ST. PAUL - Town of St. Paul council has directed administration to proceed with purchasing a couple of properties over the last month.
At the March 28 regular council meeting, council directed administration to purchase a property located at 5417-40 Street. The purchase has now been finalized, reported CAO Steven Jeffery during the April 11 council meeting. The property is located on Highway 881 north.
"As we have progressed through the Joint Area Structure Plan with the County and the consultants on the project, it has become more evident that the Towns desire to develop an industrial park in the lands surrounding this acreage should be a major focus for growth in the Town St. Paul," said Jeffery, during last Monday's meeting.
"Owning this five-acre parcel at this time will allow the Town the flexibility it is going to need when the development of the surrounding lands occurs."
The purchase price was settled at $350,000 for the five acre parcel, with a possession date of April 29.
Coun. Nathan Taylor asked how the property would be purchased. Jeffery noted that he would like to have a discussion about that at an upcoming budget meeting to better lay that out.
Near the end of the April 11 meeting, council moved to a closed session to discuss a land item. When they came back into the public portion of the meeting, a motion to approve the purchase of land located at 6005-50th Ave was approved by council for a purchase price of $544,160.
In May of 2021, the land in question had been denied rezoning by the Town of St. Paul council at the time. Further information about the purchase of the property has been requested by Lakeland This Week.
Lane closure on June 19
A property at 5135 50th Ave is once again hosting a car show and cruise night on June 19 and a request to close 52nd Street from 50th Ave to 49th Ave. from 4:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. on the day of the event has been approved by Director of Municipal Enforcement Trevor Kotowich.
Kotowich said he has decided to allow the request to go through this year since the event is already being advertised, but in the future he is hoping an alternate space could be provided that wouldn't impact the surrounding residential area.
"It was well attended, which is great to see," said Kotowich, speaking to the 2021 edition of the car show. But, he felt that perhaps a larger area, such as a parking lot, would be more beneficial.
"These kinds of things tend to grow," said Jeffery. He agreed that if the event continues to grow, other options may have to be explored.
Mayor Maureen Miller said she didn't anticipate the car show to be an annual event that would involve closing a street, and was under the impression that last year's event was done in recognition of a fire that destroyed a mechanical garage at the location.
She noted that it would be good to have a conversation about future plans and while she was fine with moving forward at this time, she too agreed that more consideration for the implications of the nearby residential area needs to be taken in the future.
New Service Awards Policy
Town of St. Paul council has approved a new Service Awards Policy, which breaks down how staff of the municipality are recognized as long-term employees.
A table included in the policy breaks down the award value for employees, starting at $100 for five years of service, and increasing as the length of time increases.
When an employee hits 20 years for example, the award value is $600. When an employee reached 40+ years, the award value is $2,500. Increments of five years are included on the table.
A motion by Coun. Ron Boisvert to approve the policy was carried.
Traffic safety plan for Centerfield
Work is once again underway to ensure safety during the Centerfield Musical Festival, scheduled for mid-June in St. Paul.
Kotowich presented a plan similar to plans presented for past events. Street closures of 50th Ave (main street) between 54th Street and 53rd Street for periods of time on both the Friday and Saturday were included in the plan.
On June 17, the stretch of road will be closed from 4:30 to 11:30 p.m., and on June 18 it will be closed from 1:30 to 11:30 p.m.
Kotowich noted that he needed approval from council to proceed with an application to Alberta Transportation since the stretch of road is under provincial jurisdiction.
A motion by Coun. Gary Ward to approve the traffic safety management plan as presented was carried.
