Having Westlock County and the Town of Westlock merge into one municipality was a topic of discussion at county council last week.
At the Aug. 13 county council meeting, councillors talked about the amalgamation information meeting held on July 18 at the Westlock Inn.
Specifically at issue was Coun. Mike Cook’s motion that the county contribute 50 per cent of the cost of conducting a comprehensive impact study on the merits of amalgamating the town and county.
Cook argued the amalgamation committee has raised the issue already, and his personal feeling that the province may start forcing municipalities to amalgamate. Thus, it would be best for the county to be leading the charge.
In addition, he said the study would allow the benefits and drawbacks of amalgamation to be made public, as well as jumpstart the discussion on how merging the town and county would work.
Ultimately, councillors tabled the motion.
Coun. Jim Wiese said it would be “premature” for the county to commit to funding the study, as the committee is investigating getting government grants to conduct the study itself.
During the meeting, reeve Charles Navratil expressed dissatisfaction with how the province wants municipalities to work together to get government grants, and then appears to be encouraging amalgamation. If the town and county merge, he noted, and the co-operation requirement remains in place, Westlock would have to work with neighbouring counties to get funding, which could be very difficult if the two municipalities can’t reach an agreement.
On the other hand, Navratil is not opposed to the idea of amalgamating on principle.
“It is something, that if both municipalities are onside, I think is worthwhile,” he said.
The key, he stressed, is that it’s not something to be rushed into — every possible shred of information needs to be placed on the table before any decision is made.
And at this point in time that much information is simply not available.
“It’s got to be pointed out that there are advantages and disadvantages to everything,” he said.
One such advantage of amalgamation is it would reduce squabbling between the town and county when a new business wants to move to the region. Currently the town and county could end up fighting for that new business, but if the two municipalities were one, where the business is located would not matter, as everyone would benefit from the economic spinoffs.
Moving forward, the county has invited the amalgamation committee to attend an upcoming council meeting to discuss the process and get a better understanding of where both parties sit.
