Dear Editor,
As a resident of Lac Ste. Anne County and directly involved with this issue I’d like to point out several items of interest that were reported in this article in the Jan. 13 Leader edition, and statements made by the Reeve.
It was stated by the Reeve some residents oppose the County’s decision to begin construction on a new administrative building, many of the residents he has spoken to regarding the matter support council. He did not mention that 1,300 voting ratepayers from all across the county, including over 200 in his division that signed a petition against council and forced a plebiscite, which voted down councils decision to borrow $10 million to construct the proposed office.
This proposed project is one of the largest in the county for several decades. He also failed to mention that the special meeting was right after the open meeting to the public where there was only one ratepayer in attendance and one reporter. Their expert should have guided them in a democratic fashion and pointed out that with a project of this size more public input is needed. Now all of Council is faced with many issues.
He also states that voting against the long term financing delayed the project, and because the long term financing was voted against, the project was pushed back a year. The plebiscite vote said no to borrowing for the project. It’s as if you and I have an idea and we go to a bank to borrow money and the banks say no. As in this case, all ratepayers are the bank for years to come, and we said NO! Project should have been shelved till ratepayer approval is received! There are no hard facts that prove costs will increase by the delay. There is one fact however, the Municipal Government act states “elected councillors are to do the best they can for the county as whole.” Why then is higher cost short term borrowing even talked about.
He then states three different areas he sees in the petitioned motion. The following is the motion made by council as printed in the accepted minutes of the March 27, 2014 Lac Ste. Anne County Council meeting;
“Mr. Kohn - that Bylaw #08-2014, to incur indebtedness by issuance of debenture(s) in the amount of $7,507,042.00 for the purpose of constructing a New Administrative Office in or near Sangudo, Alberta.
There are not three areas in this motion at all.
As of late councilors saw fit to purchase 98 un-serviced acres one mile east of Sangudo for a now disclosed amount of $240,000.00. If construction continues, no longer will the Hamlet Sangudo have the downtown traffic it did in the past!
In one comment the Reeve states “he has spoken to many residents in the area regarding the construction of the new building, and many of them are supportive of the council and project.” Then further on in the article he adds that the vast majority of the residents of Lac Ste. Anne County he speaks to regarding the matter are fairly passive when it comes to the location of the new facility. So which do we believe? Reality is provided by the plebiscite, that many people are concerned.
Why would you quote, “that is the biggest misunderstanding that I see, is most people don’t realize that the building is an administration building, it is not built for the public.” I see this building on the contrary as solely for the public and it houses the administration that looks after the public’s interests in the County.
I will make it clear there are many people including Municipal Affairs that have knowledge about how Lac Ste. Anne County Council has ignored ratepayers over this and many other issues. The ratepayers want a say in this project, as they are democratically entitled too. Councillors are elected to represent the people.
Dale Johnson, Rich Valley
