Fall Update

I attended an information meeting with a provincial government official who explained the newest guidelines for grants for affordable housing. the grants are generous - 70% of the capital costs would be covered by the province. It is a great disappointment to me that we have not had the will to be ready to take advantage of this opportunity. There have been several other issues that have concerned me greatly since my last post, but I'm letting my calmer persona prevail, and will not comment here.

There is a still a great deal to communicate. Councillors toured the multiplex, which, though unfinished, appears much grander inside than it looks from the outside. The views are fine! I certainly hope an innovative and capable person can be found to run it. Hiring and keeping municipal employees is a problem we have in common with many businesses in Alberta. I am hopeful we can add the kitchen and the floor in the field house. Putting back the walking track in the field house is a personal wish. Of course, I do not want this building to take the spotlight completely away from many other areas of community life.

The three councils now have a community economic development officer who is starting work soon. This took less time than I expected, and I'm please to be wrong. In addition, the Regional Water Commission has been approved by the province and the project is moving ahead. I hope this level of cooperation can be continued with the new councils.

The skateboard and spray parks were finished early enough to show how much they will be used. It was a pleasure to see so many families at the riverfront spray park on a sunny day. This makes finishing the riverfront even more of a priority. Having walked the whole riverfront quite a bit lately, I conclude that the whole area needs to be planned well, including west of the stage, and east of the Twatinaw.

Some great library news from the recent NLLS meeting is that the system has now made it possible for library patrons to obtain VHS, CDs and DVDs on interlibrary loan.

A Nothern Alberta Recycling Conference was held in Athabasca last week. The theme was sustainability, a concept that I have always been deeply committed to. So, I'm going to suggest that the three councils use the Municipal Sponsorship Grant to apply for a small grant to install solar technology on some public buildings. Wish me luck!