The Town of Bashaw connected to the Hwy 12/21 water commission’s pipeline after the estimated $7 million 20-km of line was finished between Mirror and Bashaw.
The water line will give Bashaw residents sustainable surface water from the Red Deer River instead of ground water from wells.
“We haven’t been onslaught with calls in the change; over water viscosity and content so nothing negative,” said Town of Bashaw Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) Theresa Fuller.
There was, however, a hiccup in the flow of information to residents about the process.
“Communication didn’t go quite as hoped to the residents and we are looking at improving communication,” said CAO Fuller. “Anyone who called the office got the information.”
Town Foreman Murray Holroyd told council, during its regular meeting Feb. 1, that the public works department shut down the wells a week prior to drop the level of the town’s water reservoir.
The reservoir was then filled Jan. 31 from the 12/21 water commission. Lines were flushed. Water samples were taken during this process and sent to the province’s lab in Edmonton for bacteriological testing.
Seven municipalities are on the Hwy 12/21 commission including Lacombe and Camrose County, Villages of Alix, Clive, Edberg, Ferintosh and the Town of Bashaw.
The cost of the line between Bashaw and Mirror was shared by the federal government ($3.5 million), the provincial government ($2.8 million) and the Hwy 12/21 commission ($700,000).
Bashaw debates who pays what for arena repairs
The town continues to negotiate with the Bashaw Curling Club about the club’s outdated lease agreement to help clarify who pays for what when it comes to the rink’s aging equipment.
“Recently the town had to repair the ice plant,” CAO Fuller told council in her report Feb. 1. The repairs cost $4,900.
The current agreement between the town and the curling club was created in 1983 and CAO Fuller said it is “vague regarding what expenses the curling club is to assist with.”
Capital projects reviewed
Council reviewed its extensive list of capital projects for the next three years.
The big ticket item is the $1.1 million upgrades to the water lines on the north end of 54 Ave., which includes replacing the water mains and repaving 54 Ave. and expected to be done the 2018-19 budget year.
Lagoon upgrades slated for the 2016 budget year will continue. Preliminary engineering is completed and the town is applying for (or applied) for funding from the province.
The total cost of the project is expected to be about $654,000.
Paving projects for 2018 include reconstruction and extension paving at 52 St. and 50 Ave. at a cost of about $163,000.
The town will apply for a grant to help fund the expected $45,000 cost of creating a Municipal Development Plan and update its Land Use Bylaw, which the province is now requiring of all municipalities and given them two years to complete.
Council will also complete the first phase of servicing industrial lots at a cost of about $1.8 million.
Surveillance cameras will be installed at the public works shop, the arena, curling rink, RV dump and water treatment plant, which will cost about $14,000.
Lisa Joy
ECA Review
