mow is done on the main arterial road network throughout the municipality. The Roadside Spraying Program is concentrating on brush in the ditch and noxious weeds. Inspectors have also been doing a lot of hand pulling in the hamlets for Scentless Chamomile. Industrial sites are being sprayed as well.
#9 Public Safety Update – Officers took action on several speeding complaints in the Wolf Lake area on Township Road 624 and tractor trailers making unsafe U-turns at the intersection of Highways 659 and 657. Officers have been checking the Country Lane Estates area after receiving complaints about street racing during the evenings. Officers did stop a vehicle that appeared to be involved, but it was not in an actual race at the time. The driver was speeding and issued a ticket. Public Safety continues to deal with numerous animal control complaints. There were 14 animal (dogs, pig and a cow) control related complaints from residents in the Primrose, Fort Kent, Moose Lake, Ardmore, Ferby and Lessard areas. One complaint was for an aggressive dog which attacked another dog. Another resident asked for a dog trap to see if he could catch the dog that breaks into his chicken coop. Officers dealt with abandoned vehicle complaints, parking violations, noise complaints at Crane and Muriel Lakes, vehicle collision, a stunting vehicle in the Riverhurst area, and quads on roads and stunting quads in the Moose Lake and Ardmore areas. Officers also responded to a complaint of vehicles on the Iron Horse Trail east of Bonnyville and drivers were told to move their vehicles off the trail and park elsewhere. Officers also assisted with a medical emergency, transporting an elderly resident to meet the ambulance, provided some traffic control for a motorist fixing a flat tire on the side of the highway and assisted a young, dehydrated man on the side of the highway.
#10 Transportation and Utilities Update – The Road Construction Crew is continuing work on Twp. Rd. 630 and will be heading to Twp. Rd. 615 south of Cherry Grove next and then to Twp. Rd. 640. The Road Oiling Crew has finished Range Road 470 and is working on Twp. Rd. 461. The Rip and Relay Crew has completed Rge. Rd. 485 and Twp. Rd. 604, east of Secondary Highway 882 and will now move on to new projects. The Paving Crew has completed the top lifts on Rge. Rd 485 and Baywood Road, but is still working on the approaches. The bottom lift is completed on Twp. Rd. 611A and the top lift will go on after the ditch cleanup is completed. The crew is starting to pave on Twp. Rd. 630 as sections become ready. The crew is mobilizing to do other repairs as conditions allow. Consultants have completed the survey work on the Birch Grove Drainage Project and are drafting the proposed plan to send to the province for approval. The proposed route takes the water through private land and the Summer Village of Pelican Narrows. Once the M.D. has all the approvals, it will be brought back to Council for budget approval to proceed. The contractor has started to remove the millings from the surface of the La Corey North Resource Road and hauling them to the M.D. yard seven days a week. Paving is scheduled to start later in August with completion by October 30. The Highway 28 Trail Crossing road surface is completed and the contractor is working on the remainder of work on the side slopes and trail portion. ATCO has provided a price for the lighting and staff are working out details on the proposal. The Ardmore Underground Project contractor has completed work on the 49 Street underground replacement and has moved over to the corner of 48th and 48th, as well as working in front of the school while it is closed. The Imperial Oil Road (Rge. Rd. 440) Project is underway. The Wolf Lake Road contractor has moved on to the site and has started at the north end of the project. Single lane traffic will be maintained while under construction. The contractor has been hampered by wet weather and is making limited progress. A site meeting was held last week to discuss scheduling concerns. Oiled dust controls are completed. MG30 application is continuing and is more than 50 percent complete. The contractor is finishing up the work on the Ardmore Storm Pond trail. Once completed, crews will look at options for landscaping work this fall. The Drainage Crew is currently working on miscellaneous culverts installations that have been called in from the spring flooding. The contractor has started work on the Rge. Rd. 454 Drainage Project, with completion scheduled by the middle of September. The Summer Gravelling Program is completed. Tenders for the waterline between Cold Lake and Bonnyville have all closed, with the project coming in over budget. Discussions with the province are required to find the additional funding. The contractor is scheduled to start on the Bridge File 72618 replacement on Rge. Rd. 490 in mid-August.
#11 Funding Support – Flat Lake Community Hall received a $25,000 Annual Operating Grant. The Verge Arts Festival received a $5,000 Community Action Grant for the theatre/music/visual arts event on August 10, 11 and 12 in Cold Lake at Beantrees and the Grande Parlour Theatre. Council agreed to provide a $1,500 sponsorship for the Hearts For Healthcare Mega Bounce 5K Run on September 8 in Cold Lake.
For more information, contact Diane Jenkinson, Marketing and Communications Manager at 780-826-3171. Our website is a useful way to get the information you need. Visit: www.md.bonnyville.ab.ca Follow us at facebook.com/MDBonnyville and Twitter @MDBville.