No clear-cut answers - But health board chairman says `work` on new GP hospital ongoing
Health Services Board chairman Ken Hughes promised clarity Wednesday, but his words remained vague about progress on the planned Peace Country Regional Health Centre in Grande Prairie.
"There`s work that`s going on with Infrastructure and the Department of Health from the province," said Hughes.
"They are doing their scoping work now and I can`t speak for when the timing will be."
Hughes, who was in the city for the Alberta Health Services public board meeting, said the construction timeline remains in the hands of the departments of infrastructure and health.
Although Premier Ed Stelmach did reaffirm the province`s commitment to following through on capital projects, residents are wary in light of all the recent changes to the health-care system.
The dry summer months have been a "blessing in disguise" as the city`s road construction projects have not faced many weather-related delays and all city projects should finish on schedule. "In previous years, we`ve had delays due to weather and a lot of times you see projects carried over into the next year. At this point, I don`t see any projects that would fall into that category," said Colin Farynowski, supervisor of engineering services, roads and transportation.Some projects had "slower starts" because of contractor scheduling and prior commitments, but all started within the city`s scheduled "time frame and they are all anticipated to be completed by our completion dates," said Farynowski.
County of Grande Prairie and Sexsmith residents concerned about the town`s proposed annexation of county land can voice their concerns at an upcoming public hearing.The Town of Sexsmith has applied to the province to annex 958 hectares of land for future residential and industrial development. The land includes a half-mile area all the way around the town.
The middle of summer seems like a strange time to think of going back to school, but for students at Grande Prairie Regional College, it`s a time to find a place to live ahead of the start of classes.
The demand for residences remains high, but this year, due to a bigger supply of rental units and easing prices, students looking for off-campus housing are better off when it comes to finding a place to call home.
One of the first places out-of-town students may look for a place to live is the college itself. The GPRC residences boast 369 spots, as well as eight units set aside for families. Students apply in late fall for the following year and are selected based on need. After all the applications are received, processing begins in the first week of February. That`s when rooms are assigned. Kim Richardson, housing manager with GPRC, said dealing with more applicants than rooms means setting priorities for who gets what.
The periodic diversion of water from Whelp Creek into Lacombe Lake will be discontinued for at least three years, after an agreement was reached between Lacombe County and Alberta Environment.
There was speculation last week that the county`s license could be pulled, however that will not be the case.
The county, which holds a license to divert water, would typically be subject to a license review for not using their right to divert water, but they have been given a grace period by Alberta Environment until more data on the lake and the creek can be gathered.
A developer intent on building a golf course and RV development amid the rolling fields of county`s west end has hit the proverbial brick wall.
Alvin Clark wanted to develop a golf and RV resort; a temporary club house; nine-hole golf course; practice putting greens and facility; 70 recreational vehicle lots; walking trails; and related resort development (including the man-made beach, bridges, and play area).
Dubbed Heritage Ranch, the multi-lot RV park and golf course on the W1/2 36-49-28-4, halfway between Thorsby and Calmar, was Clark`s vision for a piece of poor farmland he deemed unsuitable for agricultural use.
In a split vote June 24, Mayor Marvin Molzan was absent, and amid the more than 100 area residents opposed to that vision — Clark`s dream was dashed.
The government`s new and stricter regulations at small airports such as Lloydminster`s will lead to increased costs for travellers.
The first phase of a Transport Canada initiative to bring all federally-certified airports into compliance with federal aviation regulations will come into force on Sept. 1. To meet these regulations the City of Lloydminster was required to appoint an "accountable executive" who will be responsible for ensuring compliance with safety regulations.
Tom Lysyk, the city`s director of corporate affairs took the position, though it means extra paperwork for him. However, this is just the first step in what will be a lengthy process of increasing regulations for the country`s small airports – all in an effort to keep Canadians safe, say government officials.
At the Aug. 5 regular
meeting of Nanton town
council, Corrine Wotton of Associated Engineering (AE) made a presentation to council outlining the conceptual design for water and sewer upgrades on 21st Street.
The proposed project calls for replacement of deep utilities along 21st Street between 22nd Avenue and the water treatment plant.
The goal is to prepare the town to handle a population of up to 10,000 people. Coun. Dick Fenton noted that the Calgary Regional Partnership is predicting another 125,000 people moving into the area south of Aldersyde in the next 25 years.
"Not all of it is going to stay there," Coun. Fenton said.
At its Aug. 5 regular meeting, Nanton town council was presented with a review of the Town`s facilities along with three options to either upgrade existing facilities or build new ones.
Joanne Smith of Sahuri and Partners Architecture presented council with a review of the Town office, library, community centre, recreation centre, FCSS and public works.
Council voted to table a decision until its Sept. 15 committee of the whole meeting to allow more time to review the options.
After over 45 years of operation, Shell`s sour gas extraction on the Waterton gas field is undergoing an unprecedented process of optimization and debottlenecking designed to align its capacity with its throughput. The process, which will see the plant shut down its SCOT unit and Number 1 Plant, replace its existing incinerator with a new state-of-the-art one and implement a range of reliability and safety upgrades, should render plant operations more efficient and also reduce the plant`s ecological footprint.
The Shell Waterton Complex, which first began operations in January 1962, has long been a major economic cornerstone in southwestern Alberta, producing some 5 million cubic metres of raw natural gas per day and employing approximately 140 people, including between 90 and100 Shell employees and a contracted workforce of 40 to 50 people.
Plans are in the works to expand the hamlet of Ardrossan by building an urban development on a quarter section directly east of the current townsite.
The plans for the new development are still in infancy stage, according to Neal Sarnecki, co-ordinator of current planning with Strathcona County.
A developer has put forward an application to the county to develop the quarter section to create more urban living in the small community.
Sarnecki said the application doesn`t come with specific plans for the land. If approved, the application would only serve as a placeholder, earmarking the land for urban development, but nothing more specific than that.
It has been a few months since secondary suites have been allowed in family homes, and so far, all applicants have been from rural areas.
Joyce Perkins, co-ordinator of development services with Strathcona County, said so far the restriction that owners must live in the house to be operating a suite has not been challenged.
"We haven`t had any (applications) in the urban area, in Sherwood Park itself," Perkins said.
She said most of the applications are from people who are building a new home and want to include a suite, or from those who are renovating and want to add a suite.
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So far around 10 people have applied for the suites, and two have already been approved.
At Monday`s town council meeting a divided Stony Plain council voted to deny Countryside Homes from redistricting a lot on the corner of 55th Avenue and 47th Street in the Woodland neighbourhood from a single detached residential district to a medium density multiple family residential district.
Several residents of the Woodland area came to express their opposition to the potential triplex development at a public hearing held earlier in the night.
One by one, residents came before council and expressed concerns regarding unsafe driveways, increased traffic and a general decrease in the esthetic and monetary value of the Woodland area.
"Renovation properties turn into slums eventually," said one resident of the area in regards to the proposed triplex. "That is something we do not want in our little district. It`s a very quiet little community and we want to keep it that way."
Starting on Jan. 1, 2009 a levy will be applied to all gravel loads shipped from mining areas within Woodlands County.
At last Tuesday`s county meeting, councillors passed the Community Aggregate Payment Levy which allows for the implementation of a $0.25 per tonne levy.
The levy was originally enacted on June 17 but after receiving several complaints that the county did not give companies enough time to adjust to the change, council revisited the issue.
It looks like Alberta`s boom has bust. Single-family housing starts have plummeted 68 per cent in Edmonton this year and 40 per cent in Calgary.
Next year may be still slower for Alberta builders, housing experts say. And real estate transactions are also falling 20 per cent, according to forecasts by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation.
Lethbridge is facing a slowdown as well, with home starts dropping 43 per cent by the year`s midway point. But local homebuilders report their business is down just 15 per cent from a year ago, thanks to a surge in residential growth in neighbouring towns.
Residents in the southeast corner want to know their individual needs are considered as the province moves forward with the Land Use Framework draft plan.
Minister of Sustainable Resource Development Ted Morton met with representatives from Medicine Hat, Cypress County, the County of Newell and 40-Mile County to provide information on the plan and how it will be implemented on a "go forward basis."
Attendees were told the province will be divided into six regions and tied in with the current watershed groups. Regional advisory councils will be introduced and tasked with advising government on individual priorities and issues, and southeast Alberta`s group could be in place by the end of the fall.
Nine Petro-Can stations closed, 90 could soon follow
EDMONTON - At least nine Petro-Canada stations in Edmonton were without gas Friday afternoon, and up to 90 in other areas of Alberta and the interior of B.C. could face the same fate, as the company continues to struggle with technical problems.
The Edmonton refinery typically has a crude capacity of 135,000 barrels per day, but a shutdown has stopped gasoline production, company spokeswoman Kelli Stevens said.
She would not comment on whether individual store owners would be compensated for revenues lost while regular gas supplies are curtailed. Diesel supplies have not been interrupted.
Consider own commission on water issues, aboriginals told
FORT CHIPEWYAN - First Nations should lead a national water strategy through the creation of a royal commission to capture the views of Canadians and make recommendations to government about what it must do, says a national aboriginal leader.
Bill Erasmus, Northwest Territories vice-chief for the Assembly of First Nations, told participants in a northern water conference that rather than calling on the federal government to decide whether to appoint a royal commission -- an idea contemplated by a previous water conference -- aboriginal people should take the reins.
"It may take some time to convince Canada," he said. "We may have to do a royal commission on our own. We need to look at those options."
EDMONTON - Housing starts in Edmonton will plunge by about 47.9 per cent this year compared to last, says a new national forecast released Friday by the federal housing agency.
Single-detached houses started in the city will plummet by 57.7 per cent to 3,250 homes, compared to the 7,682 built last year, said the third-quarter housing-market outlook released by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp.
Provincially, housing starts in Alberta will fall by nearly a third this year from 2007, said the report.
LONDON - For a fifth month, OPEC trimmed its forecast Friday for growth in global oil demand this year, and said production was more than adequate, paving the way for a build in inventories.
The likelihood was that oil prices, which have slid from a July peak above $147 a barrel, would remain under pressure, said the 13-member group, citing easing political tension, a stronger U.S. dollar and higher OPEC output.
"Given these trends, risks to the outlook for the world oil market appear to be on the downside," the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries said in its August Monthly Oil Market Report.
