Former Bashaw councillor urges council to keep using well water

Don’t switch to Hwy 12/21 regional pipeline water and stick with the town’s well water supply, former Bashaw Town Councillor Mel Hay told council.
Hay gave a presentation about Bashaw’s water system and its history to council during its regular meeting Feb. 17.
“I was on council for 11 years when the (current) water system was built.”
Hay said the system was designed to accommodate 3,000 people and there is an abundance of additional sources for wells in Bashaw.
“We’re sitting on a lake of water. We’re not going to run out of water.”
Hay told council that he is willing to help and work with the Town of Bashaw to solve the “dilemma.”
“I would like to see us stay on the same water and let the pipe line go right on by. We have good water.”
Hay said the town also loses revenue by no longer selling water to the commission.
Bashaw will tap into the Hwy 12/21 regional water line once the line is constructed between Bashaw and Mirror.
The province announced grant funding last fall for the estimated $7 million water line. Water from the Red Deer River and going through Stettler Water Treatment Plant will be supplied to Bashaw residents.
Mayor Penny Shantz asked Town Foreman Murray Holroyd what Bashaw’s water was like before it was chlorinated and when the town started to chlorinate the water.
Holroyd said tests on Bashaw water over the years has shown there’s no bacteria and the town only started making the water chlorinated after Walkerton.
Mayor Penny Shantz told Hay that the information he presented to council gives them “more knowledge” and council will discuss the issue.
Coun. Lynn Schultz told Hay he agrees with him but added “we are in a situation where we are dammed if we do and dammed if we don’t. We have to pay our portion of the water commission anyway.”
Coun. Schultz said the issue should have been reviewed when the town signed on with the Hwy 12/21 water commission.

Bashaw library busy

Terri Brown-Gust gave a presentation to council about the library’s request for funding. The Bashaw Municipal Library asked council for $8,500 in funding for 2017, the same as 2016.
In her report to council Brown-Gust said the library’s 2017 budget is $33,500. They expect $27,500 in grant funding, $2,000 from membership fees, $3,000 from fundraisers and $1,000 from other sources.
Brown-Gust told council that use of Bashaw library is on the increase with 52 members in 2016 alone for a total of 380 members.
The number of visitors has also increased from 10,891 in 2015 to 12,403 in 2016. Items borrowed increased from 4,204 in 2015 to 4,616 in 2016.
The public computer sessions increased from 1300 in 2015 to 2300 in 2016.

Lights out on sign discussion

Council discussed the topic of a digital sign but didn’t make any motions as none were needed. The consensus was that the proposed sign was too costly and not in a visible enough location.
The town considered purchasing a $28,000 four-foot by eight-foot digital sign to replace the black sign beside the arena.

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