The Town of Bonnyville has continued their conversation around the sale and consumption of recreational marijuana.
During their April 10 council meeting, the discussion was around the business, community standards, and smoking bylaws. Specifically, looking at whether cannabis retail stores should have a separate application and increased fee when applying to start-up in town.
“It would be more fair for us to set (a fee) for somebody to pay if we specifically explain what are the things involved in it,” said Coun. Elisa Brosseau.
Mayor Gene Sobolewski added, "I just don’t see enough information and I’m particularly uncomfortable on throwing out a number without seeing how much exactly is involved."
When cannabis legalization comes into play, councillors expressed concerns over smoking zones, fines, and whether cannabis regulations should be similar to alcohol or tobacco.
Council put a halt on further discussion, suggesting they need more information in order to properly form the rules and regulations, and before it goes to an open house.
Check back for more in next week’s edition.
Putting top priorities on the table for provincial grant
Alberta will receive about $140-million over the next 10 years through the Investing in Canada Infrastructure Plan (ICIP).
On Tuesday, town council discussed their priorities for infrastructure they would like to send the province in regards to the ICIP funding.
Going around the table, the majority of councillors agreed the development of a new multi-use arts centre should be their number one priority. Other suggestions were a swimming pool, outdoor skating rink, skate park, and a dog park.
“We have to consider where we can use the grant to leverage the most money to get greatest value of projects,” said Coun. Brian McEvoy.
Council is requesting feedback from the public through a survey, which they hope to complete by the end of this month.
The survey can be found here: : https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/PFFYJZZ
For the full story, check out next week's paper or our website.
Town of Bonnyville had an overall eight percent downfall in assessments
Representatives from Accurate Assessment Group were in front of council to share the town's latest assessment results.
There has been a continual decrease in assessment since 2014, so much that the town is below 2013 levels in terms of overall assessment.
There was an eight per cent decrease in total assessment based on last year's results, with 90 per cent of residential properties seeing a drop of anywhere from one to 25 per cent.
When it comes to market value, the biggest hit was to industrial land, which went down by 30 per cent.
Bob Daudelin of Accurate Assessment told council there is some parallel to what's happening in other rural communities, but he believes in Bonnyville it has been exaggerated.
Check back for the full story.
Lac La Biche County requests support for changes in provincial fishing regulations
Lac La Biche County Council asked for support from the Town of Bonnyville to engage with the province on solutions for conserving northern pike and walleye populations.
Lac La Biche County is asking Alberta Environment and Parks to revisit proposed changes to fishing regulations, and were hoping the Town of Bonnyville would support their efforts.
“I’m in full support of their initiative,” said Sobolewski.
Along with the fish conservations, there are also some other concerning matters Lac La Biche County wants the province to consider, including Indigenous rights, fishing methods, potential economic consequences, and consultation of residents.
