Council Mtg Highlights 20 February 2007

We had three delegations last night.

1. Landing Trails or TransCanada Trail representative Nadine Hallett asked for council's financial help to pay for the repair of a major sink hole and drainage culvert that caused part of the TransCanada Trail to wash away (and left a deep 10 foot hole). Council referred the money request to budget deliberations in march.

Council is trying to clarify who is responsible for TCT trail maintenance on Town land and whether or not our insurance would cover the trail (so the local group does not have to pay again). Insurance companies have taken advantage of the post-911 context to put the screws to every little group and make it harder and harder for Municipal Council's to offer them insurance coverage for events or projects.


2. Family and Community Support Services has asked for about a 100 percent increase in the Municipal portion of financial support for their operations. We referred this to budget, but there is good support for the change.

My concern was not with the level of FCSS service, but with the downloading of provincial responsibilities to fund human services to the local taxpayer and Municipality. Town Council has only property taxes as a vehicle to find money to pay for such human service programs. The Province has much larger taxing powers - through land leases and resource rents, income taxes, and even sales tax. Why not tax large corporate profits (Encana announced 7 billion in profit this week) or wealthy Albertans (go back to a progresive provincial tax instead of a 10 percent flat tax- why should a Grama on a modest pension pay the same provincial tax rate as a millionaire with stock options). With the money generated the Province could pay for preventative social programs like those offered by FCSS (in all regions- Athabasca is one of the few FCSS regions of the Province that offers good services). Why shift the tax burden for human services onto municipalities and homeowners and their property tax?

Also I suggested that Town and County Council write the Alberta Government and ask them to increase their support for Athabasca FCSS by 100 percent next year, just like the taxpayers of Athabasca region will do.

3. AB Infrastructure gave us an update on the bridge over the Tawatinaw and proposed intersection. The drawings are 80 percent complete, 90 percent by April. Before completing their plans, they want Council to hold a public meeting and make a decision on the future location of the campground (in the bush directly east of the Tawatinaw river or south of Hwy 55 alongside the Tawatinaw river in the valley. Once we decide on a site they can fine tune their drawings and Infrastructure will then hold a meeting on the intersection.

We agreed to hold our campground public meeting and get community feedback on the preferred location. Lets face it,however, this way AB Infrastructure lets Councillors take the heat for a controversial intersection plan which will destroy the east end of the riverfront, remove the campground, and channel the Tawatinaw based on their enginnering plans for a new intersection.