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Ponoka county council reviews pair of bylaws during most recent meeting

And other highlights of the Feb. 27 meeting
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Ponoka County sign. (File photo)

By Carson Ellis

Ponoka County Council held its Feb. 27 meeting in the conference room of the County Office.

One of the first topics addressed during the meeting was Bylaw 2-23-ZA, which had been deferred from previous meetings to allow an adjacent landowner to attend and address the issue.

The bylaw is about rezoning part of SW 17-42-1-W5 from agricultural District to County Residential/Hobby Farm District by landowner Trent Simoneau.

Simoneau was curious if it was at all possible to create a better separation from his existing residence and the proposed development. Emails between the county and the landowners involved had been sent since to discuss possible changes to the development site.

The proposed site is considered the better option as any other location on the property would be low-laying and marshy. The county also believed that there would be sufficient tree coverage for adequate privacy, and that the development would be off to the side and not visible to the neighbours.

Both the land buyers and Simoneau were on hand to discuss the development and gain clarity on the situation and why the location was chosen. The council thanked both parties for coming in to help discuss the matter.

First reading had been held at a previous public meeting. Coun. Liddle motioned to accept second reading and third reading was then motioned by Coun. Weir. With all three readings complete, the developers could now approach administration to apply for the actual subdivision.

Accounts Payable

CAO Cutforth addressed the accounts payable report, noting that one of the larger items on the report was in the amount of $31,696.35, explaining that the item was for the insulation of the Bluffton Landfill Shop. The project is nearly completed.

Another item of $20,287.00 is for Range Road 261. It is described as a Wetland Replacement Fee that goes to the Alberta Department of Environment. This fee is charged when wetlands are disturbed. The section of 2-mile project in question is a low wetland and is paid despite the disturbance of simply replacing an existing culvert and not adding one.

Another item the CAO pointed out was $28,000 to the Summer Village of Parkland Beach. This payment was from a previous commitment of $100,000 from the county. The money was going towards the preservation of the area, most recently the dredging of the dock area.

The motion to accept was made by Councillor Hartford, which was carried.

Bylaw 3-23-RC

Council held a public hearing about proposed road closure and its necessary bylaw. The section of road is between NE 11 and NW 12-42-26-4 and south of highway 2A.

Notice of the hearing had been previously published as required, and the affected landowners were notified of the possible closure.

At the time of the public hearing, no written objections had been received and no public objections to the road closure were made.

With no objections, the proposed road closure bylaw, 3-23-RC, was then given first reading. A motion to accept as read was made by Coun. Liddel.

The proposed bylaw will now be sent to Alberta Highways for review. Once returned from Alberta Highways, any concerns will be addressed, and the process continued.

Fibre internet

Craig Bondy of Missing Link has sent a proposal to install fibre internet from Morning Meadows to Red Deer Lake. Total cost for the project put around $915,000. Bondy wondered if the County would be interested in participating in the project at a price of just over $366,000.

The overall cost of the project does include area outside of the County of Ponoka; however, the county’s purchase cost would only be for the area within its borders. The length of the project is to help get more “bang for the buck” from the Federal government, who is providing funding options to improve rural internet service.

The County would purchase the fibre that runs through Ponoka County, and will sell it back to Missing Link at a 15 year window. The county has taken part in similar proposals, such as CCI Wireless, who have paid in full. They are also about to start their first year with Zona, a company that has run fibre to the lake.

Liddel did inquire if fibre was a viable option with satellite internet being used more in isolated areas. Cutforth said that satellites are good for low-population areas, but areas that are more populated would find slower service via satellite as it tends to slow down as more people use the service. Fibre service does not slow down the same way.

A brief discussion on where the funds for the purchase would come from was held, and it was stated that the money could come from reserves. A motion to have the topic deferred until a later meeting was made, which was carried.

Peace officers

Coun. Weir inquired about the status of the county Peace Officer.

The CAO noted the peace officer is currently working to meet newly established requirements for officers in his post. Weir states he has until the end of March to meet the new requirements. The Peace Officer has hired a personal trainer to help him get into shape.

The Peace Officer is a career RCMP member, recently retired. Other counties and municipalities are currently facing the same issues for their Peace Officers to reach the new physical requirements established by the province. This includes Red Deer which has recently had to demote one of their Peace Officers who had a career with the city for several years and was even in charge of the city’s program.

The county of Ponoka has appealed to the province, in hopes they take their Peace Officer’s 30-plus years as an RCMP member, but they have yet to make any changes.