The Town of Penhold is doing its part to help displaced families from Fort McMurray.
Displaced residents will be given permission to park RV units in driveways at homes, but not on roads, within town. As well, they have been granted free parking at the Penhold Regional Multiplex within designated areas over the summer.
That permission is effective immediately and is valid until Aug. 31.
“To the north of our multiplex there's a gravel pad and if anyone from Fort McMurray needs free parking for an RV they're allowed to park there,” said Penhold mayor Dennis Cooper. “They're also allowed to park on private property, which means that if they want to park in someone's driveway they'll be allowed to do that by showing that they're from Fort McMurray and they need a place to plug in.”
In addition, people from Fort McMurray will have access to the multiplex facilities, including showers.
“We're also waiving fees from the fitness centre and families will be able to come in and use the facility for free,” added Cooper. “They may have some friends or family here in Penhold and they've chosen to (temporarily) move down here, so we want to try and accommodate them as much as we possibly can.”
At the recent council meeting on May 9, council agreed to make staff available to assist should the provincial emergency response team request assistance.
Family Foods grocery store in Penhold is also fundraising and collecting donations to give to the Canadian Red Cross.
