Our mayor, Mr. Jim Rennie, asks on radio if FACES has two or two hundred members. Why the numbers game? If there is only one member in our community that has a question about our community, the time and effort should be taken by county personnel to answer this question satisfactorily.
In response to the mayor’s question, we are an open, incorporated society; have enough members for quorums and represent anybody who so wishes to bring their questions forward to look for answers from municipal authorities. Two hundred? Yes. We have support of those and perhaps more. We meet the second Thursday of the month in the United Church meeting room in Fort Assiniboine, side entrance. It is an open meeting, everyone is welcome. Just in case nobody knew we had our meetings for the last two years in the council chambers in Fort Assiniboine ‘til after the municipal elections of 2013. That’s when we were abruptly evicted, without reason or warning. Just punted.
One of the more frequent requests we receive is for a taxpayers (ratepayers) meeting. We therefore asked the county for their ideas about a meeting toward the last half of June 2014.
Another irksome point coming up regularly is the Woodlands County money going to the future Barrhead swimming pool.
Sure, everybody likes a pool and the opinions here have nothing to do with the technical aspects, but the way the “tax payers” money is spent. Town of Barrhead through a plebiscite asked their people for a yes or no. County of Barrhead had a plebiscite as well. Woodlands County council through a collective autocratic head nodding gave a yes.
It was understood that the area around Fort Assiniboine would be the beneficiary (?) of such a pool, so have a plebiscite here, maybe Division 7 and 6 north of the river.
The point being, we have more important needs here in Fort Assiniboine and area than a swimming pool in Barrhead. And AGAIN, let’s at least make an attempt to find out who would use it. The user numbers are available in Barrhead and Whitecourt, but an attempt has to be made to publish them. Maybe the plebiscite numbers were so low because most people don’t use the pool and therefore didn’t care, or didn’t realize what the long term property tax cost would be.
What will it cost taxpayers in Woodlands County?
Looking at it that way, would give that whole enterprise a different slant. The squeaky wheel gets the grease.
It’s open water season. Waste from the Obed spill is coming down the Athabasca River. Could we get some public information from Alberta Environment about the status of toxicity of the water and the sediments? And could we get copies of the effluent status of the Fort Assiniboine lagoon when released into the Athabasca River?
Respectfully submitted by
Chairperson Chris Redington
for FACES (Fort Assiniboine Community Enhancement Society)
