Ongoing issues surrounding the lagoon lining in Ardmore and Fort Kent are getting addressed.
The MD of Bonnyville council awarded the engineering contract for the project to Saskatoon-based BCL Engineering Ltd. for $149,000 during a committee meeting on Wednesday, June 19.
According to Abid Malik, general manager of infrastructure services, there have been problems with the lagoons since they were installed in 2009. However, they're still unsure what is causing the issues.
"The first part of the investigation is we'll investigate the liners and how much life is left (in them). We'll send it for analysis, and then if the liner is to be replaced in the next one or two years, then we might as well look into more options," he detailed.
Coun. Ben Fadeyiw stressed the importance of the MD holding contractors accountable for the original job that led to the issues they've been dealing with.
"What kind of bothers me about some of these contractors is they design this system, it fails, and they don't stand behind what they do... I think some of these guys should be a little more liable about what they do."
Check back for more.
Beaver River drainage project has pressing deadline
The MD is moving forward with the construction on the Beaver River Range Rd. 454 drainage control project to address the problem.
A non-compliance order was issued by Alberta Environment on June 11, after work done to meet a previous order failed to achieve the requirements set out by the province.
"(The plans) were finalized last year, spring runoff this year blew the water out, so now we have to rectify it," explained CAO Luc Mercier. "It wasn't that it wasn't done, we did it as designed, and we've got to go back and build a more robust system."
Since the project wasn't included in the 2019 budget, council approved the $200,000 fee for engineering in order for it to continue.
More to come.
Cold Lake chamber requests support
The Feast at the Beach is looking for financial assistance from the MD.
Cold Lake Regional Chamber of Commerce president Ryan Lefebevre and vice-president Joshua Holman made a presentation requesting $10,000 for the chamber's upcoming event, which will take place on Aug. 30 and 31 at Kinosoo Beach.
"A lot of times at this time of year, people don't want to travel very far because their kids are going to go back to school right away," Lefebevre explained.
Feast at the Beach will feature a number of food trucks, musical entertainment, and activities for kids to enjoy.
According to Lefebevre, there are seven food trucks committed with more expected to confirm before the weekend.
The chamber made a similar request to the City of Cold Lake earlier this month.
MD council will make a decision on the sponsorship at their June 26 meeting.
Free lift tickets for Snow Fever
Council voted in favour of forgoing the fee for lift tickets during next year's Snow Fever event at Kinosoo Ridge.
Chris McCord, general manager of parks, recreation, and culture for the MD, noted feedback from participants has the price coming in too high for lift tickets at the resort.
"We do feel it would be an opportunity to bring in some new customers," she said.
According to McCord, there would be roughly $6,000 lost in potential revenue.
"However, because we've never done this before, we're not sure what the gain of new customers would be," she added.
Trail committee moving ahead
Council approved the trail committee terms of reference, which McCord described as a "first step" toward developing the group.
"This has been an ongoing effort to add some structure to our trail planning," she noted.
The committee will consist of two members of council, McCord, the general manager of infrastructure, and the general manager for planning and community services. They will assist with planning and budgeting for future and current trails in the municipality.
