The Sundre business owner behind the deficient roundabout petition opposing the Main Avenue redesign intends to wait until after the provincial election before pursuing the issue further.
“We have to wait for the election to be over and the new transportation minister to be appointed,” said Melany Sealy, adding former minister of transportation Brian Mason had been receptive to hearing the concerns.
She said Alberta Transportation officials were interested in obtaining additional clarification on the documents that were filed with the Town of Sundre and the department alongside the petition.
Sealy also said she planned to meet with Sundre’s chief administrative officer to further discuss the matter.
Town of Sundre administration deemed the petition insufficient for a number of reasons which means council and the province don't have to act on it.
“I expected what the town said, so that was not a shock,” she confessed candidly during a phone interview last Wednesday, April 3.
“They have to follow their bylaws.”
Sealy expressed understanding about the fact there are strict Municipal Government Act regulations in determining whether a petition submitted to a municipality is deemed legally sufficient and thus actionable.
She added there was more to the submitted file than the petition alone. She also said that as a provincial highway, the Main Avenue roundabout petition included a larger spectrum than just Sundre residents.
Meanwhile, she hopes people opposed to the project do not lose hope.
“Don’t get discouraged from what’s happening,” Sealy said to anyone who still has concerns about the Main Avenue design.
“It’s only the beginning of a long process.”
During the April 1 council meeting Linda Nelson, chief administrative officer, summarized her report outlining the reasons why the petition was not deemed sufficient.
“This is the test that was done to determine whether the petition is sufficient or insufficient,” said Nelson, adding three staff members also reviewed the report.
“If a petition is not sufficient, the council or the minister is not required to take notice of it,” said Nelson.
The petition, which was submitted on Feb. 19, called on council to rescind its Jan. 7 motion to accept Alberta Transportation’s decision to make the mini-roundabouts permanent when the Highway 27 overlay project is completed in the coming years, and also asked for further public consultations, she said.
“However, the laws pertaining to the town from a municipal context are highly regulated and very specific with regard to what constitutes a valid or sufficient petition,” she said, extending an invitation to Sealy, who attended the meeting, to further discuss in person any additional clarification.
“We must be very cautious and vigilant to ensure that we follow the law precisely as written in the Municipal Government Act.”
The regulations outlined in that legislation, which municipalities throughout the province must all adhere to, guided administration to its conclusion, she said.
“There are no opinions within this response. It is fact-based, founded solely on the research that I have conducted with regard to the specifics on the laws that regulate petitions.”
Included among the requirements for a petition to be deemed valid are the following: only electors of a municipality are eligible to sign; an adult must witness each signature and include his or her own signature alongside the petitioner’s; and affidavits confirming that, to the best of a person’s knowledge, signatures witnessed are those of persons eligible to sign the petition, must also be attached; and a minimum of 10 per cent of the municipality’s population must be accounted for, she said.
“Out of the 354 signatures on the petition, only 44 of the persons who signed the petition could be considered as electors of the Town of Sundre based on required street or legal address,” she said.
Additionally, none of the signatures provided on the petition were witnessed by an adult and there was also not a single affidavit included, effectively excluding them all, she said.
“Zero of the 354 signatures complied with these mandatory requirements,” she said, adding, “according to the mandatory legal requirements under the MGA, all signatures on the petition must be excluded and the petition must be declared insufficient.”
In a followup report, Nelson also detailed all of the steps taken over the past couple of years throughout the duration of the project’s proposal and development phases through to the roundabouts’ deployment.
“We have a lot of information here on the process that anybody is welcome to come have a look at,” she said.
“All stakeholders who believed they were affected by the plan were invited and encouraged, and had opportunity to attend, the numerous information sessions.”
Coun. Paul Isaac said during his first term on council, which spanned from 2010 to 2013, that administration had brought in a consulting company to provide information on potential options to make Main Avenue safer.
“They have done a lot of work in Europe and they reported that they felt the best thing for Sundre would be roundabouts.”
Council carried two motions approving Nelson’s reports along with the declaration that the petition is not sufficient.
Coun. Todd Dalke, who accepted the report, said he wanted to make sure council, administration and Alberta Transportation are aware that many people remain dissatisfied with the situation.
“We need to find out, through Alberta Transportation, what we can do to make it better,” said Dalke.
“I don’t see ripping them out next month because of the investment that’s been put in, but it has to be better.”
Mayor Terry Leslie seemed to agree, pointing out that about $1.3 million has already been invested in the project.
“There needs to be a significant number of people that can be classified as being in opposition to this before that could be considered,” said Leslie.
“We all want to hear the concerns that there are. And yet we can’t second guess every project.”
Responding to concerns about the aesthetics of the roundabouts, Nelson added the process is not yet complete. She said the municipality would continue collaborating with Alberta Transportation to monitor and enhance the plan as required based on substantiated data.
Recognizing that not everyone in the community fully supports the project, the mayor said Alberta Transportation had already decided the roundabouts will become permanent, but that the municipality would continue working with the province on the final overlay project.
“We want to have input from the community with any suggestions or ideas about how to improve what that final project will look like,” said Leslie.
