While council has been kept hopping as it attempted to keep the tax burden as low as possible, administration is being offloaded on with requests to check out a number of items.
The issue surrounding the sale of fireworks within the town limits cropped up at their May 2 meeting where Christine Buelow, Bashaw Esso co-owner, appeared and requested a review of the current bylaw that essentially bans any type of fireworks being sold.
“Last spring, we had a lot of requests as to why we didn’t sell fireworks,” she said.
However, as it was right around the time her and her husband took over and were doing renovations, there wasn’t time to look into it further. Now that they have, the town’s position seems to be inconsistent with municipalities in the region and it may be time for a second look at the bylaw.
“I think it would be good to see the town mirror what Camrose County has in place,” she said, adding someone could bypass the bylaw simply be setting up on the west side of Highway 21 in the county and sell the same type of products they have seen requests for.
Council did direct administration to conduct some research into what regulations are involved and what possible changes may be recommended to the bylaw.
It was noted by Coun. Rob McDonald that the original intent of the ban was due to potential liability and issues with the county over permits for fireworks.
No whistles?
A request to look into establishing a quiet zone for CN trains that came to council April 18 has not seen any progress as of May 2.
CAO Theresa Fuller explained the issue has been attempting to find out what all is involved in order to halt the sounding of the train whistles through the community. Unfortunately, questions that have been sent to CN and various government departments keep getting shunted back to the town without any real answers or what kind of costs would be involved.
The initial request came from an EMS worker who explained the whistles, especially late at night, are causing issues with sleep patterns with the new ambulance station being located just metres away from the Highway 53 train crossing in town.
While the town would be responsible for the crossing at 54 Avenue, Fuller is still unsure if Alberta Transportation or the town would be looking after the Highway 53 crossing. As for the Highway 21 crossing, it’s unlikely a request to Alberta Transportation would be approved.
However, McDonald added getting the whistles stopped may well be too expensive for the town to proceed.
Small town letter
A letter to the provincial government, as suggested April 18 by Coun. Lynn Schultz, has been sent off with the issue raised about a lack of funding for smaller communities.
Schultz explained he is “sick and tired of the cities whining and getting all of the funding” and wanted to remind the government that it is the best interest of Alberta to “keep these small towns alive.”
He added, “We have infrastructure and need to pay for it somehow.”
McDonald also suggested that a copy of the letter, sent to the newly elected UCP government, also be forwarded to neighbouring smaller sized municipalities and the Alberta Urban Municipalities Association in order to further leverage the lobbying effort for a better funding model.