Town to partner with Whitecourt on Regional Waterline feasibilty study
Mayerthorpe has decided to partner with Whitecourt on a feasibility study of the establishment of a regional water system.
Both municipalities were present for a presentation from DCL Siemmens Engineering Ltd and Alberta Infrastructure and Transportation relative on the possibility of a regional waterline at the February 22nd joint municipalities meeting.
The Town has accepted an offer to purchase the land across adjacent to Highway 43, although the deal will not be finalized until the fall.
"Council has accepted the offer as per the terms and conditions in the offer from EGP Group," CAO Karen St. Martin explained to the Freelancer. "The closing on the offer won`t be until this fall. From this point forward until this fall the Town and the purchaser have to meet certain conditions for the sale to be finalized."
The MD of Northern Lights and the Town of Peace River are hoping Northern Sunrise County will reconsider a proposed water plant, something one county official says isn`t likely.
Last week Peace River`s council received a carbon copy of a letter sent to Northern Sunrise County`s council by the council of the MD of Northern Lights expressing concern about the county`s upcoming water project, which will receive $30 million of provincial funding.
Centre in the Park`s Community Centre complex being built adjacent to County Hall is on the mark according to project manager Rudy Koop of Strathcona County.
"Stage one is complete, and stage two is moving forward on budget and on time," Koop said on Tuesday while giving an update to council. Part of being on budget in future months will be helped by the fact that the county has locked in its concrete prices until Feb. 2009.
The County of Wetaksiwin is putting some money in the bank after recording a surplus last year.
The county saw a surplus of $1.9 million after 2007. Rod Hawken, assistant CAO, explained the surplus came from a variety of factors.
EDMONTON - Shaky condominium prices are undermining plans for a downtown housing redevelopment that would salvage the fire-damaged Arlington Apartments, city council has been told.
Coun. Jane Batty said Sunday she still hopes the brick exterior of the 99-year-old building at 100th Avenue and 106th Street can be saved, three years after a blaze gutted the interior of Edmonton`s oldest apartment block.
Nine in 10 Albertans believe their family incomes will hold stable or grow over the next year, reports a monthly economic confidence survey released today.
Gains were predicted by 41 per cent of 900 consumers in the poll, while 50 per cent expected their household earnings to remain stable.
Companies look to Calgary suburbs for office space
CALGARY - Calgary companies continue to look for office space in the suburban market with booming construction activity throughout the city, says a report by CB Richard Ellis.
The commercial real estate firm says 2.1 million square feet of new suburban office space should be completed by the end of 2008 with 71 per cent of that already pre-leased. And there is currently a total of 3.66 million square feet under construction in the suburban market with various completion dates falling between 2008 and 2010 - with 2.2 million square feet or 60 per cent already pre-leased.
Growth pressures within Lacombe County will mean big changes at municipal headquarters.
County council recently gave the green light to expanding the administration building and public works shop for just over $5.8 million.
The expansion will bring an additional 14,981 square feet to the head office, which opened only a few years ago west of Hwy 2 and the Hwy 12 overpass. More offices and meeting rooms will be added, and the council chambers and main entrance will become larger.
EDMONTON - Despite persistent criticism of its royalty collection and accountability, Alberta Energy is a leader in that area, says a government report released this morning.
The report was prepared by former auditor general Peter Valentine as part of the government`s new royalty framework.
EDMONTON - Edmonton commercial building permits set a record high in February, but that was more than offset by a cooling home-building market.
The seasonally adjusted value of building permits issued by municipalities in the Edmonton metropolitan area - a leading indicator for construction activity - fell overall in February from January by 8.5 per cent to $311.8 million, Statistics Canada said today.
India Plans to Spend $300 Billion on Oil Exploration
April 5 (Bloomberg) -- India will spend $300 billion over the next five to seven years on oil exploration and production, said M.S. Srinivasan, the Oil Ministry`s top official. The exploration and production business will become a $5.2 trillion industry in the next five to seven years, Srinivasan told reporters in Mumbai.
A report on Calgary`s family doctor shortage warns the situation could grow worse in the coming years as leases at medical offices come up for renewal and some physicians decide they can`t afford the pending rent hike.
The Calgary Health Region study found the majority of physicians in the poll -- 70 per cent of the 137 doctors who reported leasing office space -- will be renegotiating their rental contracts by July 2009.
The City of Calgary`s spending on communication has nearly tripled in five years -- a budget some suggest is out of control as council braces for one of its toughest budgets in recent memory.
Documents obtained by the Herald under freedom of information legislation show the city spent nearly $14.6 million on communications last year, up from $5.5 million in 2003.
A Beltline building`s roof collapse that has left 20 people temporarily homeless may have been caused by unattended long-term problems.
The building`s owner, however, says she took care of both the roof and the building.
A city inspector banned anyone from living at Hargrave House in the 500 block of 15th Avenue S.W. after finding the roof had dropped half a metre in one part of the building on Sunday.
Alberta`s construction sector is continuing to power forward in 2008, even as performance nationally continues to cool, according to figures released Monday by Statistics Canada.
At the same time, the Conference Board of Canada said resilient consumers will keep the overall Canadian economy expanding this year, despite weakness among exporters suffering from a strong Canadian currency and a weakening market for their goods in the United States.
EDMONTON - The city will scrap a controversial proposal to use a public-private partnership -- a so-called P3 -- to build and run a new recreation centre in southwest Edmonton, city hall sources say.
But there is still hope that the construction of the project, which is to include two pools, four ice sheets and three gyms, will still start on July 1.
EDMONTON - Edmonton-based InfinitAir will launch scheduled flights between the international airport and Bonnyville at the end of the month, but it still hopes to persuade Edmonton Airports to allow it into city centre.
Several times a week, Lorraine Devries boils her tap water, filters it and then stores it in two large jars in the refrigerator of her Bragg Creek home.
The 74-year-old former lab technologist drinks only boiled water, saying she alone bears the responsibility to keep her water supply safe.
City council played the role of a mediator Monday in approving changes at a public hearing for a massive subdivision development.
Council unanimously gave second and third readings to a neighbourhood area structure plan bylaw to develop 700 homes in the Timberstone Park subdivision but not before two separate deals were worked out between the developer and affected landowners.
