Ponoka County Public Works superintendent Blaine Rose updated council on the activities of his department during their regular council meeting on Feb. 27.
Rose reported progress was being made on getting agreements for proposed road construction projects.
Rose added one-half mile of Township Road 430 to the county’s transfer station to the list of chip seal projects. The intent was to use recycled asphalt to stabilize the base prior to adding the chip seal.
Council discussed the cost to chip seal subdivision roads versus the levy being applied per lot to developers. The levy was currently $5,000 per lot but the county was paying per square metre.
Administration suggested this could be an up-front cost at the time of subdivision approval based on the specifics of the subdivision.
The alternative would be that if ratepayers decided they wanted chip seal after the fact, an off-site levy could be applied based on actual costs, charged against each individual lot. Council agreed with the idea.
Core testing was being done to two county bridges to determine the amount of rot in the pilings. Bridge 1694 would be considered for replacement in 2025.
Calcium for dust control would be purchased by Tiger Calcium and applied by Cactus Water Hauling at the time determined by the county.
Dredging at the Gull Lake boat launches is on hold until First Nation consultation is complete, which continues to be ongoing.
The county was looking for a 25-year license of occupation so the process wasn’t required in the future.
With the sale of one of the hired gravel trucks, another truck was needed to complete the program. The county could purchase a used trailer for its spare gravel truck for use for the gravel program.
General discussion ensued concerning the condition that the new graders had been received in, and ongoing warranty work.
Rimbey AgRim Centre
Ken Whitlock, Amy Judge and Kelly Thompson from the Rimbey AgRim Centre updated council on the progress made to ensure successful operation.
Whitlock advised they had a good turnout over the past year utilizing good staff and volunteers with good events. Their gross revenue was up $16,000 over 2022.
They are paying 3.65 per cent on their mortgage until June 2025. If rates go up their costs would rise an additional $15,000 per year based on projected interest rates at renewal.
They could remortgage for a longer term to bring their payments down if required. At renewal the mortgage balance would be approximately $1.6 million.
They had a couple of larger events already booked for 2024. With proper planning and notice they were able to tap into a large group of volunteers to help with events.
The association requested the county’s sponsorship for the upcoming the Wild Rose Association rodeo finals. Council will consider the request during budget deliberations.
Rimoka
Coun. Doug Weir reported he’d recently attended a Rimoka meeting.
Coun. Nancy Hartford noted the Rimoka board was proceeding cautiously with a new building until they could be sure of the costs.
Coun. Bryce Liddle agreed Rimoka was going in the right direction.
Rimbey FCSS
Bill Coulthard had resigned from the Rimbey Family and Community Support Services Board and Rod Schaff had taken his place as the Town of Rimbey representative.
FCSS would be advertising for a county representative to replace Schaff.
Donation requests
The Medicine River Watershed Society requested a monetary donation toward a meal for their meeting at the Last West Hall.
The Ponoka Doctor Attraction and Retention Committee requested a donation toward the cost of a light meal to welcome the new recruits at the Battle River Medical Clinic.
The Blindman River Ladies Group requested a donation of $500 toward their 90th anniversary celebration on June 9.
Council deferred all the requests until budget deliberations.
Parkland Regional Library
The Parkland Regional Library board will continue using Municipal Affairs population numbers rather than the 2021 census figures. It was noted the county could appeal this.
Resident complaint
Correspondence from a ratepayer requested that council consider the implications of a number of dangerous and unsightly properties within the Hamlet of Bluffton.
The county had dealt with a number of the properties in 2023. It was noted the Hamlet setting would make some matters more difficult to deal with, but anything that was a safety issue should be dealt with as soon as possible.
The matter will be monitored through the Peace Officer’s office.