Starland County council approved Stantec’s request to proceed with Stage 2 of excavation at Morton Pit North during their July 26 meeting.
Starland County has been dealing with archaeological work and findings at the gravel pit since they decided to buy the pit.
In 2020, work in Areas 4 and 5 was completed, and they planned to start mining in Area 5 in 2021.
The gravel pit is located south of Delia, Alta. and there have been many archaeological finds.
In a report prepared by Starland’s Public Works Supervision Ken Menage, “this should be the final stage of work to complete the assignment.”
This request was brought to council for a decision after Alberta Culture issued its response to Stentec’s interim letter, which they have agreed with. There will be an additional 30 square metres of hand excavation around Block A.
Considering the costs, Coun. Jacqueline Watts questioned if it was worth continuing with the project. She asked how much it would cost to get gravel from elsewhere.
Corporate Services Director Judy Fazekas explained that it would be cheaper to finish the project so that they could crush their own gravel.
According to Menage’s report, the estimated cost for the additional Stage 2 excavation scope for archaeologicals is $109,692, which includes a three per cent disbursement on fees and no markup on expenditures.
The total for Stage 1 and Stage 2 is $187,563.
“As long as it’s cheaper, I’d be in favour,” Coun. Mark Landry told council when speaking about going forward with Stage 2.
Jessica Campbell
ECA Review
