OLDS — Town council has voted to rescind a letter saying it might terminate fire services to Mountain View County if it didn’t get a better cost-sharing deal.
That's because talks are going well, Town of Olds Mayor Judy Dahl and chief administrative officer Brent Williams said.
The fire sub agreement, which expires at the end of 2023, sets out funding and service levels shared by the municipalities.
The decision to rescind the letter was made during council’s Aug. 22 meeting on the advice of administrative staff. It was written 13 months ago.
At the time, then-mayor Mike Muzychka said its purpose was to give greater impetus to negotiations because council felt that the county wasn’t paying enough for fire services provided by the Town of Olds.
“This was done more so to trigger negotiations more than it was ever really to withdraw fire services from the county,” Williams said during the Aug. 22 meeting.
“Now that we are in active negotiations with the county over fire services, things are progressing well.”
Negotiations between the parties regarding the sub agreement have been ongoing through the municipalities’ inter-municipal cooperation committee (ICC).
During Mountain View County council's Aug. 24 meeting, reeve Angela Aalbers commented on Olds council's decision.
"It was a very big step in the right direction, I think, for Olds to rescind their letter of termination. It showed extremely good faith in the process. And, I think as ICC members, we were extremely happy with that decision. I think we're making really good progress," Aalbers said.
The reeve said she thought it demonstrated how the ICC process is working as well as the confidence that both municipalities' councils have in their administration to move negotiations forward.
The Town of Olds' statement released last week said “Both municipalities recognize the need to work together on behalf of the citizens of our region and to find ways to address the challenges and opportunities we face."
“The Town of Olds and Mountain View County share not just a border, but people, services, and history and we know that we are stronger when we work together,” Olds Mayor Judy Dahl said in the release.
“A productive and long-term fire relationship is in the best interests of our residents, our volunteer fire fighters, and our region and we are pleased to announce this step.”
The news release said the two parties hope to have “an update to share soon.”
- With files from Lea Smaldon
