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Unprecedented moment
- photo by Darlene Casten
Energy board adjourns hearing on natural gas well in Longview
By
Editor
The Alberta Energy and Utilities Board (EUB) granted a requested by Vermilion Resources Ltd. to adjourn yesterday's hearing on its application to drill a sweet natural gas well in the Longview area.
The hearing, which was scheduled to begin on Oct. 15 in High River, has been adjourned until Jan. 14, 2003 at the Highwood Memorial Centre in High River.
The company made the request after receiving ecological effects analysis from the Pekisko Land Owners Association in September. The association was recently formed by a group of Longview area residents, including country icon Ian Tyson, to oppose the oil exploration.
It is expected that the adjournment will give the company sufficient time to fully review the submission and provide both parties with an opportunity to consider other dispute resolution options.
The EUB received two separate adjournment requests from interveners for this hearing and granted both of them.
According to a press release from the Pekisko Land Owners Association, southern Alberta ranchers are optimistic the adjournment will lead to a positive outcome.
'We are cautiously optimistic because of the adjournment,' said Ken Stiles, spokesperson for the association. 'It gives us a chance for a sober second thought and more time for all parties to work together to find a viable solution for this area.'
The area in question is in the Foothills Parkland Natural Region and runs south along the eastern slopes of the Rockies from Longview and the Highwood River to the Oldman River.
It is part of the most extensive tract of undisturbed, natural rangeland in North American and includes the lands of the original Bar U Ranch, the EP Ranch once owned by Edward, Prince of Wales and the D Ranch which at one time was the hideout for the Sundance Kid.
Ranchers are concerned that disruption of land will kill the fragile native grasses which are the cornerstone of the ecosystem.
'We hope that this extra time will lead to a complete evaluation of the situation so we can maintain the integrity of the ecosystem,' said Stiles.
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Control of highway in municipal hands
By
Staff reporter
It's official. The Town of Okotoks is in control of the operation and maintenance of Highway 2A within the town's limits.
Alberta Transportation Minister Ed Stelmach was in Okotoks Oct. 8 to take part in a commemoration ceremony a week after the transition took place.
At the ceremony Stelmach, Okotoks Mayor Bill McAlpine and Highwood MLA Don Tannas unveiled a sign that declares the highway is now the town's responsibility. The sign is situated on the north side of Highway 2A, near the town limits next to the turnout.
Prior to the unveiling Stelmach praised McAlpine for his perseverance and persistence in pursuing the unique deal.
Now that the highway is in the town's hands McAlpine said a number of projects will move forward.
Council expects pressure from residents to have a signal light installed at the intersection of Highway 2A and Riverside Drive.
If this happens McAlpine suspects cost sharing will be pursued with property owners on the west and east side of the highway to offset the cost of the light.
Lights along the highway will also be synchronized, McAlpine announced during the unveiling. He said administration will be looking into ways to create smooth traffic flow along the highway immediately.
Making triggered light changes and turn signals operational will also be looked into. Triggered lights are set off by vehicles parked in front of them.
For example, with triggered lights, turn signals would only be activated if a vehicle was parked in the turning lane.
Turning some lights into flashing yellow or red lights during off-peak hours is also an option, McAlpine continued.
Additional road maintenance is also a priority.
Street sweeping of Elizabeth Street will take place once streets have dried sufficiently, following the snowfall last week.
Municipal manager Will Pearce said the town is looking forward to keeping main street looking clean and tidy.
Okotoks is the first town to take control of a highway from the province.
'This (deal between the town and the transportation ministry) is a new and a better way of doing business with maturing communities such as Okotoks,' Stelmach said. 'The town can now make (the highway) look and feel the way they want it to.'
Decorative lighting, such as the old-fashioned lampposts along Elizabeth Street, could be added to Highway 2A, Stelmach suggested and commercial development access can be dispersed as the town feels fit.
Initially the town was negotiating with the transportation administration to have the rules governing access in and out of commercial developments relaxed. The province requires that on highways under their jurisdiction that exits and entrances along the highway be 800 metres apart.
In order to accommodate the Wal-Mart and Canadian Tire development, the town needed to find a way to allow for entrances and exits that are between 150 and 300 metres apart.
Having control over the highway will allow the town to control access points.
After many months of negotiations between town and Alberta Transportation the idea to turn over control of the highway was hatched. McAlpine and Stelmach met on a number of occasions to help hash out the deal and finally negotiations intensified by early July. Stelmach said he and the mayor had developed a relationship based on trust during their meetings.
By mid-July McAlpine signed a deal with the transportation ministry that gave the town control of the highway effective Oct. 1.
The deal included one-time funding from the province of$1.7 million. Once the deal was sealed, the town was able to move forward with the four-laning of Highway 2A from Cimarron Drive to Highway 7. The town opted to cap its contribution towards the project at $1.3 million, which is to be taken from the money provided by the province. Tri Star, the developer of the Tucker quarter section where the Walmart and Canadian Tire are situated, agreed to pay for the construction of the entrances and exits into the development and the acceleration and deceleration lanes along the stretch of highway currently being four-laned.
Another $150,000 came from the provincial funding to pay for a stretch of the highway from Woodhaven Drive to Cimarron Drive which was recently overlaid with pavement.
The rest of the funding, approximately $250,000, is to be put into a transition reserve fund which will be used by the town over the next four years to cover operational and maintenance costs of the highway.
In early September council approved an amendment to the operational budget of $50,250 that will be used towards the maintenance costs of the highway until December. The money will come out of the transition reserve fund.
Highway 2A and Elizabeth Street's maintenance is expected to cost $142,847 annually.
Property taxes paid by new businesses, particularly those cropping up along the highway, are expected to offset the cost of highway maintenance within four years. Wal-Mart and Canadian Tire together will be paying an estimated $90,000 in property taxes.
The province will retain control of the highway bridge.
