Whitecourt Town Council briefs
June 16 meeting
Whitecourt’s Athabasca River Erosion Control Project has been tendered and, as soon as final approval is granted by the Federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans, work will begin. Kana Oilfield will be completing the work, which involves constructing nine new rock spurs, repairs to the existing spur at Riverboat Park, and bank armouring between the spurs.
The project is funded in part by the Provincial Community Resilience Program Grant, and the total project will cost just over $5.1 million.
Council has approved $15,000 to the Whitecourt Volunteer Firefighter’s Association to assist with the restoration of the Department’s historic first fire truck – affectionately named Beulah. The Association intends to use the truck in parade sand other community events as a way to promote our community and the Fire Department.
The Town of Whitecourt will be submitting five applications for funding to the Canada 150 Infrastructure Grant Program. The grant program was created in recognition of Canada’s 150th anniversary, and provides support for the renovation, expansion and rehabilitation of existing infrastructure. Projects that will be submitted include:
• Rotary Park sport field expansion and redevelopment.
• Trail upgrades and rehabilitation/ portion of Phase 1 of the Mountain Bike project. • Playground upgrades. • Graham Acres upgrades. • Rotary Park water features enhancements.
Moose Country Petro Canada is the newest recipient for funds under the Vitalization Grant Program. The program assists property owners in the downtown core and along the Highway 43 corridor to upgrade the façade of their building to meet the Town’s architectural theme. Moose Country received $10,000 in funding. There are still funds available in the grant program, and the Town will be reissuing a call for applications. For more information visit www.whitecourt.ca.
Golden Delight Restaurant has received $1,800 through the Community Beautification Grant Program to landscape a portion of the property. There are still funds available in the grant program, and the Town will be reissuing a call for application.
For more information visit www. whitecourt.ca.
The Town of Whitecourt will be submitting a recommendation to the Alberta Urban Municipalities Association that it advocate to have municipalities exempt from disclosing information regarding complaints made through municipal whistleblower programs. Currently, the Province is exempt from disclosure, and it is felt that similar treatment between both levels of government would assist with the municipal programs’ success.
The Community Services Advisory Board, a committee of Council which helps to meet the social and leisure needs of our community, recently held its annual planning session to identify priorities. The Committee has identified short and longer term priorities, and will be researching potential projects in the next several months for recommendation to Council for the 2017 budget.
The 2016 Project List has been compiled and includes over 150 projects. The project list is a tool Administration uses to keep Council informed on progress and status of projects and activities, and is available to view on www. whitecourt.ca.