Portage College has applied to purchase two chunks of Crown land south of Boyle for their Heavy Equipment Operator Training Centre.
The college has its eyes on a 30 acre portion of land adjacent to Highway 831 (NE 27-64-19), which will be home to the training centre 's facilities, such as residences, office space and classrooms, and a 130 acre piece (SE 27-64-19) kitty-corner to that property that will be used as a practice area for the up-and-coming machine operators. The two pieces of land are connected by a heavy haul access road.
The college made its initial application to purchase land from the province in Nov. 2011,
They met with officials from Sustainable Resource Development on Jan. 5 to discuss the land, coming to an agreement-in-principle while recognizing concerns over the development 's potential impact on the migratory patterns of animals, particularly moose and deer, in the area.
President of Portage College, Dr. Trent Keough, explained that the college came back with a revised proposal that leaves a corridor for the wildlife population on Jan 12.
He remained optimistic that the revised plan would meet the standards set out by SRD and that the college would remain on track to start breaking ground in March.
The 30-acre space will be the priority for development, as it will be the backbone of the training centre, he explained.
The clearing of land will be an education opportunity for those already enrolled in the HEO program, which is operating out of the Lac La Biche campus. The students will be bussed in and will use their newly learned skills to make way for four buildings which will be relocated from the main campus.
With that quick relocation, he expects to have a 32-bed residence in place by next winter.
Developing the larger portion of land has a few more hurdles to overcome before development can begin, he said.
Currently, Athabasca County leases approximately 30 acres of land for a gravel stockpile, which puts it in the middle of what is set out to be the HEO program 's practical training area. Under the lease agreement, they are given a voice on potential ownership changes of the quarter.
At their meeting last Tuesday, councillors unanimously agreed to offer no objection to the sale of the Crown, but the gravel stockpile may affect the college 's ability to meet the standards set out by SRD.
"We may have to adjust the back 160 acres to address the [wildlife], " Keough said. "We 'd like to work with the county, that would be ideal.
"The people we 're working with are being as flexible as they can, we 're very pleased with the support we 've received from all levels of governments, including the county and village, " he added.
If the revisions to the plan are approved by SRD they will move forward with a surveying of the area. Once that is complete the college will request a title exchange from the province.
Under that exchange, ownership of the land will be transferred to the college through a "nominal disposition " in which the institution will pay next to nothing for the space. Under the agreement, the college will retain ownership but will be unable to sell or dispose of the land without ministerial approval.
He said that although all of the legalities of the development may not be completed by the construction start date, the college has received assurances that they will be granted temporary permits to move forward with the work, since they have grant applications with specific timelines for eligibility.
