During the July 13 regular meeting, Town of St. Paul council discussed its involvement with the organization of events and celebrations on July 1, 2017. The date will mark the country’s 150th birthday, which coincides with the 50th anniversary of the town’s landing pad and other recreational facilities.
Coun. Ken Kwiatkowski asked if council would consider making the organizational committee a council committee, which would give councillors sitting on the committee the ability to claim honorarium.
Right now, the committee is made up of “volunteers from everywhere,” according to Kwiatkowski. He said he felt it was important for the town to have the “inside information” on what was being planned for the event.
Coun. Edna Gervais, who also attended the group’s preliminary organizational meeting, asked fellow councillors what they wanted the town’s involvement to be, considering grants will be applied for and support from the town will be sought.
Coun. Dwight Wiebe said he felt that through his work with the marketing committee, the town should be involved in the celebrations that surround the landing pad.
Kwiatkowski affirmed that he felt the 150th anniversary of Canada and the 50th anniversary of the UFO landing pad are being organized as one event, and cannot be split up.
It was also noted that although many people believe the UFO landing pad should be a focal point for the celebrations, since St. Paul is well known for the landmark, there are some people who want the celebrations to “be more than that,” said Gervais.
Mayor Glenn Andersen said he felt there should be subcommittees in place working under a larger umbrella to help organize a successful event, much like the town’s centennial was planned.
Gervais said that she felt the town should give the current planning group some direction on what role the municipality will play in the events.
Andersen recommended the town spearhead the organization of the event and invite the public in to participate, especially since it deals with town facilities.
“You’ve got to be leading it . . . this is huge,” said the mayor.
Council did not make a decision on the topic, but tabled Kwiatkowski’s request to make the organization committee a council committee until there is more information available.
The town continues to move forward with exploring possible ways to deal with trash and be more environmentally conscious.
After a brief discussion on the topic, council passed a motion made by Gervais “that, the Town of St. Paul will make cash contribution of and/or in-kind contributions of up to $275,000 to undertake a feasibility study for the Initiative Establishing a Waste to Value-Added Facility for the Town of St. Paul Region . . . and for which funding is requested from the Green Municipal Fund.”
The feasibility study has been in discussions since this spring and is being done with the support of other municipalities in the area, Alberta Innovates, and Eco West.
Judging for Communities in Bloom (CIB) is fast approaching, but the town is still hoping to get more nominations from friends, family and neighbours on locations within town that could be judged for the competition.
Nominations are now open until July 27. Representatives from the town will judge the nominated yards, and narrow the group down to the top three. Then, provincial judges will visit the town on July 28 to help pick a winner from the town, while also judging the community as a whole for the provincial side of the competition.
Other preparations taking place before CIB judges come to town will be the washing of main street by the volunteer fire department on July 23, and general cleanup by town employees along main street.
The first ever Alberta camp for children dealing with grief and loss took place in St. Paul earlier this month. The camp included 15 children, but according to Wiebe, could have included more if there had been more capacity within the program.
Although many of the children came to the camp a little confused, by the end of the week, “they had become a team,” said Wiebe.
“They all left with new friends, and asked it if could be longer,” he added, while reporting on the town’s FCSS department.
The town is looking at handing out information regarding weeds within the municipality. One of the main weeds brought up was Oxidaisy.
“Those flowers look nice, but they’re not I guess,” said Andersen in his report to council. The mayor had been given information on the weeds, and hoped to spread the information out to town residents.
Another weed to watch for is White Cockle, he said.
