BARRHEAD - The County of Barrhead has hit a little snag that will delay its efforts to clean up the old Camp Creek general store site.
County of Barrhead manager Debbie Oyarzun told councillors during their Dec. 7 that due to a "typo" in Alberta's Municipal Government Act (MGA), the county will have to delay acting in issuing a clean-up enforcement order on the property owner of the Camp Creek general store property.
"I just received notification that there is a typo in the edits of the MGA that the Red Tape Reduction Act (formerly Bill 21)," she said.
The act's objective, passed in the spring of 2022, is to reduce the regulatory burden on industry and businesses to create more economic activity.
When a municipality issues a compliance order for an unsightly property, or in the case of the old Camp Creek general store, an unsafe property, if the owner fails to comply with the order and the municipality is forced to do the clean-up, Oyaruzn said, they can add the costs to the property owner's taxes.
"When Bill 21 came in, they made some edits to the MGA and put a typo in that section of the legislation that doesn't allow us to take those expenses and put them on tax rolls," she said, adding the estimated cost of demolishing the old general store is $7,000. "So Municipal Affairs said if you are looking at doing this, stop until we can get this fixed."
Fortunately, Oyarzun added the mistake only impacts clean-up and safety orders, not fire service invoices.
However, she said she is investigating potential workarounds to see if they could expedite the process.
Reeve Doug Drozd noted the county never expected to be able to rehabilitate the property. Oyarzun replied it wasn't about cleaning up necessarily, but more about public safety.
She said the county has received reports that people have been using the building for potentially dubious reasons and that Barrhead Regional Fire Services has responded several times, including two times in one day, during the spring.
Drozd replied that it did not matter whether it was the cost of cleaning up the site or a firefighting bill if there was no property owner to "pin the bill on".
At the Nov. 1 council meeting, it was noted that the county had sent a bill to the registered landowner for fire services on the property, which was returned unopened.
Oyarzun said that even though they did not seemingly have an individual to bill, by adding the demolition and fire services costs to the tax roll itself, they could potentially still recoup what is owed.
"If we decide to take that tax roll to public auction and if it were to sell, or if the county were to buy it, then we would get those funds recouped," she said.
It is worth noting that property put up for public tax recovery auction must be sold at or close to market value. It should also be noted that if the property sells at market value for more money than is owed to the county and the list of other creditors, what is left must be returned to the former property owner.
Deputy reeve Marvin Schatz said he was concerned they might have no choice but to take the property, compounding their loss.
"We just wouldn't take it. We would have to have some purpose for it," Oyarzun replied. "Which I would hope would add some value to it."
Drozd suggested that if the county took ownership of the property, they could potentially sell or lease it to the province.
"What if we offered it to Alberta Transportation? I know the province is looking for areas for rest stops on their transportation routes," he said. "It is on the Highway 33 and has an approach in and out."
