WESTLOCK - The Town of Westlock has a new cemetery bylaw, a compilation of two previous policies, plus the original 2015 edict, as well as a fresh parks bylaw, which updates the previous one passed more than a decade ago.
Councillors unanimously passed both documents at their Sept. 28 meeting — the two were reviewed in depth at their Sept. 21 committee of the whole meeting. With the passing of this new bylaw, Cemetery Fee Schedule Policy No. P-45-2012, and the Monument Rules and Regulations Policy No. P-46-2012 were repealed.
Out of the two, the cemetery bylaw required a number of small revisions following the Sept. 21 review by council — wording in sections 5.9 and 14.1 were tweaked slightly.
“This is a compilation of our fee schedule policy, the monuments rules and regulations policy as well as the previous cemetery bylaw — everything is now in one place for administration and the public,” CAO Simone Wiley explained.
Some of the notable changes in the new bylaw are that decorations won’t be allowed on the grass anymore to make maintenance easier and have to be placed on a concrete runner.
The cemetery supervisor still has the authority to remove any “weed, grass, funeral designs or floral pieces” in disrepair, or on the grass. As for planting trees or flowers, Wiley told councillors Sept. 21 that it’s still allowed but it has to go through the cemetery supervisor, and they have to be placed in a designated spot.
The types of monuments and ornaments allowed in each section of the cemetery are also outlined in the bylaw.
Plot transfer fees have also changed to match the requirements in the provincial Cemeteries Act. If a burial plot owner wants to transfer the plot back to the town, it’ll be done at 85 per cent instead of full market value, plus administrative fees.
Parks bylaw
While not entirely out of date, the current parks bylaw from 2009 did not fully capture all the functions and uses for parks in 2020, notes the request for decision from administration — one example cited was the ability for patrons to use the online booking system to reserve a camp site.
One issue brought forward by council centered around signage prohibiting animals in parks — the bylaw clearly states people can’t bring an animal into a park, or area of a park where prohibited by sign.
While council had no appetite to completely ban animals from parks, Coun. Clem Fagnan did ask for additional signage and administration has promised to look into it — Wiley said it’s “definitely time to look at it.”
“If we could put a post in the middle of the park with a three-way sign saying animals aren’t allowed so people can’t miss it … we do have quite a few animals coming into the parks and the excuse I hear is people say they don’t see the sign,” said Fagnan.
“Maybe four little small signs that say ‘No animals in this area’ along the railings that surround the sand. I think that would alleviate the problem. The owners should be picking up after their animals, but I also agree with Coun. Fagnan — if the animal pees in the pebbled sand it’s too late,” added Coun. John Shoemaker.
Throughout the review process, administration compared five municipalities including Vegreville, Bonnyville, Fox Creek, Lac La Biche and Olds as to the information they have within their parks bylaw and incorporated pertinent information into the new one.
The complete documents are available on the town’s website, http://www.westlock.ca/.
