MD of Bonnyville residents continue to take advantage of the rural crime prevention program.
Chris Garner, director of public safety, explained to council during his second quarterly report that from July 2019 to September 2019 the number of vacant home checks have increased since the previous quarter from 292 to 456.
Crime prevention patrols also saw an upswing to 877 from 442 last quarter.
Peace officers handed out 363 provincial written warnings and 333 tickets, an increase from the previous quarter, while bylaw warnings were close to being on par at 18.
Garner noted the unsightly property notices saw an uptick due to the time of the year.
"It would be normal for summertime, keep in mind it's July and August when we see the bulk of those complaints."
When it came to case reports, which are created when a peace officer gets a call from a member of the public requesting assistance or regarding a complaint, 110 were made about regulatory bylaws, 52 for crime prevention, and 52 for provincial statutes.
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Fort Kent and Ardmore fire hall tenders awarded
Construction is moving ahead on the Fort Kent and Ardmore fire halls.
Out of five companies who submitted proposals, council voted to award the contract to Edmonton-based RPC Group Inc., whose bid came in at $4.79-million.
"The question that I posed to them was the costs related to construction through the winter months," explained Caroline Palmer, general manager of planning and community services, adding the company said $28,000 was included in their proposal to address work being completed in the winter.
Construction is expected to begin within the next couple of months.
MD renews VSI contract for 2020
The municipality will be continuing with their veterinary health program.
Due to the contract expiring on Dec. 31, general manager of environmental and protective services Matt Janz brought it forward to council.
The initiative covers 50 per cent of the veterinary costs for MD producers.
"Why the program was brought forward quite a few years ago was the northern municipalities always had a challenge having vets service large animals," Janz noted. "The thought was if you had a program to encourage more veterinary services offered to northern municipalities, or help municipalities that have veterinary services needed that there wouldn't be as many large animal practices. This would encourage local farmers to utilize the large animal practices to the fullest potential, and maybe encourage some more practices to happen."
The estimated cost for the program for 2020 is $119,000.
Deadline looming for project
Prairie North Construction Company Ltd., an Edmonton-based development group, was awarded the contract for the Beaver River drainage project for $796,875.
The plan will address an issue caused in the spring with water blowing out a settling pond in June. Alberta Environment put an enforcement order on the municipality after a previous fix failed.
"The timeline is very tight," noted Abid Malik, general manager of infrastructure services, adding they have until Nov. 29 to have it completed.
CAO Luc Mercier was confident Alberta Environment would give them an extension if needed, but he believes the project should be finished in time.
