The Town of Ponoka recently declared four different parcels as surplus land and is now offering them for sale.
One of the lots is the southerly 1.5 acres of green space adjacent to the cenotaph located at the Ponoka Drop-in Centre.
The lot description is Block 1, Plan 862 1472 and is located at 5015 46 Ave. The sale price has been set at $225,000.
Ponoka resident Marjie Feil opposes the green space being declared as surplus and doesn’t want to see it developed, she told council during the public forum portion of town council’s meeting, held via Zoom on Feb. 23.
Feil says she canvassed her neighbours and found that the majority of them highly valued the lot as a green space and wanted it to stay town-owned so they could continue to use and enjoy it as it is.
She added she is an architectural technologist and in her opinion, the land isn’t suitable for development because there is only one point of access to a street.
Feil says the signage stating the land is for sale is “kind of annoying,” as it is being advertised for sale before people who were waiting to have their concerns heard had a chance to come before council.
Feil urged council to reverse their decision to declare the land as surplus, and questioned the decision to make it surplus in the first place.
“What was the quality of the data to make that decision?” she said.
Mayor Bonnett responded that no decision had been made about the lot yet, and that advertising the land was part of a process required under the Municipal Government Act (MGA).
Later in the meeting in an in-camera session, council passed a motion to advertise the notice of resolution of the proposed sale of the lot near the cenotaph for a two-week period.
“Council’s intent is to advertise to the public that it has received an offer on this property to allow citizens an opportunity to express any comments or concerns for council’s consideration before it makes any decisions on this property,” said communications manager Sandra Smith.
“Citizens who would like to provide comments are encouraged to register for public forum at the March 23 council meeting.”
The four lots were declared as surplus land by town council during the in-camera portion of their meeting on Jan. 26, 2021.
The other lots for sale are lot 15, Block E, Plan RN7C, 5501 50 St., Lot 16, Block E, Plan RN7C, 5503 50 St, and Lot 1, Block 41, Plan 1544hW, 5402 52 St. Details can be found on ponoka.ca.