County 911 info update

Times Contributor      

 

Rural addressing and subsequent signage will soon be completed, with the county releasing identification data to Telus for input into their 911 database. Telus will have the data entered into their system within a two to three month period.

Reeve Glenn Koester emphasized how important it was for that data to be entered in the Geopraphic Information System (GIS) mapping systems, so emergency services can respond.

“I am concerned that the hamlets and villages are not on the city’s GIS systems. It could be very serious in the event of an emergency,” said Koester.

Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) Alan Parkin replied that the GIS information from the villages will be entered starting next year, but hamlet information could also be added to it.

Councillor Alice Booth commented that there were errors in some of the current rural addressing.

“Basically we are updating all of the information. Old data is not as accurate as we have now and fixing any errors is exactly what we are trying to do,” said General Manager of Corporate and Financial Services Pat Leitch.

 

Setting a precedent

The Drumheller and District Solid Waste Association (DDSWA), of which Wheatland County is a member, is asking members to authorize a $50,000 payment to fix the Acme waste transfer station, and authorize engineering consultant costs of $141,000. The station has been having operational difficulty for the past five years due to a rising water table, which makes the ground uneven and prevents the proper dumping of the container. The money would go to moving the transfer and leveling the site or moving it to a better area. 

The membership has a clause in the agreement that no capital expenditures of a non-capital nature exceed $10,000. A special resolution has been proposed for the expense, but it means all municipal members need to agree to release the money.

Currently the contract states anything under $500 is repairs: and over that amount constitutes a capital cost. 

If the cost is a large amount, sometimes the smaller hamlets can’t afford to finance it.

Some councillors wondered if this would set a precedent for other sites.

“Other sites may come up,” said Councillor Ben Armstrong. “If we do it once, it will happen again. I think it might be necessary to review the contract.”

Armstrong said there needed to be a better definition in the contract of what constituted repairs and maintenance. 

Council agreed to the request but stipulated that it only apply to this site and be financed through large capital funding. They suggested that the contract be reviewed. Any changes to the contract are sent to the membership prior to the next AGM for approval.

 

Water, water everywhere

Several of Wheatland County councillors were reporting water affecting roadways in their divisions. County crews have been busy trying to do repairs to the roads and in some cases pumping excess water onto channels with natural drainage courses. 

“The snow melts have caused some washouts on roads and we have had some closures,” said Manager of Transportation and Utilities Mike Ziehr. “We are mitigating what we can to take the water away.”

Councillor Berniece Bland said she was given pictures of water near RR263 off Hwy 1, where residents were canoeing across the roadway. On the back of the photo was inscribed …. thanks for the lake, but we want our road back!

High stream flow advisories were issued by Alberta Environment over the long weekend, for several rivers in the Calgary area, including the Bow, the Elbow, Fish Creek, the Sheep and Highwood Rivers. A flood watch had been issued for the Little Red Deer River, southwest of the city of Red Deer. The department was asking campers in that area to keep an eye on the rain and river level. Alberta Environment indicated they were monitoring rain and snow melt levels and it was too soon to predict if serious flooding would occur again this year.

 

Serve and protect

Peace officers attended to 12 traffic calls in April, with one overweight citation. They assisted with three criminal investigations with the RCMP and helped other county departments twice. Thirteen animal calls were responded to and six environmental infractions investigated. Two traffic bylaw infringements and one noise bylaw infraction were followed up. 

Six general reports were compiled for the county management. Among their other duties, officers were also actively monitoring flood-watch areas and attending to the high water advisories for this area.

So far this year, fire crews in Wheatland County have been called out to 44 motor collisions, provided medical assistance on 28 calls, responded to 26 fire calls, checked on eight alarms and performed three rescues. Fire chiefs from the county also attended an informative meeting with the Calgary Wildfire management teams, put on by Alberta Environment and Sustainable Resources. Mutual aid agreements were discussed, as well as the effective management of large fire emergency events.