It was a year of ups and downs for Westlock County — one that reeve Bud Massey simply referred to as “active.”
Highlighting the past year was the lease/sale agreement of the Tawatinaw Valley Ski Hill in December to DK Consulting, headed by Tawatinaw’s Dom Kriangkum.
“[It was] likely the biggest issue we dealt with in the last year,” Massey said.
“What we really wanted to do was ensure the long-term viability of that recreational facility, and we believe we’ve done that by way of our lease/purchase agreement.
“Last year we had excess operating costs of $439,000. Next year, we’re going to have $65,000 in taxes and $18,000 in lease payments.”
Despite the upside the upside of the Tawatinaw deal, council lost a member along the way as Coun. Jim Wise resigned over the issue.
“It was disappointing. Mr. Wiese brought some skills to council that were valuable,” Massey said. “I personally don’t believe that people should walk away when they’ve agreed to do something. That’s just my personal opinion.”
Admittedly, substandard road conditions were an issue in 2015 — something the reeve promises will be rectified this year.
“Our roads weren’t very good this year and they were terrible this fall, and we’re looking for improvements,” Massey said.
“Council is not prepared to accept another year of roads like we had this year.
“We did take some very positive steps. We did some road rehab on [Township Road] 585 and on 602 and we rebuilt the road where it was falling into the river on the west side.”
Massey further explained the purchase of new machinery, coupled with a winter gravelling program, should help rectify the problem and save money.
“We’ve got a ridge mulcher that brings the gravel back onto the road, so we’re trying to reduce our gravelling costs by bringing back gravel on the road,” he said.
A new GPS system allowing grader operators to punch in locations of soft spots and locations needing attention will allow the county to improve road quality, Massey said.
“We’re doing a lot of things to coordinate the activities to be more responsive. We want to be proactive, not complaint-driven, so that’s going to be an area where we’re going to have significant change.”
In 2016, change will be at the forefront for the municipality. Personnel changes will include the election of a new Div. 3 councillor and the hiring of a new CAO.
“We look forward to the new councillor and to some new ideas. Time will tell how it works out.
“[We’re] very optimistic we’ll have a new and a good CAO in the future. I would prefer, personally, that Peter was staying, I think he’s started good work here, and done good work here.”
Improving upon recreation, including expanding the campground at Long Island Lake and adding facilities is also on the agenda.
“We’re hoping to add some stalls, we’re hoping to improve the beach area, we’re hoping to put in washroom facilities, shower facilities, just to make it a much better place,” Massey said.
“It’s a fantastic place now, we’re lucky to have it and in the future there are some other lakes that are undeveloped and that’s certainly an area where we would like to take a look at creating another Long Island Lake.”
The New Year may also bring approximately 500 new residents to the county if Alberta Municipal Affairs decides to dissolve the Village of Clyde.
“We still don’t know, their committee is still working, and we’re willing to accept what happens. We’ll wait and see.”
