It seems ironic that the news about the rift at the Westlock Regional Water Services Commission broke just days before Christmas.
The town and the county could certainly use some eggnog to help smooth over the tensions surrounding the Phase 3 waterline, which was initially supposed to run up to Fawcett.
If you haven’t read the Page 1 article, the three town representatives on the commission voted against a motion to begin work on the waterline. That effectively defeated the motion, which was supported by the two county members and the single Village of Clyde representative.
The issue is cost. The commission has a provincial Water for Life grant that will cover 90 per cent of the project. If it went ahead, that would leave the commission to cover an extra $500,000, although its debt limit is already a ridiculously high $11.8 million. On the other hand, now the commission has to get an extension on the grant, which is set to expire in March 2018.
Although the initial split occurred at a water commission meeting, the battle is now being waged in public. The town sent a letter pointing out that their utility holders pay the majority of water line costs, while the county has asked the provincial government to intervene.
There’s no real fault here; both sides have valid arguments. The town is absolutely correct that it wasn’t wise for the commission to start spending money it didn’t have, but it also seems like the town is blatantly trying to strong-arm the county into coughing up more cash for water.
And running to the province to settle this dispute isn’t necessarily the answer, either. Do we recall how long it took for the province to finally arbitrate the feud between the Town and County of Barrhead over funding for the Regional Aquatics Centre?
Figure out what compromises you’re willing to make and come back to the table.
Consider all the work that’s been this year around regional collaboration. Consider all the work you’re going to have to do together as part of the Inter-Municipal Collaboration Frameworks mandated by the updated MGA.
If you can’t work out a dispute over a water line, then how are you going to meet these other obligations?
