ATHABASCA - With Stage 2 of the province’s relaunch strategy announced last week, Athabasca County council will take another look at its initial decision to close municipally-operated campgrounds for the summer.
Councillors had a robust discussion on the topic of campgrounds at their June 9 meeting and decided to carry forward that discussion to a public works meeting scheduled for June 16. That 9:30 a.m. meeting is open to the public and can be viewed on the county’s YouTube channel by following the links on the county website.
On May 12, an 8-1 vote in favour of a motion to close all county-run campgrounds for the summer was recorded. Most councillors cited concerns with containing the spread of COVID-19 to campers and county staff, and the cost of maintaining hygienic campsites when new campers moved in.
“When this originally came on the table, I was on the fence. I did suggest maybe opening for locals only to see how that goes,” said Coun. Penny Stewart. “I am getting a lot of phone calls and there are a lot of ratepayers that are very upset with us. I don’t know what the answer is, but they want the campsites open.”
Coun. Doris Splane noted she has also been taking calls on the subject, but when she explains why council made the decision it did, and the extra money that would have to be spent, they are generally satisfied.
Coun. Dennis Willcott put forth the original motion to close the campgrounds at the May 12 meeting and he was sticking with his decision, for his original reasons — staffing, cleanliness and liability issues if someone were to fall ill.
“I’m still on the fence with it … I don’t know where we’re going with this, but sure we’re going to get calls from people that are going to be mad, but I’m trying to save the county from diseases, and maybe it will work, or maybe it won’t work. I don’t know,” said Willcott.
Stewart pointed out there are still private campgrounds with the county that are operating at full capacity.
Coun. Dwayne Rawson said his concern wasn’t necessarily for the campers, but for the county staff that would be charged with clean-up, saying he wouldn’t let anyone in his family undertake that work.
“That to me is a weak excuse,” said Coun. Travais Johnson, who was also the only councillor to vote against the original motion.
Coun. Stewart went on to suggest administration reach out to neighbouring counties in Barrhead and Westlock for any insights they’ve learned since opening some of their campgrounds, as each of the three municipalities took a different approach to the issue.
“Let’s get a little feedback and see how that’s going for them,” she said.
County manager Ryan Maier told council that if they were reconsidering the original motion, it would have to go through public works. He also noted campground managers would have to be hired rather quickly as well, if the decision was reversed.
He also told council the possibility of opening the sites to locals only would alienate 80 per cent of the campers who come from outside county boundaries. That said, he also asked whether the investment of time and money put into the campgrounds was worth it, considering only 20 per cent were considered local.
Chris Zwick,TownandCountryToday.com
