0109KTKS (Turner Valley) Town moving forward on long-term sustainability plan
The Town of Turner Valley is looking to develop a sustainability plan to guide them into the future.
At the regular council meeting on Dec. 15 council agreed that they need a basis for making town decision that looks to the future.
"A municipal sustainability plan is a strategic way of deciding what you`re going to do within your community – it`s how we ensure that we keep self-sufficient," explained Linda Allen, deputy chief administrative officer for the Town.
0109REDR (Rimbey) Winfield, Buck Lake, Alder Flats residents to pay waste management fee
Residents of Winfield, Buck Lake and Alder Flats will be shelling out a bit more in the new year following a recent meeting of the County of Wetaskiwin Council which approved a Waste Management Bylaw for a number of hamlets and subdivisions within the municipality.
The bylaw, which provides for the collection of waste and the preparation of waste matter for collection, also includes stipulations regarding the maximum amount allowed for collection, fees for service, new requests for service, recycling and enforcement. "Currently, weekly waste management removal is provided to the Hamlets of Alder Flats, Buck Lake, Winfield, Westerose, Mulhurst Bay and Gwynne and the Subdivisions of Viola Beach and Curilane" said Chief Administrative Officer Frank Coutney. "A $10 per month fee is being implemented effective Jan. 1, 2009 for that service."
0109REDR (Stettler) Costs reduced significantly to upgrade water treatment plant
Overall costs to upgrade the Town of Stettler water treatment plant have been cut significantly.
At its regular meeting Dec. 16, town council discussed the project with officials of Associated Engineering Alberta Ltd.
"We are pleased to report a positive outcome as a result of the re-design and re-tender process," project engineer Edith Asselin stated in a letter to the municipality.
"Using the latest tendered values, we estimate the overall project cost to be $21 million, which is $5.1 million lower than the figures of Sept. 16, 2008."
0109EDTN Edmontonians yet to embrace public transit ... for good reason
On a typically cold Monday morning, a few minutes after 9 a.m., a dozen citizens crowded around a bus stop on 99th Street. It was the first day back to work for many of us, and we had walked a circuit of despair on the eastern edge of Old Strathcona, from gas station to grocery to convenience store, looking for monthly passes and bus tickets. Every outlet was sold out. One scheduled bus did not show up on time. We waited patiently for the next, dancing to keep warm and staring longingly at the steamy windows of the cafe across the street.
Southeast Edmonton homeowners will see the biggest average drop in property assessments when they open the notices arriving in mailboxes this week.
Edmonton`s annual assessment done last July 1, as required by provincial law, showed an overall 10-per-cent decline from the record-setting values a year earlier, but maps on the city website Monday indicate the impact varies from ward to ward.
0109ALTA What`s next after the oil sands stampede?
The recent euphoria surrounding the development of the Canadian oil sands has come to an end because of the economic fallout from the global financial crisis. But in its recent update to its crude oil outlook through 2020, the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers (CAPP) has chosen to ignore most of the damage to the oil sands industry.
0109CALG Agency keen to start East Village revival
After a year in which it seemed to many that little was happening in that most controversial of areas we still call East Village, I look forward to this new year with a great deal of excitement for the project that will change the face of downtown Calgary.
To be fair, a lot has been accomplished, but it`s not the kind of stuff that gets citizens enthused about an area that may eventually house some 12,000 residents on the other side of City Hall and include some wonderful pedestrian areas and facilities.
Although the spectre of job losses has started to haunt several Alberta companies, this province`s labour shortage continues unabated in some sectors. Flint Energy Services Ltd. announced yesterday it has signed a multi-year construction contract, worth up to $18 million annually, with a major energy company to provide well pads and pipelines for an oilsands project in northeastern Alberta.
0109REDR (Stettler) Stettler county officials ponder bids to annex land
County of Stettler officials will remain busy this year with annexation proposals from two neighbours seeking thousands of acres for future development.
County manager Tim Fox said negotiations with the Town of Stettler have been progressing well, while those with the Summer Village of Rochon Sands stagnated last year.
0109REDR Land-use region provides better control over water, users group says
Municipalities will have more involvement with water allocations from the Red Deer River because of a new provincial endeavour focusing on regional land uses, says the co-chair of a municipal users group.
County of Stettler Reeve Earl Marshall said the Red Deer River Municipal Users Group has been pushing the province for years for the Red Deer River watershed to be separate from the South Saskatchewan River basin.
Fort Saskatchewan residents will have more input on what a new city hall should cost after council voted Tuesday not to hold a plebiscite on plans to borrow up to $25 million for the proposed project, Mayor Jim Sheasgreen says.
Council voted 5-2 on a motion by the mayor not to put a borrowing bylaw to a public vote after city manager Dave Dubauskas declared a petition calling for a plebiscite sufficient.
A weakening economy is increasing pressure on the government to halt a program that has brought tens of thousands of temporary foreign workers to Alberta.
"Those people are really vulnerable when the economy goes sour," says Yessy Byl, a lawyer and advocate for the Alberta Federation of Labour.
Homebuyers purchased 608 Edmonton-region homes in December -- the stingiest number recorded by the Realtors Association of Edmonton since 1995.
Outgoing president Marc Perras on Tuesday blamed the chill that pervaded the month. Both meteorological and economic.
"Who wants to tour homes when both your toes and your portfolio are frozen?" Perras said, as he released the monthly Multiple Listing Service statistics for the last time in his term.
An Edmonton-based industrial and building construction services company says a new credit deal positions it to pursue growth at a time when the economy is contracting.
The Churchill Corporation (TSX:CUQ) announced yesterday that it has entered into a three-year credit arrangement with HSBC Bank Canada that includes a $60-million operating line, replacing its existing $21-million line.
0109ALTA Alberta could earn less under new oil royalty program
T he Stelmach government`s contentious new royalty framework--implemented to secure a larger share of resource riches for Albertans--is garnering fewer royalties from many oil and gas wells than the old system due to today`s low-price environment.
F iona Warren admits she and her husband, Andy, picked a bad time to sell their house, in the slumping Calgary real estate market.
In the past six years, the couple has sold a few single-family homes in a matter of 24 to 48 hours on average.
This time, their 1,900-plus square foot, two-storey home in Regal Terrace has been listed for sale for almost three months and there have been only two viewings to potential buyers. The house was originally listed for $729,000. Now it`s $699,000.
Albertans are among the most optimistic people in the country when it comes to believing Canadians will combat the economic recession in less than a year, says a study released yesterday. A poll conducted by Work-opolis showed people living in the Prairies and Quebec are more likely than the rest of Canadians to believe things will be looking up financially later this year.
