The question of whether Ponoka County would be getting into the garbage collection business has been answered.
Council was presented with a request, via the report from CAO Charlie Cutforth, at its meeting on April 24 that questioned what the chances would be of getting curbside garbage pick up in the Village at Wolf Creek.
“It was an inquiry for a resident of the area to see if the county could anticipate a time frame for having garbage collected at the subdivision,” Cutforth explained in an interview last week.
“As everyone knows, there are an extensive number of subdivisions south of Ponoka as well as many others nearby and the county has established waste transfer and recycling facilities for their use. Do we anticipate curbside garbage collection? No.”
He added that contracting out the service would be more costly for residents than the present service model and that a county operated service would not be economically viable or sustainable.
Quizzed on retail weed
An inquiry from a business in the county sparked a brief discussion on just how the county should be approaching the potential of marijuana sales within its jurisdiction.
Council determined there wasn’t going to be an issue as the province regulates what kinds of businesses can sell the product. The inquiry quickly became moot, as the county had just received a copy of what the rules are, as the business that had inquired would not be allowed a provincial licence since marijuana and alcohol cannot be legally sold in the same building.
Cutforth noted the county already has regulations in place through its land use bylaw, concerning any operation opting to grow or distribute the soon to be legalized product.
“Those who want to do growing or distributing must apply to have the property rezoned to direct control, which means council can determine the exact parameters and conditions the operation must meet,” he said.
“It also triggers the public notification process and public hearings, so it’s really simple for the county to control things. As there is very little in the way of commercial retail in the county, it makes things rather easy for us.”
Gravel Stampede
Council approved a donation request from the Ponoka Stampede Association, which amounts to around 1,700 metric tonnes of gravel.
No monetary value was immediately available for the county’s contribution to the Stampede’s project to pave the remainder of the area used for the midway and parking located east of the grandstand.