Lighting in some of the hamlets of Stettler County has become an issue.
Coun. James Nibourg reported to council during the Nov. 10 meeting that he had received complaints from residents in Erskine regarding poor lighting in the community, and that more lights are needed.
Reeve Larry Clarke echoed the concern, reporting he has received complaints from Botha as well related to streetlights that are not working.
Nibourg’s hope is that more light in the communities could help deter crime, though he also acknowledged that light pollution could also become a concern.
“If we put a light in the wrong spot, someone will be mad,” said Nibourg.
As for lights that are not working neither Atco, or the county, can repair them unless they are reported to administration.
“There is a number on every light pole,” said Chief Administrative Officer Yvette Cassidy. “Grab that number.”
Coun. Nibourg motioned to put out a notice on the county’s webpage to make it more well known how to report light outages, which was carried.
Waterline request
Council denied a request to connect a residence to the water system due to cost.
The residence requesting the hookup is 650 metres-plus away from the South Phase water distribution line.
While an initial price to do the connection was priced at $44,000, further examination revealed that the full cost could would likely be closer to the $120,000 mark.
Under current Stettler County guidelines, administration can only charge $15,000 for a residential water hookup.
The only way to reduce the cost to the county would be to potentially get other residents along the proposed path to connect as well.
“I think this county is wanting to do everything possible to bend over backwards to do everything possible to connect people to water,” said Nibourg. “But the biggest problem is financing.”
Due to the high costs involved council denied the request, but directed administration to send back a letter to the resident encouraging them to get their neighbours to sign on.
Administration will bring back the topic for council’s further discussion during their strategic planning.
Union Hall
Like many organizations, the Union Hall community organization has been running into COVID-19 related financial issues, and requested additional funds from the county to remain operating.
Being unable to host their annual fundraisers in 2020 and 2021 has meant the Union Hall is running a deficit of $2,000 in 2021, with another $400 in expenses projected before the end of the year, which has wiped out the organization’s reserves.
The Union Hall Good Times Club submitted a request for $1,500 to allow them to continue operating until a fundraiser planned for May 2022 can happen.
In addition to the request, the club also submitted their financial documents from 2020 and 2021, offering transparency to the county.
While some councillors were concerned that providing this funding would open the doors to other clubs and service clubs coming to the county with their hands out, the majority felt that this request was a good use of the emergency recreation fund. The motion was passed in a split vote.