DIDSBURY – After multiple complaints from residents, council has done an about-face on the 20th Avenue project and the controversial boulevard. On Oct. 11 Didsbury council voted unanimously to amend the contract with Professional Excavators to delete the boulevard from the 20th Avenue project.
A press release sent out by the town on Oct. 12 stated: “The remainder of the project will continue as planned with new asphalt, storm water management system and sidewalks happening in 2016 and 2017 as part of Phase 1 and 2017 will see upgrades to the sanitary system and new historic lights as Phase 2. The project will offer a gently improved entrance to our community, offering visitors and residents a new ‘gateway' to Didsbury.”
Mayor Rick Mousseau said council decided to remove the boulevard from the project after hearing from the engineers. “They were going to make the footprint a little bigger by taking the town right-of-way on either side,” he told the Gazette. “We didn't want to do that. We told them to use what's there. We wanted to leave it the way it was.”
He said crews are going to widen the sidewalks on the street side.
“Right now it's narrow, just wide enough for one person,” he said. “If it's a little wider you have enough room to walk side by side.”
Crews have been working on the project since Oct. 3 with Phase 1, which is expected to be completed by spring of 2017. The second phase will then begin.
In other council news, Didsbury town council approved the Parkland Regional Library's budget for 2017 at the Oct. 11 regular council meeting. The budget was originally brought up Sept. 27 for approval but was tabled to get more information.
“The Parkland Regional Library is currently proposing a two per cent increase to their budget,” said Christofer Atchison, manager of legislative and development services, to the Gazette. “Prior to approving that request, council wanted to ensure that they had all of the information they required to make a good decision.”
Didsbury Municipal Library is one of 50 libraries across Central Alberta that are members of the Parkland Regional Library system. Didsbury's contribution in 2016 is $7.88 per capita or $39,061. In 2017, the town is set to pay $8.04 per capita or $39,774.
Council also approved first reading of Bylaw 2016-12, which is regarding the Wild Rose Human Society loan. The loan, which is for building an animal shelter in Didsbury, is for $50,000 payable over 10 years at three per cent interest.
Meanwhile, local resident Norm Quantz, who says he is running for mayor in the next municipal election, brought forward several questions at the Didsbury regular council meeting on Oct. 11. Quantz asked several questions regarding the Town of Didsbury's debt load. He also asked how the loan to the Wild Rose Humane Society for the proposed animal shelter would affect the town's borrowing power.
In a notice of motion, council directed administration to return with the answers to all questions at an upcoming meeting except one related to looking into other nearby towns and how their debts and borrowing power compare to Didsbury's.
Elsewhere, after a short discussion at the meeting on Oct. 11, council voted to direct administration to return with a report on the total cost of road paving for Mr. Sheridan and Mr. Tanasychuk.
“Some of us feel that we were convinced this was a good investment for the town based on a promise that was made from those residents that they would help build this pathway,” said Coun. Julie McCoy at the meeting. “We went ahead and did our part and they haven't followed through on their part.”
Meanwhile, Didsbury resident Kathleen Windsor asked council during the gallery question period how taxpayers would feel about the town being “a financial institution” in regards to the pending loan to the Wildrose Humane Society for a proposed animal shelter in Didsbury.
Windsor also asked whether council could revisit the policy regarding not answering gallery questions the same evening.
