IN THE NEWS

Highlights from recent council meetings

• 5^th CPO Approved--- Council recently approved the hiring of another Community Police Officer to replace the officer lost earlier.  Points of interest in this regard:  MD of Wainwright has NO CPO’s;  County of Ponoka has 1; and the County of Lacombe will be reducing to 4 in the near future.
• Nordegg Trails--- Council has approved a 25 km. trail concept for Nordegg.  The consultant who developed the plan is a Nordegg resident.  The estimated cost per kilometre for the multi-use system is $65, 000.00.  At that rate the cost of completing the entire project would be $1.625 million.  Note of interest:  An online survey put out last summer netted 46 responses.  The only comment made from that was that residents in the northern sub-division were concerned about the traffic on trails near their residences.

Meeting with The Mountaineer  On Thursday, March 17, CCTA members Jim Foesier, Helge Nome, and Marianne Cole met with Laura Button, Editor of The Mountaineer.  They were supported by three Ferrier residents, Neil Ratcliffe, Elsie Nelson, and Debbie Gastonguay.  The purpose of the meeting was to publicize our serious concerns with the secrecy surrounding the county’s development plans for the property north of Rocky, and the potentially huge expenditure of money.  At time of printing this newsletter, the article is “in the works”.

Information can make a difference  In light of the current economic conditions and all the rumors floating around as to the county’s exact development plans/projected costs involved, it is becoming increasingly important that councillors begin to hear the concerns from their electorate. We encourage you to contact your councillor and not only ask about their plans but press for an open public meeting in your area. By contacting our councillors the resulting information builds a two way street.  They will get a clearer picture of resident response to their plans, and we will have, hopefully, more concrete information about those plans.  Potentially both sides will have a stronger foundation for further action.  Councillor contact information is:  

Div. 1:  Jim Duncan at jduncan@clearwatercounty.ca, (403)845-6319; 
Div. 2:  Kyle Greenwood at kgreenwood@clearwatercounty.ca, (403)729-2053; 
Div. 3:  Curt Maki at cmaki@clearwatercounty.ca, (403)746-3642; 
Div. 4:  John Vandermeer at  jvandermeer@clearwatercounty.ca, (403) 722-2186; 
Div. 5:  Theresa Laing at tlaing@clearwatercounty.ca, (403)845-7120; 
Div. 6: Earl Graham at egraham@clearwatercounty.ca, (403)722-2774; 
Div. 7: Pat Alexander at palexander@clearwatercounty.ca, (403) 729-2399.

ROSES  This month we would like to send a bouquet of roses to the councillors who have shown fiscal responsibility and concern for the impact the current economy will have on our jurisdiction.  Repeatedly during the last 2 months Councilors Laing and Vandermeer have expressed caution on county spending.  Councilor Greenwood also voted against the capital portion of the budget which would include spending on projects on the county’s new property.  Special kudos to these councillors for their thoughtful, responsible reactions regarding county finances.

RANT  The continued secrecy around the county’s potential development on its land north of Rocky continues to draw the ire of many.  Rumors abound on the county’s excessive spending on 3 proposed new buildings but no first-hand information is forth-coming.  It is time for our council/administration to come out from behind closed doors and face the people who’ll be paying the bills.  Meetings should be organized in each division of the county so a complete outline of the plans with cost estimates can be presented to the people who’ll be on the hook for these potentially grandiose schemes.  Not only do taxpayers deserve to receive the info, but they should also be worthy of the opportunity to provide input on how their dollars will be spent. 

COMING EVENTS:

Thursday, April 14, 2016, CCTA Regular meeting,7:30PM, Leslieville Elks’ Hall

Thursday, May 12, 2016, CCTA Regular meeting,  7:30PM, Leslieville Elks’ Hall

Please note time change for the regular monthly meetings, from 7:00PM to 7:30PM.