For the Erskine residents that came to a ratepayers’ meeting hosted by the County of Stettler on Wednesday, Dec. 3, water was the issue most concerning.
Discussions on the current status and cost of the reservoir, whether or not Erskine is going to have water piped in on the Shirley McClellan line, surface water draining and sewage were all high in the minds of attendees, as did the cost of land purchases and development.
The meeting was hosted by county CAO Tim Fox and Erskine councillors Joe Gendre and James Nibourg, though other employees and members of council were present as well.
The county has a two-phase plan for a new subdivision in Erskine, with the first part now in the engineering stages, it was confirmed. Landscaping will begin once the land surveys are done. One resident inquired if the rumour that these new developments could not have basements was true, which the county debunked.
The subdivision is being engineered to allow gravity to do a lot of the work in delivering water and taking away waste, Rick Green, director of engineering, explained. At present, if houses were to be built on the land as-is, a basement would interfere with that, he said. However, by the time the building begins, there will be fill from required excavations which will raise the proposed site by about a metre, if not more, making the gravity-enhanced system possible with basements.
The only thing preventing basements would be if water is found under the site, which is not anticipated but cannot be ruled out, Green noted.
Residents inquired whether homes in Erskine would be serviced by the Shirley McClellan water line, which at present are drawing water from wells.
A water fill station and reservoir in Erskine will be drawing water from the line come spring, if there are no construction delays, but the homes are not slated to be attached to the line, councillors said.
“This is a hot-button issue,” Gendre explained, adding that some people are for it and others are against it. “This is up to the residents of Erskine. If you want water, get a petition going.”
The cost of the new reservoir, at an estimated cost of $2.7 million, was a concern to at least one resident at the meeting.
The number is not just the reservoir, it was explained, but everything to do with the reservoir, from the purchase of the land, connecting to the Shirley McClellan line, installing and paving turning lanes, and necessary studies as per the Alberta government.
Ensuring the reservoir could grow to expand Erskine’s growing population as well as act as a filling station for fire and rescue added dollars to the final figure, but the structure is set to grow with the community meaning it is something that will last for decades.
The project is so far on point both in timeframes and in cost, so overruns are not expected. The county also recently received its federal gas tax grant, and applied the $277,325 in funding toward the Erskine reservoir project, county spokesperson Niki Thorsteinsson said after the meeting.
Residents were assured some of the spring run-off problems caused by piled snow from road clearing and other snow removal should not be an issue this coming spring, as the county is removing snow from the town rather than piling it up.
One resident, who had piled snow take down a section of his fence last winter, was reassured the same would not happen this year.
The sewage lagoon is in good shape, it was reported, with minimal sludge build up. The treatment centre is also in good condition, with two grinding pumps handling the community’s effluence, and a third in storage in backup in case one went down.
The biggest concern about sustaining the grinding pumps is making sure nothing beyond human waste and waste paper goes down the drains.
The biggest problem apparently is mops, according to Gendre.
While he said it doesn’t seem like people are flushing mop heads, it seems that some might get broken off while clearing floor drains and eventually make their way into the main line, which eventually sees the mop head being chewed up at the end of the line.
Other pump-wearing culprits are rags and dishcloths.
It was confirmed at the meeting that the county has purchased a new parcel of land further out of Stettler, with an eye to relocating at least part of their services there, if not the entire county office.
When the current county building was built, it was on the “edge of town,” the councillors explained. Now, with the new ball fields, the expanded recreation centre, and new housing subdivisions the “edge of town” is right in the Town of Stettler.
In addition to the location, the current state of the works department building, where employees repair, maintain and store county equipment is needing extensive repair and upgrades, which in the end would be costly.
The cost of the renovations and repairs, combined with a lack of space to expand, makes a move of services to the new site much more promising.
The county had purchased the land quietly, not out of a desire for “cloak-and-dagger” behaviour, but to keep the price from going up – which often happens when it’s discovered that a branch of government is looking to buy, Nibourg explained.
The roughly 80 acres of land would be large enough not only for a new county building, but also the shops and office space for the maintenance crew. The current parcel of land where the office and shops are located also has a multi-million dollar value, which would allow the county to recoup some of the cost of building new facilities on the new land down the line.
After the topics were discussed, residents were able to stay and chat with their councillors and members of the county staff, enjoying doughnuts and coffee.