MD of Bonnyville experiencing erosion on range road

The MD of Bonnyville is experiencing erosion in a drainage area on Range Road 454.
On Wednesday, Feb. 14, council gave Darcy Zelisko, director of transportation and utilities for the MD, the green light on the $500,000 project that will see upgrades to the area.
According to Zelisko, Alberta Environment has also given the go-ahead for the project.
Before starting, the MD will host a public open house in early March for residents living in the area.
Read more in next week's edition of the Nouvelle.

Kinosoo parking on the MD's radar
Parking at Kinosoo Ridge Snow Resort can be troublesome at times, especially when events are being hosted.
In some cases, hill users have to walk a fair distance when visiting the ski hill.
See next week's edition for more on the story.

Future fire halls
Expansions could be in the future for the Fort Kent and Ardmore fire halls.
According to Reeve Greg Sawchuk, the MD and Bonnyville Regional Fire Authority are discussing the purchase of new trucks for these areas, which would require an upgrade to their facilities.
The current fire halls were built over 50 years ago when the trucks were much smaller. Due to the increase in size, the fire halls will need to be revisited.
How that will look is still under discussion.
Read more about it in next week's Bonnyville Nouvelle.

Jessie Lake gases
The Jessie Lake Restoration Program is making headway when it comes to the smell of the lake.
The Beaver River Watershed Association's plan is to continue tackling the issue this year.
"They're starting to look at monitoring Jessie Lake and they want to do a restoration project where they are going to aerate the lake and get rid of the stink of Jessie Lake," explained Coun. Dana Swigart. "There are a lot of lakes where this has been done and they were successful."
Read the full story in the Nouvelle.

Alberta Transportation on signage in Ardmore
Alberta Transportation has reached out to the MD of Bonnyville in response to their request for better signage on Hwy. 892 and Hwy. 28.
Council felt the response was more of a "thanks for letting us know," than an answer.
They will continue to push the province on the issue.

MD of Bonnyville Shelterbelt Program sold out
It was another successful year for the MD's Shelterbelt Program.
The 10,000 trees purchased by the MD have already been sold.
"Residents love the program," Swigart said.

Wolf and coyote program successful
Almost 500 coyotes were brought in to the MD of Bonnyville in 2018 so far, through their Wolf and Coyote Reduction Program.
The total number of wolves has been 22.

Supporting STARS
The MD agreed to support STARS Air Ambulance to a tune of $10,000, instead of the organization's original ask of $2 per capital annually.

Annexation hand-over extended
The MD of Bonnyville's annexation agreement with the City of Cold Lake has been postponed until Jan. 1, 2019.
According to council, the city had yet to submit the agreement to the Municipal Government Board, which resulted in the Jan. 1, 2018 land switchover to be delayed until next year.