Concerns about the pool project were brought forward to Athabasca County council on Jan. 10 by the Athabasca Concerned Citizen Committee.
Three men representing the committee, Kevin Mroczek, Cal Gilbert and Roy Fodcuk spoke about their concerns, which included the location and operating costs.
Before beginning the 40-minute long discussion, the committee placed a paper in front of council members that outlined their concerns.
One portion of the letter read, “The main concern of our committee is the lack of information on what the financial obligation to each and every ratepayer will be to build and operate the facility once completed.”
The location of the pool, currently proposed up by the Multiplex, was a sticky item of discussion. The three men said the location of the current pool is great, because school groups and seniors can walk to it.
“There was never any public input as far as location goes,” Gilbert said.
Reeve Splane said the synergy of putting all recreational facilities in one place makes a lot of sense.
Coun. Larry Armfelt interjected halfway through the discussion in order to “turn it around a bit.” He asked the committee to put their heads together in creating a presentation on their suggestions.
“You have some good points, excellent points, but now what do we do with it?” Armfelt said. “I see comments here, but really I don’t see any end result suggested.”
Further discussion revolved around the proposed operating costs of the new pool and proposed deficit. Mroczek said he doesn’t think the proper information is available to actually know what the future deficit would be.
The group said they have also requested a meeting with the Town of Athabasca, but have yet to hear back.
As of winter 2016, transfer site hours were reduced across the county, and councillors said while there was an initial upset, it has calmed down now.
The Athabasca Regional Waste Management Services Commission responded to council’s concern with a letter, saying, “The reduction in site hours at the Rural Transfer Sites is just a small part of the Commissions overall efforts to reduce costs and improve operational efficiencies in 2016 and onward.”
It also mentioned the reduction in hours saves $2,070 per week.
Openings during the week were excluded from the Perryvale, Colinton, Whispering Hills, Grassland and Wandering River sites, and winter operational hours were stretched about a month.
Coun. Denis Willcott said he’d had a few calls from concerned citizens when the hours first changed, but none since.
