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4 N o v e m b e r 2 9 ' 1 8 H A N N A / C o r o N A t i o n / S t e t t l e r , A b . E C A r e v i e w<br />
<br />
Village of Alix<br />
Quarterly RCMP Enforcement Report<br />
Terri Huxley<br />
<strong>ECA</strong> <strong>Review</strong><br />
Mark Sproule, Lacombe County<br />
Senior Peace Officer, offered their<br />
quarterly enforcement activity report<br />
to Alix Council on Wed. Nov. 21.<br />
Numbers indicated crime has gone<br />
down to a degree in some areas but<br />
Sproule reminded council of the benefits<br />
of having residents calling in any<br />
sort of crime no matter how big or<br />
small.<br />
Each crime that is reported but<br />
unsolved diminishes what is called a<br />
clearance rate.<br />
The lower the clearance rate the<br />
more likely extra law enforcement will<br />
be stationed in the area to bring this<br />
clearance rate back up.<br />
One statute that was recently<br />
amended was the Alberta Gaming,<br />
Liquor, and Cannabis Act.<br />
The government added rules on cannabis<br />
in vehicles, minors and growing<br />
and smoking prohibitions which<br />
county officers now have authority to<br />
enforce under provincial rule.<br />
“As with most municipalities, we<br />
were right to the gun there as far as<br />
trying to get it in on time and we managed<br />
to have all those authorities<br />
amended and done in October,” said<br />
Sproule.<br />
The Lacombe County standards<br />
bylaw was also amended to reflect the<br />
recent legalization of cannabis. They<br />
will be treating the substance like they<br />
do alcohol.<br />
Officers are now allowed to use a<br />
provincial charge to enforce a local<br />
bylaw to avoid prosecution costs as<br />
well.<br />
“It’s going to be a benefit to all of the<br />
municipalities where its $800 or more<br />
for the prosecution of a bylaw offense<br />
and where possible we are going to<br />
avoid and move with a provincial<br />
charge if they can to try to save you<br />
guys some money,” said Sproule.<br />
The quarterly report is recorded<br />
from July to September but many good<br />
things have been happening for the<br />
area in recent weeks as well.<br />
During an evening check on<br />
Halloween, the police arrested an<br />
impaired driver just outside of village<br />
limits.<br />
The person was removed from the<br />
area and spent a 24 hour suspension to<br />
sober up as the RCMP were unable to<br />
attend and hand out a DUI charge.<br />
Sproule also noted the importance of<br />
police visibility because this tactic is<br />
known to reduce criminal activity and<br />
traffic issues.<br />
“In essence, by doing a proactive<br />
approach with the crime prevention by<br />
being a visible presence, we are seeing<br />
decreased stats which at the end of the<br />
day is what we want. We are achieving<br />
two goals so we are pretty happy about<br />
that,” he continued.<br />
Council requested to expand the<br />
report by recording court time to show<br />
results more accurately.<br />
A crime map is now available on the<br />
village website as it gives the public an<br />
insight as to what kinds of activity are<br />
happening and where the activity is<br />
happening in the area for the past two<br />
weeks.<br />
Security cameras<br />
In a previous council meeting,<br />
council asked administration to do<br />
some digging into current security<br />
camera prices.<br />
They hope to expand their current<br />
systems to help curve crime. There are<br />
currently eight cameras which are<br />
constantly monitoring and recording.<br />
Three companies provided quotes<br />
but the names were taken out to avoid<br />
any bias towards one company rather<br />
than the others.<br />
Council chose the second option<br />
which included eight new cameras,<br />
two camera replacements and the<br />
option to implement two solar powered<br />
locations for a total of $19,000.<br />
This proposal is not set in stone as<br />
they can adjust the proposal to suit village<br />
needs.<br />
“I would just like to say this is awesome<br />
because this is a way better<br />
option than what we were looking at<br />
initially. We are getting better coverage,<br />
better service and a lot better<br />
value,” said Deputy Mayor Tim<br />
Besuijen.<br />
2019 Budget enters second draft<br />
Chief Administrative Officer (CAO)<br />
Michelle White brought forth the<br />
second draft of next year’s budget for<br />
council review.<br />
She mentioned several changes had<br />
been made since the previous meeting<br />
including taxes and a reduced overall<br />
assessment base by 0.2 per cent. The<br />
mill rate remains the same making<br />
this the second year without a tax<br />
increase for residents.<br />
The garbage disposal fees, however,<br />
have increased as they continue to<br />
offset costs.<br />
The contract with Can Pak<br />
Environmental Inc. is up for renegotiation<br />
next year but councillors were<br />
concerned with where their recycling<br />
was truly going.<br />
CAO White recommended an<br />
increase of $0.68 cents per month per<br />
household which would mean a total<br />
increase of $8.16 per year.<br />
For water, CAO White recommended<br />
the per cubic metre water rate be<br />
increased $0.12 cents in 2019 as the<br />
Highway 12/21 Water Commission<br />
drafts their budget with an expected<br />
$0.12 cent increase.<br />
The village is currently running a<br />
$33,200 deficit to offset water costs but<br />
council was still hesitant to make any<br />
changes as they<br />
would have to<br />
raise sewage<br />
prices.<br />
Upgrades to the<br />
sewer including a<br />
new lift station is<br />
on the future<br />
horizon at a price<br />
of $1.9 million.<br />
Although much<br />
conversation<br />
ensued, council<br />
felt they could not<br />
make any decisions<br />
at that time<br />
before further<br />
research has<br />
been made.<br />
The draft<br />
budget will be<br />
Book your Christmas party Any size<br />
Club<br />
BYEMOOR COMMUNITY CLUB<br />
“CRAFT, BAKE SALE &<br />
SANTA CLAUS DAY”<br />
Sat., Dec. 1, <strong>2018</strong><br />
<strong>11</strong> AM - 3 PM Byemoor Hall<br />
2 PM – Pictures With Santa<br />
4-H Beef Club Christmas Trees Available<br />
Great gift ideas & Christmas baking<br />
Concession Booth Available<br />
Raffle draws<br />
Tables available $10 each<br />
To Book tables please call<br />
Doreen at 403-579-2460<br />
brought forth at the next council<br />
meeting.<br />
Alix pond hockey<br />
The Alix Pond Hockey Association<br />
has asked council for support of the<br />
‘very popular’ local hockey tournament<br />
held on Alix Lake.<br />
The tentative date is set for Sat. Feb.<br />
2, 2019.<br />
Teams from all over Alberta have<br />
come to the village to play on four<br />
sheets of ice.<br />
They hope to hold a round robin<br />
tournament with three games per<br />
team.<br />
The association has requested a few<br />
things to make this tournament a success<br />
such as limited vehicle access at<br />
the lake as everyone will be moved in<br />
by bus, volunteer and sign presence at<br />
the top by the lake entrance, portable<br />
toilet access, fire pit area and a concession<br />
or food truck that will be made<br />
available.<br />
Council agreed to send a letter of<br />
support accepting their request for<br />
when the time comes in February.<br />
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403.742.3950<br />
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Christmas<br />
Music<br />
Concert<br />
@ Zinger Music Barn Coronation AB<br />
Sunday, Dec. 16<br />
Free Admission<br />
Coffee, Cake & Concert<br />
2:00 - 5:00 pm<br />
Everyone Welcome<br />
403-578-3956<br />
Kelly Spurrell, general manager of the Fire and Flower cannabis retail sales shop in Stettler,<br />
Ab. holds up a ‘strain’ of cannabis that can be purchased at the store. The store held its<br />
grand opening on Wed, Nov. 21, breaking the stigma surrounding the newly legalized<br />
drug through open communication and esthetic design. <strong>ECA</strong> <strong>Review</strong>/T.Huxley
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