Paintearth county council
Les Holloway told Paintearth County council members at their last regular meeting on Tues., June 7 that he was deeply concerned that “anyone with a cell phone is an irresponsible user of a potential weapon” to use against him as well as other county residents when it came to reporting fires to 9-11 and the county needed to do something about it.
Holloway complained that the fire ban was not lifted for five days despite the two and half inches his property received late last month due to the CAO not being available. He also expressed his frustration that he had to get a fire permit at all and would prefer “to be left alone”.
Reeve George Glazier explained to Holloway that the benefit of getting a fire permit is that both the county and 9-11 have record of which persons/landowners are burning, therefore should either receive a call reporting a fire they can avoid contacting the landowner or sending fire crews unnecessarily.
CAO Tarolyn Aaserud countered Holloway’s request to have the county look into charging people who, in his opinion inaccurately report fires to 9-11, with the fact that the county has limited access to information regarding 9-11 calls due to FOIP.
Councillor Doreen Blumhagen suggested the county look into extending the landfill’s hours of operation during fire bans in order to help alleviate some of the garbage back log.
Public works report
Council accepted the chip seal tender, which came in under budget, from WestCan at $170,685 which will come from the restricted surplus fund.
Public Works Director, Bryce Cooke explained in his report to council that with the aging pavement reaching the end of its serviceable life, the chip seal coat will extend it by another eight to 10 years which will give a new clean running surface for line paint.
