Councillors deliver greetings

Times Contributor

 

Wheatland County councillors asked to send a letter to Jason Hale congratulating him on his recent election success and inviting him to meet with council and relay the invitation to Danielle Smith as well. A letter was also sent to Arno Doerksen thanking him for his past contributions to the county concerns. Another congratulatory letter was to go to the Premier Alison Redford.

Rain delays Public Works

Recent rain has put County of Wheatland work crews on hold, but Manager Gerry Van Oostwaard remains optimistic.

“This rain will actually help us out,” Van Oostwaard said. “Rain helps take the frost out of the road.”

The crews have been busy running pit run to the county yard, grading, doing cleanup and completing previously started jobs. They finished gravelling the Prescott Rd and graded a badly deteriorated job between RR270 on Glenmore Trail to Hwy. 1. He said they had to close roads but left access openings for resident traffic. They also ran pit run on RR255 and continued unsightly premises cleanup in Ardenode, removing six vehicles. The new county grader zone is done and Van Oostwaard posted the map for the councillors information. He was made aware of bad road condition west of Cheadle.

“It is in this year’s budget to do from the main highway to the new houses,” said Van Oostwaard.

 He anticipates the area running to the old houses will need to be rebuilt and won’t be done until the following year’s budget decisions.  Pit run and ditch repairs were done near the party supplies in Cheadle and chip seal will be completed when the rest of the chip seal is scheduled.

There are number of bridges that need to be maintained and fixed, however he said that the money to complete the jobs has not been released by Alberta Transportation. He said some are unstable and doesn’t know how long they will last.

“The money is going elsewhere. It is harder and harder to get money from them. We were doing four to five a year, now we are down to about two,” said Van Oostwaard.

There were several requests by councillors for gravel delivery to their divisions.

Party place problems

Three times a week, work crews have been picking up garbage that was dumped on a TNSP road 244, near Keith Garrioch’s.  It is a public road close to the W.I.D ditch and crews suspect it is teen parties leaving the mess. There are pallets hauled in to burn for wood.  

“It’s party central for the young kids. Nails, screws and garbage. It’s getting worse fast,” said Van Oostwaard.

Council asked bylaw officers to patrol the area. RCMP has been notified. There was a suggestion that the road access be fenced and locked gates installed, with keys given to essential services and landowners.

Gleichen cleanup requests modified

The Gleichen Community Enhancement group have asked the county if a separate drop zone for bush and trees can be set up with a chipper installed to recycle the wood. Currently there is a burn pit and the crews burn the trimmings. It was considered too dangerous to leave the chipper for public use, so councillors suggested that the county manager set up drop times twice a year and chip the wood on a trial basis to see if the program works. There was a previous request for recycling bins; however, concerns over contamination and labor to sort the bins made the suggestion unfeasible. The county will provide large garbage bags for the local cleanup day on May 5.

Hydrant in driveway points to bigger problem

A ratepayer in Carseland is asking that a hydrant placed in his driveway be removed and drainage problems in the back alley be remedied. County crews were aware of the problem but were not sure where the hydrant could be relocated. They also pointed out designs by the original developer had caused the drainage problems.  The slope of the land leaves the water nowhere else to go.

“Water won’t run uphill,” said Van Oostwaard, county manager. 

He said crews have used gravel to build up the alleyway but it makes the grade higher for garage door openings. In addition, a high-pressure gas line runs through the alley. He said that nothing is impossible if you throw enough money at it. Council asked that the ratepayer send a letter to council with suggestions as to how the situation might be remedied.

Speed monitored in Rosebud

County peace officers monitored traffic near Rosebud, issuing three tickets and giving five warnings. The councillors received good feedback from the community on the demeanor of the officers and their attention to concerns about traffic around the school buses. Councillor Glen Koester mentioned that it was a 30km zone and it was dangerous going across with traffic coming down the hill.

“Ratepayers weren’t happy with the tickets but they were pleased with the officer’s attitudes,” said Councillor Ben Armstrong.

This month’s statistics for the county were: 44 tickets issued, 11 dogs retained with four taken to Calgary, two cases transferred to the RCMP, two tickets for unsightly premises, five fire-related tickets, two tickets for overweight vehicles and two  for garbage left in the ditch. They continue to monitor oilrigs, coil tubing transports and service rigs for overweight vehicle infractions to gain better control.

Manager meets with Fire Chiefs

Manager Protective Services Gerald Skibinsky met with Fire Chiefs in Rosebud to discuss various issues. He asked for names and years of service, so appropriate awards could be given. He said Fire Chief Andy Schulthess was retiring. He had 30 years’ experience in Calgary Firefighting and 11 as the Standard Fire Chief. He will continue to volunteer and they were happy that he would continue to help with training exercises. There were discussions on fire boundaries and the next step is to communicate between the various departments. There is a global calendar being set up, so firefighters can see where various training opportunities are taking place.  Skibinsky said that they had just gained $10,000 from the province for training purposes. He is still waiting for WCB paperwork to be submitted from the various fire departments.

Three public hearings

Public hearings were held on Animal Control Bylaw, Nuisance and Unsightly Premises and Traffic Control.

Several area residents wanted clarification on the two dogs and working dog portion of the Animal control bylaw.

“I’ve got dogs and rescue dogs. They don’t bother the neighbour and don’t wander. I don’t like the fact that someone can control what I can do on my farm,” said ratepayer Carol McFaye.

Bylaw officers clarified that they had to look at the county as a whole and not just situations in the hamlets. They suggested that she could apply for a kennel license to accommodate her special circumstances.

It was clarified that each infraction would be considered on a case-by-case protocol when officers received a complaint to investigate. Those people who had more than two working dogs were asked to write to the county and explain the need for the extra dogs. If people had more than two dogs prior to Jan. 2012 and the dogs had current licenses, the dogs would be allowed unless their yearly licenses lapsed. There were special provisions made for guide dogs and dogs for the disabled. New licenses came into effect as of New Year’s Day of each year and only dogs over 6 months need a license. The bylaw now goes to second reading.

Pertaining to unsightly premises, manure and derelict equipment was added to the bylaw. For an officer to investigate an unsightly premise, a written complaint must be made.  It is at the discretion of the officer to forward the complaint to committee. Several councillors noted that many farmers had antique equipment on display or kept additional tractors for parts. It was decided that the complaints would be dealt with on a case-to-case basis. The bylaw also states that only two unregistered vehicles were allowed per residence. The bylaw passed third reading and was carried by council.

In regards to the Traffic Control bylaw any trailer parked on a highway (even those passing through hamlets) must be hooked up to a truck.  There may not be any materials deposited on any road or highway with public access unless authorized by the County. Ditches are included in the definition of road or highway. This also passed third reading.