Delegates who arrived for last night’s council meeting to speak to the land use by-law concerning the lot of land on Paulson Street left since the first item on the agenda was deleted. The proposed development for the land is a Shell gas station.
It was stated that the applicant, which was Waypoints, had withdrawn the application. It is not known if they will bring the application back to council in the New Year.
Flood mitigation plan update:
After seven months, the residents of the Lower Townsite, Waterways and Ptarmigan Court are no longer wondering if the municipality will move ahead with flood mitigation. Council decided unanimously to task administration with coming up with a long term flood mitigation plan.
This comes after the Recovery Committee gave their recommendations to council, and administration conducted a Cost Benefit Analysis on various structural and insurance options. The report given during the council meeting stated that it would not be fiscally prudent to move forward with both a structural plan and a relocation or buy-out plan.
A demountable wall is the strongest recommendation to come forward, although Councillor Keith McGrath said during the meeting that the public will still have input on the final decisions that are made for their community.
Delegate and Waterway’s resident, Tom Holland felt that the Recovery Committee did not consult well enough with the residents in the badly affected areas. In one example given, he questioned why underground services were not being put in, and Councillor McGrath replied that it would have taken a year and a half to put those services in place, further delaying those who wanted to start on their rebuilds.
McGrath said the issue could be revisited once the rebuild was underway and people and businesses were back established in the community.
Councillor Phil Meagher questioned whether a demountable wall would work with ice, and speculated that it was not if the wall would fail, but when, give the power of ice when it was moving.
Councillor Meagher reminded everyone that ice sunk the Titanic, and that it’s power should not be underestimated. He would like to see further studies or testing to support the decision as they move forward.
Administration said that the waiver or covenants on the land in those areas would remain in place until all flood mitigation was in place, but no one could speculate how long the process will take.
2017 Budget, 2018-2022 Capital Plan:
Council approved the capital budget of $382 million, and an interim operating budget for the first quarter of 2017 of $137 million.
The most contentious item of the night was once again in relation to the $50 million Conklin Multiplex. Councillor Allan Vinni brought forward a motion during the capital budget discussions to defer the complex until 2018, saying that the scope of the project is overblown and out of proportion for what the community actually needs.
Councillors Colleen Tatum, Jane Stroud and Phil Meagher, along with Mayor Blake strongly opposed Vinni’s motion, with Mayor Blake stating that when she lost votes in the past, she didn’t keep bringing them back to the table, and that it was time to move on from this issue once and for all.
Councillor Vinni went on to say that the project was a Taj Mahal or a white elephant, and he was the only councillor present who supported his defeated motion.
Selection Committee Recommendations:
The Selection Committee brought forward several names for various commitees, with Nathalie Aubrey being the newest member of the Recovery Committee. That vacancy was filled after Mark Hodson resigned to take a new job overseas.
Sustainable Development Committee Recommendations:
In the coming months, residents will have a new dining establishment. During the council meeting, it was decided that the municipality would enter into a lease agreement which would see a family type restaurant opening in the Snye Amenities Building. The establishment will eventually be open year round.
And in the last item of the evening, council voted to create the Wood Buffalo Sports Connection, a separate non-profit entity that will support sports in the municipality. The goals of the Connection include promoting our sports facilities, attracting new coaches to the area and helping local athletes to participate in large sporting events.
