A memento signifying the end of coal burning at the Battle River and Sheerness Generating Stations from Heartland Generation Ltd. was sent to council at the July 12 regular council meeting.
Ellison Krismer, the Manager of Maintenance and Engineering for the Sheerness Generating Station, presented the memento to Mayor Danny Povaschuk.
Krismer announced that the shift to natural gas has been completed at the Sheerness generating station. The transition was made to adapt to the current energy market.
According to Krismer, it was a bitter-sweet transition, but it has brought a new life into the station and provided new opportunities for their workers.
Heartland invested $85 million in completing the transition over the past two years with an additional $150 million on coal-supply termination and remediation.
July 26, 2021 and Oct. 28, 2021 were the final days that coal was burned at the Sheerness and Battle River Generating Stations.
The transition to natural gas was nearly a decade ahead of regulatory deadlines and is expected to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 45 to 50 per cent.
The Town of Hanna has been a major stakeholder though Heartland’s transition to natural gas and council thanked Krismer and Heartland for the gift.
Quarterly update
Hanna Fire Department Chief David Mohl, gave an update on quarterly statistics to council regarding fire department activities.
This quarter, the department responded to 37 incidents. Although the average number of incidents per quarter is 22, it was still less when compared to the same quarter of last year.
Although the department is expected to have a full 30 member capacity with the inclusion of new and returning members, one member is expected to leave in fall.
They also applied for a grant of $290,920 to pay for half of the completion of a new training site and props valued at $581,854.
By-election
A by-election to find a new council member who will take the position of the late Coun. Gerald “Brass” Campion will take place Sept. 26, 2022.
Whenever a seat on council is vacant, council is legislated to hold a by-election within 120 days of when it was opened.
Signage
Council has approved the signage plan presented by 818 Studio Ltd. and have authorized Chief Administrative Officer, Kim Neill, to proceed with the tender for the project.
Council reviewed design concepts at the May 25, 2022 council information meeting and preliminary cost estimates at the June 29, 2022 information meeting.
Plans for the project include three entrance signs for about $180,000, two gateways signs for around $24,000 and 17 wayfinding signs with additional signage for buildings and parks for $6,000 each.The Town of Hanna and the Village of Youngstown will create a joint-tender package as the combined project will be more cost effective.
Although council approved to proceed with the plan, tender acceptance will be brought back to council for approval and it is subject to a funding commitment from Western Economic Diversification.
Shacker Crescent Alley
A resident has approached council and town administration in regards to the installation of temporary speed bumps in the southern portion of Shacker Crescent alley.
Ashley Maetche requested that council place temporary speed bumps from May to October, annually to deter drivers from speeding through the alley.
Maetche owns property located on the south side of the alley and notices that a significant number of children cross the alley when they head to and from school.
After discussions at the June 29 information meeting, council received more information regarding public feedback and traffic in the alley.
A Hanna social media post found no real consensus from the community about the speed bump.
Radar speed tests by Sgt. Welsman of the Hanna RCMP Detachment yielded reports that there are no signs of speeding in the alley. Although Sgt. Welsman found no evidence of speeding, he indicated that it does not guarantee that there is no speeding in the area.
Sgt. Welsman plans to attend the July 27 council information meeting to discuss with council the issue of Shacker alley.
Council has made no decisions on the topic. Further discussion about Shacker Crescent alley will be held at the July 27 council information meeting.
Daniel Gonzalez
ECA Review
