Boyle council is looking at alternatives to the present grass collection situation.
The current contractor for the village does not want to continue under the existing terms because the task to dumping bags full of grass clippings into bins is too onerous.
The pick-up service has been free with about 70 residences participating last year, producing around 300 bags.
Council discussed several options at their meeting last Wednesday.
The first would leave residents responsible for disposing of their own grass, while a second would see the hiring of a new contractor. Two other options include a paid sign-up service or a compost bin for clippings.
There are concerns with each option – including grass ending up as garbage, garbage being put in the compost bin and the paperwork a sign-up service would create.
A final decision will be made at a later date.
Subdivision road survey
Streets in Boyle’s new subdivision were not surveyed or registered before being built, causing delays and a few headaches.
The survey company failed to follow the typical process to survey and register streets before they were constructed, leading to a delay installing power service.
Boyle’s chief administrative officer Charlie Ashbey spoke with the engineering firm and agreed the power installation would go ahead without waiting for registration.
The streets are now surveyed and are waiting to be registered. Crews will be on-site for an additional two weeks to wrap up the work.
Bylaw review
A forthcoming review of a provincial land use bylaw and municipal development plan has council proposing changes to the service provision for rural-industrial areas without annexing land from Athabasca County.
Council would like the county to consider a special tax or a separate levy for rural industrial areas that border Boyle and use village utilities, but are on county land, or provide the village an incentive for providing services without annexing the land.
The ideas resulted from when Boyle provided utilities to a rural-industrial property which was located on county land, that saw those revenues shared with the county.
The county has previously declined the a special levy.
Council will provide a more formal proposal in the next few months.
Sewer rates
The new sewer rates that came into effect Apr. 1 has Boyle School worried their water consumption will be too high.
The water meter for the school is 18 years old, so a new one will be installed to verify the water consumption.
The school has no concerns with the sewer rate.
