The top story of the year in the County of St. Paul was political, said Reeve for the County of St. Paul Steve Upham. The voter turnout in the county at the municipal elections, held Oct 18, was in excess of 80 per cent in some areas of the county, a remarkable number compared to other municipal elections in Canada.
“Certainly in the province you would be hard pressed to find a county that had that high of a voter turnout,” said Upham, who felt this level of political engagement was a real highlight of 2010.
Upham won the race for the position of reeve at large with 1,257 votes to 1,020 votes for Robert Bouchard, who previously served the community as reeve for 30 years. Ben Dyck placed third with 428 votes.
The interest in the elections began in October, 2009 when county residents voted to have an elected reeve instead of having the reeve appointed by the county councillors. As a result, the electoral boundaries were redrawn prior to the municipal elections, creating six divisions instead of seven.
“The interest in municipal politics was definitely a plus for the County this year,” he said.
The County of St. Paul and the Town of Elk Point jointly completed the construction of a new fire hall in Elk Point this year. Although final costs on the project were not available, CAO for the county, Sheila Kitz, estimates the county’s contribution to the project will be about $700,000.
The county also contributed approximately $91,000 toward the purchase of a new fire rescue truck for the St. Paul fire department, $40,000 toward the purchase of a new rapid response truck for Mallaig and $6,250 toward the purchase of a new Ranger side by side for the Ashmont fire department, to be used for remote area rescue.
The county initiated a change in the 911 dispatch from Strathcona to Bonnyville, which will happen in January. After the change of dispatch, the municipality will set up the new rural addressing system to help emergency vehicles locate rural residences in need.
“They won’t have to tell them to turn at the third outhouse on the left,” joked Upham. “They can now just go to the numbered house. It will all be connected into the GPS (Global Positioning System).”
The county initiated a committee, composed of employees, to raise awareness about workplace health and safety.
“They already understand the importance of safety but now they take ownership in the design and implementation of policy to protect workers,” said Upham. “We now have a certificate of recognition that logs and keeps track of our safety record and that in turn helps reduce our costs for (Workers) Compensation Board in a major way. It’s resulting in efficiencies and cost savings for the county that we can return to both the ratepayers and the workers.”
He said, in 2010, the county continued to work on developing their GIS (Geographic Information System), which is a computer program with mapped data for the entire county. A van drove all the roads of the county, collecting video data that could be used for road construction and development projects.
“We can basically drive county roads from council chambers,” said Upham.
Kitz explained that the program also includes ortho data, which is an aerial photo corrected for the curvature of the earth. There are photos of the entire county, including all of the farms, which will be useful for agricultural assessments.
A third feature of the new computer system is Epad, planning and development software. The software will let the county know if there is a gas well or landfill nearby, which must be considered when subdividing or planning development in a specific area.
The County created a new planning and development department and hired Krystle Fedoretz as the new planning and development officer.
“That brings all this process in house, which reduces costs for the developer and for the county,” said Upham.
He said that county completed the Lac Sante area structure plan and passed the first reading of the amended intermunicipal development plan with the Town of St. Paul. Now the county is working on the Garner Lake area structure plan.
Westcove Park underwent some improvements with the construction of a new water park and upgrades to parking lot and tenting area, which cost about $290,000. The county also contributed $25,000 toward the construction of a new playground at Lac Bellevue.
County of St. Paul council also committed $250,000 over five years to the construction of Portage College’s affordable housing unit in St. Paul. The sod turning for that project took place in spring of 2010, with the college currently expecting that students will be able to move into the facility in September of 2011.
Rain was a feature of the year, affecting road construction, oiling and increasing the need for gravel. The county constructed 16 miles of road, according to Kitz, but had expected to complete 21 miles. Council had budgeted for 27 miles of county roads to be oiled but completed only 20 miles. Very few dust controls were done, with 21 completed out of an expected 90.
The paving of Krider Road, a resource road in the Elk Point area, was a major project completed in 2010. Because the road is heavily used by the oil industry, the province paid for 50 per cent of the costs, with industry paying for 25 per cent and the county contributing the final 25 per cent.
In 2010, the county continued to explore the potential of a water pipeline between Ashmont and Lottie Lake and between St. Paul and Elk Point. Upham said that a commission is being set up, and the County of St. Paul is debating if it wants to be involved in the commission to construct the water pipelines.
“As a long range plan … it is something that you believe that you have to be a part of without a doubt, but when you look at the numbers and crunch them, you sit back and pause,” said Upham. He added that council doesn’t want to commit to a project if the ratepayers can’t afford it. “It will have budget implications for the county for the next 25 years.”
He said that they will have to find a resolution to the question early in the new year, within the first six weeks.
Another topic likely to continue to interest the public is the new medical centre. In cooperation with the Town of St. Paul, the County is involved with a committee to establish a new wellness center in the Town of St. Paul. The cost of the project is not determined yet.
