Athabasca County council passed a motion to provide $1,000 in gas cards to Citizens On Patrol at their regular council meeting July 25.
This comes after council voted July 9 not to provide the the $1,000 COP had requested for proposed surveillance cameras, which would be located at the corner of 50th Avenue and 50th Street in the Town of Athabasca.
“I think we ran into two major things with that request: the specificity of cameras and going into a contract,” Athabasca County Reeve Larry Armfelt said about the debates the council has had since May 14.
Council originally were set to provide a grant of $1,000 with recommendations it go to gas and an anti-crime conference before Athabasca County manager Ryan Maier told council they should be specific. Maier also told the council they usually require financial statements from organizations before giving money. Council then provided to then carry a motion to provide the $1,000 in gas cards.
“Rural crime has gone sky high in the last three years,” Armfelt said. “This is not a silver bullet, but I have no trouble instead of delaying it and delaying it is that we do get specific.”
AltaGas
Athabasca County council will ask AltaGas Utilities to come to a future council meeting to discuss issues with the Copper Ridge Estates.
County council decided to not make a decision about a gas line installation at Copper Ridge Estates after AltaGas Utilities changed their policies resulting in questions of who is responsible.
Maier explained that AltaGas Utilities was not willing to take responsibility for moving a gas line which would be installed at a right of way.
Maier said AltaGas Utilities told the county they could either relinquish three metres of the right of way to become a utility right of way or remove the stipulation that AltaGas Utilities must pay the cost of moving the pipe.
The development agreement was signed July 21, 2015.
“I think an exception like this is very precedent setting,” Coun. Christi Bilsky said, after council was warned about considering this decision as a one-off.
Council decided they wanted to hear from AltaGas Utilities about when the company changed the policy, how the development area could be modified for the gas line and who should be responsible for the changes.
