Negotiations between the Town of Sundre and Mountain View County have yielded an agreement to proceed with the proposed airport gravel pit.
“We’re very pleased to bring before council the agreement that we have reached with Mountain View County on the airport pit aggregate mining operations that the town filed an appeal on,” administrator Linda Nelson told elected officials during a special meeting held Wednesday, March 28.
Following issues raised by council on behalf of the community last fall, negotiations between the two municipalities began after the Town of Sundre appealed the proposed project.
Eight matters of concern, including ensuring environmental safeguards, had been brought forward to the county, said Nelson, adding they were individually addressed through a process established by a facilitator.
“We created a matrix to track the concerns, which actually forms part of the agreement,” she said.
“It’s really an agreement to cooperate with each other.”
The document also outlines considerations such as the pit design as well as how the two municipalities will communicate on the design, which is expected to be done in three phases.
The project has an anticipated deployment timeline of roughly three to five years and there will be no excavation into the water table or any development in the floodway, she said.
“We are very confident that through this agreement, we have addressed all eight of the concerns.”
Council proceeded to unanimously carry — in the absence of Coun. Paul Isaac — a motion to approve the Airport Pit Intermunicipal Collaboration agreement with the county and that the administrator be authorized to sign the document on behalf of the Town of Sundre.
Following up on that decision, another motion to direct administration to formally withdraw and discontinue the Municipal Government Board appeal process was carried unopposed.
“Going forward, this is a great stepping stone in negotiating any further agreements with Mountain View County,” said Coun. Rob Wolfe.
Mountain View County council earlier that same day carried a motion to approve the agreement.
“This agreement demonstrates the benefit of honest negotiations with our municipal partners,” said Reeve Bruce Beattie in a press statement.
“It sets the stage for the timely conclusion of a Collaborative Framework with Sundre formalizing the many aspects of cooperation between our municipalities to the mutual benefit of our residents.”
