Woodlands plans for an information open house

By Ashley Clementovich

There was a large turnout at the regular meeting of council for Woodlands County last Tuesday morning. Mayor Govenlock began the meeting by acknowledging the current status of Woodlands County in relation to the Town of Whitecourt. “Woodlands has always remained willing to come to the table and to meet the town. And we are committed to paying 100 per cent of the cost sharing for the services that residents in Woodlands have been accustomed to… the major element in the dispute has to do with paying twice, and that is through the expectation that not only do we pay the cost of providing those services but that we will also transfer taxes that our municipality generates in addition to the town without any restrictions or any obligation,” he said.

Those in attendance voiced their concerns to the mayor and council members face-to-face during the break. As council was aware of the discussions surrounding various agreements at the Town Council meeting the previous evening, it was deemed necessary to discuss such agreements in a public setting. Councillor Burrows acknowledged the influx of information the public has been receiving from both the town and county. “I think we’ve heard from the public today that they don’t understand exactly what’s going on right now,” said Councillor Burrows.

Responding to Councillor Burrow’s recommendation to hold a public open house, Mayor Govenlock stated that it would need to be done, “in an organized manner where we can gather the facts and get people in place to address the kinds of concerns that I think people are looking for.”

“The public open house that needs to be held is with regard to all the agreements that were in place, the period of time they were in place, the amount of money transferred over the years, the fact that the agreements tripled, and the fact that the water in lieu of off-site levies has gone up 350 per cent without our control,” said Councillor Burrows. He disagreed with the town’s points presented at its meeting the night before, particularly on their statements surrounding the agreements being linked together. “At the moment, we’re almost 20 per cent of our budget going to the town. And when it started out 11 years ago, I think it was $1.1 million. It’s now $3.1 million. I don’t know how you can sustain those kinds of increases,” he finished.

The public open house on the Intermunicipal Collaboration Agreements will be held on Tuesday, July 23 at the Westward Community Centre at 7 p.m. Copies of the agreements can be found on the Woodlands County website, or hard copies can be picked up at the county office.

Council also heard a presentation from Manager of Planning and Development, Joan Slootweg, and District Engineer from Alberta Transportation, Sabhago Oad, on the North Service Road Study for Highway 43:16, Whitecourt to Junction Highway 751.

The purpose of the study is to provide planning assistance for future developments and subdivisions along the Highway 43 corridor. Furthermore, it will provide assurance of service road alignments to both current landowners and future purchasers. A motion to adopt the study was carried, with two opposed.