By Carson Ellis
For the Bashaw Star
Bashaw council held a brief meeting on Aug. 23. The meeting is the only one to be held in August, with meetings to resume to the normal two-per-month schedule come September.
Bethany Group
Carla Beck, chief executive officer (CEO) of the Bethany Group and chief administrative officer (CAO) of the Camrose and Area Lodge Authority(CALA), addressed council via Zoom and touched on a few points of interest in her organization. The funding requisition has been increased to $100,000, which is twice what it was before. Funding for the authority is split between the City and County of Camrose and Bashaw. The reason for the increased funding is largely due to the cost of food and labour increases as well as other costs related to inflation.
The Bethany Group and CALA are working on expanding services at many of their facilities. The hope is they may be able to bring in extra funding along with the added services for their residents. Many of the expanded programs will help residents remain more independent, allowing them to stay at a facility longer.
Beck noted that Bashaw Meadows is currently having difficulties filling certain health care positions, as are many lodges, but that other openings in janitorial and other departments are being filled appropriately. She notes they are looking into promoting staff from within and trying to improve services that way. Coun. Cindy Orom motioned that the presentation be accepted as information which was carried.
Fire Hall
Council also approved a $22,000 quote to repair the pump truck for the Bashaw Fire Hall. The funding would come from the town’s surplus account.
Rogers lease
The lease agreement with Rogers Communications for the site of one of their towers was briefly addressed. The contracts go for three-year terms, and the current cycle is ending. Council agreed to renew the agreement with a 10 per cent increase.
