Replacing the Athabasca Bridge will have to wait until next year, according to a report from Athabasca County.
In a update to council, county manager Ryan Maier said that an email was sent to Alberta Transportation June 29. He said it was soon followed up by a phone call from Dean Litke, the infrastructure manager from the Alberta's north-central region.
"Mr. Litke indicated that currently, land negotiations are nearing completion, but are still ongoing," Maier said in the report. "He added that design work also continues, and the project is expected to be tendered in late 2019."
This drew the concern of some council members. Coun. Warren Griffin said he was under the impression that tender was supposed to be issued in the fall of 2018.
"I wonder what is with the delay," Griffin said at the meeting. "That bridge can be a death trap for people to drive on. It needs to be replaced, and soon. Why is it being delayed by a whole year?"
After discussions, Griffin made a motion to send a letter to Athabasca-Sturgeon-Redwater MLA Colin Piquette in order to request clarification on the delay in tender. Also included in the motion was to c/c the letter to both Premier Rachel Notley and to transportation minister Brian Mason. The motion was passed unanimously by council.
Application for STIP funding rejected
Council also discussed the recent rejection of its most recent application for its Bridge Drainage upgrades project under Alberta Transportation's Strategic Transportation Infrastructure Program (STIP).
The bridge in question is located on Highway 2, heading west towards the Slave Lake area.
In a letter to Reeve Doris Splane dated June 20, north central regional director Neal Reynolds said there were a significant number of applications received exceeding budget availability, and that after all the applications were reviewed, they were not recommended for funding approval.
Coun. Griffin said they had applied for this grant several times in the past, and each time they get rejected.
"The question needs to be asked, what needs to be done to be approved for these grants?" he said. "Are we missing something here? We, as a council, need to know what exactly is going on."
He also mentioned that they had also been recently rejected for the Rural Transportation Pilot Program as well.
In a letter to Town of Athabasca CAO Robert Jorgensen, assistant deputy transportation minister Ranjit Tharmalingam said while the proposed Athabasca TappCar Program scored really well on addressing a service gam, it did not score as well in terms or regional collaboration and linkages to broader public transportation systems.
"I do not see how that's possible," Griffin said. "We collaborate on projects with our neighbours all the time. What do we really need to do to get approved for these grants?"
Griffin then made a motion to invite MLA Piquette to a future council meeting in order to discuss a number of items, including why they keep getting rejected when they apply for a grant. This motion was approved unanimously.
Athabaska Ultra 100 board responds to council's request for appearance
Council also received a response from the board of directors for the cancelled Athabaska Ultra 100 race, regarding their invitation for them to appear at a future council meeting.
In a letter dated June 27, the board said that in addition to unforeseen and logistical circumstances resulting in the race's cancellation, the organization experienced some employment concerns, low runner registrations, and some unanticipated expenses.
As well, the board told the council that all race registrations received were refunded in full, and that they are also working diligently to complete all of its administration tasks, which will determine the future of the event in general.
In a motion by coun. Dennis Willcott, the letter was accepted by council for information.
