Passing the buck or harsh reality

Times Contributor        

 

Transportation Minister Wayne Drysdale stopped through Strathmore and Wheatland County on June 11, on one leg of his whirlwind tour of southern Alberta communities. He said he wanted to get a visual image of some of the paperwork that crosses his desk daily.

“Minister Drysdale has offered to share some time with us and we have the opportunity to express some of the needs we feel are necessary to our councils and some of the villages in the area,” said Strathmore Mayor Ell.

He toured the Strathmore hospital, and then met with Strathmore town council, Wheatland County council and hospital administrators in a round table discussion to get a sense of community needs.

“Some guys are all mouth and no ears,” said Drysdale. “I prefer to listen.”

And listen he did… to healthcare issues like over-use of Handi-Bus services, patient transport and movement in evening hours, hospital renovation and parking shortage, insufficient diagnostic machinery and funding for failing building structures, and upgrades to existing infrastructure.

Some of the councillors expressed their frustration with the current system of provincial bureaucracy and one left the meeting after Drysdale responded that municipalities are given money from the province and it was up to them on how they spend it. Drysdale indicated he also must deal with requests that come to the department from other government levels like Alberta Health Services, and then it is up to his department to see if they can be built. His staff likened him to the children’s character Bob the Builder. Other ministries and levels of government request the project…and he builds it. 

“You have got to quit downloading these decisions on to other departments,” said Strathmore Councillor Bob Sobol. 

Sobol qualified on Facebook that since this hospital opened the population of Strathmore and District has increased fivefold. He said we are woefully short of diagnostics, X-ray equipment, and emergency care beds. Our seniors have to travel to Calgary (on Handi-Bus) for specialized blood work that should be done here in Strathmore. Doctors and patients are frustrated – they have been promised improvements and help many times over the years. Sobol said he is very frustrated with the inaction.

Strathmore Councillor John Rempel agreed projects have been in the works for this area since 1985, and promises have been made and nothing material has been done.

“There are lots of requests, needs and wants and there is never enough money for them, but we will try to work together and partner, then hopefully we can make something happen,” said Drysdale. 

Drysdale said he is allocated a $19.2 billion budget and he gets requests from every municipality in the province, everyone stating their projects are a priority. He did say in an interview with the press that allocations in the past had been given to projects centered on recreation, culture and art initiatives; he said those projects do have their purpose, but the many requests regarding aging building structures and infrastructure may require a refocus on funding for ground floor necessities. He said that his department will be taking some of the Building Canada money delivered to the provinces and diverting some of those funds to necessary projects in the province.

In an interview with the press, Drysdale did say he felt his department could respond rather quickly to the short-term goal of reorganizing the existing space in the Strathmore hospital. AHS staff said that moving diagnostic, pharmacy and overflow beds into the unused wing, with expansion of the ER, could be accomplished in two to five years for about $2 million. 

“I looked at it (the hospital wing) and it is fairly sound. It would be a shame to leave it as it is,” said Drysdale.

There has been some tangible evidence of his department’s efforts in areas of road building and bridge reinforcement. The Hwy 21/ Hwy 1 corner access has been slated for widening and $5 billion is targeted to expand and repair provincial highways. The new 511 road report www.511.alberta.ca allows Albertans to see where road work is occurring, as well as get road advisories. Bridges are being inspected for damages especially in areas flooded last year and Drysdale said those municipalities with bridges will see some more money to fix those structures. The Arrowood Bridge has an end-of-June opening date posted on the 511 site.

As for infrastructure projects like water and wastewater facilities, promises were not as concrete. He said he will be working with Environment and Sustainable Resources and Development (ESRD) and the other provincial work groups and passing on the message of this area’s need for water and sewer infrastructure improvements to appropriate avenues, as well as lobbying the treasury department for more money. A representative for the Wheatland Regional Water Partnership handed Drysdale a letter requesting a release of money to upgrade the hub water treatment services in Standard, and fix the treatment plants for Gleichen and Rockyford, outlining the degraded levels they are in and advising they will not be in compliance with water standards if work is not done. The Gleichen plant doesn’t fit the 2006 provincial guidelines and has had boil water warnings in the past year. The Rockyford plant doesn’t fit 1997 provincial standards; with its operational license expiring in 2015, it is imperative to get the funding to do the work now. 

Drysdale said the department typically starts looking at their budget priorities for the upcoming year in August and he would be putting the information they have gathered on this fact-finding trip to good use in that process.