Coronation town council
Recreation Director Barry Brigley has prepared an application for funding under the Canada 150 Program to assist with required arena upgrades, stated Kulyk’s notes to council presented at their last regular meeting on Mon., Jun. 13, which include a furnace replacement, installation of Gordon ray heaters in the bleacher viewing area and the replacement of the arena boards.
The Government of Canada has re-introduced the Canada 150 Community Infrastructure Program and has invited applications for projects that rehabilitate or renovate existing recreation facilities, which according to CAO Sandra Kulyk, is a great thing because this particular grant supports existing facilities instead of the creation of new ones.
A grant application for the same upgrades was submitted and denied last year however Kulyk hopes this year the request is granted.
If funding is approved the town and the Arena Board have two years to each come up with their respective 25 per cent of the total project cost which is estimated to be $64,234 to receive the matching grant dollars.
Changes to school parking
Public parking will no longer be allowed on the north side of Norfolk Ave. (in front of the school) as of the first day of school this upcoming September.
According to Kulyk, the section of Norfolk Avenue immediately to the south of the Coronation School is heavily utilized for student and visitor parking. Both sides of the street are consistently lined with vehicles, making it difficult for vehicles to safely pass each other.
A suggestion was brought forward to consider removing the grass boulevard on the south side of the street and paving it to widen the one-block section of the street.
The current boulevard area is approximately 9.5 feet by 400 feet in size and the existing road width is approximately 36 feet wide.
This suggestion would also involve having the curb and gutter installed immediately adjacent to the existing sidewalk. By removing the boulevard, the road would be expanded to a width of approximately 45 feet, the same width as George Street on the east side of the school.
This project would also require moving two telephone poles and rebuilding the sidewalks because they would be too high.
However after discussing the potential costs involved in this project, council felt the cost was too high.
Therefore instead, additional parking will be provided in the town owned lot on the corner of Norfolk and King.
Changes will be in effect as soon as signage goes up but will definitely be in place by the first day of school this fall.
Bussing an issue in Clearview schools with carbon tax
Initial estimates of the new carbon tax will cost Clearview Public Schools the equivalent of one teacher, or approximately $90,000, per year stated a letter from Cheri Neitz, Clearview board chair to the Minister of Education.
According to the minutes of the May 24, 2016 municipal government meeting with ClearviewPublic Schools, Clearview Public Schools would like consideration for school divisions to be exempt from the new carbon tax levy, or that a rebate be provided back to school divisions to offset the additional costs.
Neitz went on to say that school divisions are largely dependent on the Alberta Government funding for education.
By implementing a levy that will impact school divisions, the net impact would be an education in funding available to students.
Council members discussed this issue and accepted it as information.
Library board budget
The Coronation Library Board has completed their 2015 Statement of receipts and disbursements and approved the 2016 operating budget.
Both financial statements are presented for council’s information.
