Overall, 2012 was a good year for Westlock County, but it wasn’t without a few bumps.
That was the general message reeve Charles Navratil had when discussing where the county had been this year.
Among the major pieces of good news for county residents, especially in the hamlets of Busby and Pickardville, was the work done through the Westlock Regional Water Services Commission.
In expanding water service to the south, Navratil said the hamlets themselves are primed for expansion, which can only benefit the county as a whole.
“That will be good for the area,” he said. “Even though people might build out in the hamlets, it’s still good for the whole community because their kids go to school in Westlock and the trade comes into Westlock.”
Even though there are positives in the county’s water portfolio, Navratil said there were some problems that still need to be fixed.
Chief among these is the delay in upgrading the water treatment systems in Pickardville and Vimy. Those upgrades have been held back because the bids received in the project tender came in well above the county’s budget, so he said the project will be retendered in 2013.
Another rough spot for the county was the gravel program — the municipality did not have enough gravel to complete its planned work until late in the year.
On the positive side, the program is now back on track, to the point where by the end of next March every road in the county will have been gravelled within three years.
Navratil said the county plans to use its Municipal Sustainability Initiative funding for the gravel program, a move that parallels how the town and Village of Clyde use their funding for paving.
“If you don’t have roads people can drive on, you might as well close your doors because that’s the most important,” he said.
Looking to 2013 in other county portfolios, Navratil said he can foresee a lot of money being spent to improve the Westlock County experience.
One major plan in the works is a new chalet at the Tawatinaw ski hill.
“If we’re going to have a ski hill, we need to have a new chalet because our old chalet is in bad shape,” he said.
He admitted a new ski chalet may not create noticeable spin-off benefits, but it may be enough to entice someone to choose to move to the county over another municipality.
Another project that is being contemplated is a new fire hall in the county.
“If we build a new fire hall, hopefully it will be in the Village of Clyde,” Navratil said, explaining the village definitely needs a new hall to serve the volunteer firefighters who work in the village and the surrounding county.
“Anything you do in our area, it benefits the area,” he said.
Navratil also said he’s looking forward to July when the counties and towns of Westlock and Barrhead work together to host the 55-Plus Summer Games.
“I look forward to those going well.”
