CREMONA - The Village of Cremona administration is working with school division officials on a new shared use agreement for facilities in the municipality, says chief administrative officer Rudy Friesen.
He presented his monthly update report, outlining recent activities and activities in the municipality, at the May 17 council meeting.
“Chinook’s Edge School Division is working with village administration to complete a share use agreement for facilities within the village,” said Friesen. “This agreement is a new requirement of school divisions. We expect to have the agreement to council for its consideration at the June 21 council meeting.”
Recent changes to the Municipal Government Act and the Education Act require municipalities and any school board operating within the boundaries of that municipality to enter into and maintain a joint use and planning agreement.
Proposed wording of the new agreement includes: “It is the responsibility of the municipality to plan, develop, operate and maintain park and recreational land and facilities within the boundaries of the municipality for recreational purposes and to organize and administer public recreational programs.
“It is the responsibility of the school board to develop and deliver educational programs and to provide the necessary facilities and sites for these programs.
“The joint use of municipal facilities and school board facilities is an important tool in providing educational, cultural and recreational opportunities for residents in a manner that reduces or eliminates the need to duplicate facilities thereby.”
Other municipalities in the district are also currently working on similar shared use agreements with Chinook's Edge, which includes Cremona School.
In his monthly report, Friesen also said that, “As part of our intermunicipal collaboration agreement, the councils of Cremona and Mountain View County met on May 9 at the Heritage Centre. The group updated the intermunicipal agreements that are in place between the two municipalities.”
Friesen also touched on a some other recent activities and projects in the village.
“Algae Control Canada out of Red Deer was here in early May taking donor readings of our lagoon to assess appropriate bio-treatment options. This sonar work is ideally done every two years to ensure we are properly managing the lagoon as to avoid dredging due to waste build up,” he said.
“We also drew lagoon storage cell effluent samples in preparation for irrigation. Once we get these samples back, we expect that effluent irrigation adjacent to the lagoon to be underway.”
In news from the planning and development department, he said, “The owners of the 8.5 acres of residential property in the village are progressing well with their plans. They hope to have a high-level design concept to share with us in the next few months.”
Council accepted Friesen's report as information.
