BONNYVILLE – Businesses are hoping to sit down at the table with the Town of Bonnyville.
During council’s regular meeting on March 10, Joel Olszowka, owner of J.O.E. Ltd., voiced his concerns regarding snow removal and the “negative relations” the business community has with the municipality.
“I’d like to work together with the town and come to some sort of agreement or a way we can work together on (snow removal), amongst other things,” he explained.
Olszowka hopes starting a conversation could eliminate the disconnect he’s observed between the town and businesses over the years, and saw the issue of where to put excess snow as a starting point. The problem came to light after local companies were informed by Alberta Environment that they could no longer dump the snow in ditches or unused land.
Coun. Elisa Brosseau suggested the possibility of organizing meetings between council and business owners, with the assistance of the Bonnyville and District Chamber of Commerce, like the County of St. Paul does.
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Being prepared for coronavirus
With the influx of cases of COVID-19, also known as the coronavirus, being confirmed in the province, council wanted to know what’s being done locally to prepare for a case if it were to come to the region.
If a case was identified in Bonnyville, the responsibility for responding to it would fall on Alberta Health Services (AHS).
According to assistant CAO Bill Rogers, the town is sharing information on the illness and best practices on their website.
“We’re spreading the word and being prepared for events should they happen, because we all know the risk is still pretty low in Alberta. We’re not medical professionals, but we’re planning (based) on what other communities are looking at doing, and in the meantime we have informational handouts available.”
Town starts live streaming meetings
Residents can now watch council deliberate even if they can't make it to the meeting.
Tuesday's meeting was the first to be live streamed on the town’s website at town.bonnyville.ab.ca.
Regular, special, budget, and public meetings will be available for viewing online for two weeks following the conclusion of a meeting.
Giving back to local groups
Council voted in favour of giving $250 to both the Bonnyville Tuneagers and the Cold Lake branch of the Navy League of Canada.
The Tuneagers will be hosting the North Eastern Alberta Seniors Choir Festival on May 8 at the St. Louis de France Catholic Church. There will be choirs coming from Athabasca, Barrhead, Morinville, Westlock, and Sturgeon County to participate.
The local Navy League branch will be sending 15 cadets to Victoria, BC to practice sailing skills. Out of the 15 youth going, nine are residents of Bonnyville.
