Patrons come from all over to utilize the services offered by the Bonnyville Municipal Library.
Representatives from Northern Lights Library System (NLLS) outlined what programs the Town of Bonnyville's levy payments contribute to during a presentation to council on Tuesday, June 25.
"Bonnyville is actually a very well serviced area, and there are patrons coming from all over," noted NLLS executive director Julie Walker.
Users are travelling from as far as the City of Cold Lake, County of St. Paul, Calgary, Lloydminster, Sherwood Park, and Frog Lake First Nations, Walker said.
The town's total levy payments, which come from the municipality and their library board, are just over $65,000.
The funding is set at $5.07 per capita based on the 2016 municipal affairs population of 6,422.
A rural services grant is distributed to the libraries in Bonnyville and Cold Lake through NLLS on behalf of the MD of Bonnyville, with $17,549 going to the town. While all of the money previously went to both municipalities, there will be a slight change this year.
"We will be taking one per cent of that for administrative services, simply because the MD of Bonnyville folded their library board," Walker explained. "We now have to deal with that extra expense of distributing those funds."
In 2018, members of the Bonnyville library checked out over 4,400 OverDrive items, such as audiobooks. From the shared TRAC services offered through NLLS, there were just over 19,400 items borrowed.
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Town discusses relaxed liquor laws in parks
After a request from Alberta's Minister of Municipal Affairs, Kaycee Madu, council referred the idea of allowing alcohol consumption in local parks to the policing committee.
"They're bringing back the old rules of consumption of alcohol in provincial parks, and at the same time, they're considering relaxing the alcohol consumption rules for day use areas," explained CAO Mark Power. "They're asking municipalities to consider, they're not saying do it, they're just saying have a discussion and consider it."
Premier Jason Kenney announced in May that the bans on liquor in provincial parks would be lifted. They also committed to removing unnecessary red tape for festival organizers hosting events in municipalities and provincial parks.
Coun. Lorna Storoschuk believes there's a significant difference between provincial parks and the ones in town.
"You're camping there. You should be allowed to drink in your campsite if that's why they're relaxing that one. I can't see anywhere we would set up and sell liquor at one of the parks here in town," she detailed.
More to come.
Cleaning up congestion on main street
At the request of Coun. Rene Van Brabant, council will be looking into restricting left turns along main street during certain hours.
"I would like to have a discussion about no turning (left) between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m., and 4 p.m. and 5:30 p.m.," he said, adding it could be enforced at the lights located at 50 Ave. and 46 St. by the Sobeys, and by Brosseau's Department Store at 50 Ave. and 50 St.
The town agreed to add the matter to the agenda of their next meeting for further consideration.
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Tax amendment act a topic of discussion
Council weighed the pros and cons of Bill 7, the property tax incentive amendment act, which could attract larger businesses to the area.
"Essentially, what Bill 7 is going to do is afford you with the opportunity to exempt taxes to non-residential or commercial and industrial properties for up to 15 years," Power explained.
While the amendments would allow the municipality to choose who the incentives would be offered to, Coun. Brian McEvoy noted it's been seen as a "penalty on existing businesses to start competitors against them" in other communities that have similar policies in place.
Storoschuk believes it's an incentive that could bring organizations into town.
"With the economy the way it is right now, people won't be coming in. If we can offer an incentive to bring them in, that's the only way we're going to bring new businesses in."
Town won't be participating in spay and neuter program
Council voted against backing a local initiative that wanted to address feral cats.
Mayor Gene Sobolewski wasn't confident there was a problem in town.
"What we have is an email from somebody whose opinion was that we have a bad problem in Bonnyville," he said.
Power suggested consulting the policing committee, as a member of the board keeps track of animal complaints.
Both Coun. Chad Colbourne and Van Brabant, who sit on the policing committee, agreed feral cats aren't an issue they're seeing.
The MD of Bonnyville also declined participating in the spay and neuter program. They decided to provide funding to the Bonnyville and District SPCA for a similar project.
Letter of support for homelessness grant
The Bonnyville and District FCSS was granted a letter of support from the town for their application to the Alberta Rural Development Network for the Rural Homelessness Project.
The proposal will focus on developing community capacity to make supporting individuals or families housing needs a priority. It will support the diverse housing needs of citizens, including those who are currently homeless and those at risk of becoming homeless.
If approved, the project could bring a part-time employee for the duration of the four-year project, which would have a budget of $324,000.
