BONNYVILLE – Each year, the Municipal District of Bonnyville is required to appoint a number of Fire Guardians to enforce the Forest and Prairie Protection Act within the boundaries of the MD, with the exception of the Forest Protection Area.
During the March 9 regular MD council meeting, 14 Fire Guardians were appointed for 2022 fire permit season.
Dan Heney, Irene Welecki, Dwayne Ethier, Ed Watrich, Vic Kolody, Baz Churko, and Diane Jenkinson were appointed.
A Fire Guardian’s term cannot exceed one year without being reappointed to the role by council. Each term takes effect from the beginning of the fire season.
Station Chiefs within the MD also required appointments as Fire Guardians. Walter Smyl, Dan Amalia, Gordon Graves, Craig Wenzel, Kim Ferguson, Cordell Ackert, and Derek Neumann were appointed as Fire Guardians.
MD’s administration pointed out that Station Chiefs will not be issuing permits but need the appointment to be able to cancel permits in the event of an incident.
In addition, council also made the annual motion to allow the Reeve, or the Deputy Reeve in his absence, to declare a fire ban in consultation with the Bonnyville Regional Fire Authority (BRFA).
“This allows for fast reaction to changing fire conditions without the need to call a special council meeting to implement a fire ban,” explained CAO Al Hoggan.
Mortgage agreement for Kopala building passed
During the March 9 meeting, council also approved a motion to direct administration to enter into a purchase and sale agreement with a vendor take-back mortgage with BRFA for the Kopala building and adjacent land.
This follows a discussion from the Feb. 23 MD meeting when council directed administration to prepare a draft vendor take-back mortgage agreement with BRFA to be repaid over a term of 20 years with zero per cent interest.
The particulars of the agreement approved by council are currently unknown as the agreement is protected under FOIP.
The land and building being transferred to the BRFA was purchased at $3.21 million. The estimated repayment is $160,320 per year.
