Ponoka County sells used grader, and makes a profit

Ponoka County councillors had good reason to smile after a recent sale of one of their graders. The county purchased the machine five years ago for $358,000 and recently sold it for $370,000. Coun. Gawney Hinkley said it has to do with good maintenance. “Everything is in such good shape, they know where to buy ’em.”

Gravel levy changes

The county charges private companies a 25 cent per tonne levy for any purchased gravel transported beyond county lines. CAO Charlie Cutforth said the purpose is to help pay for road maintenance, but other municipalities will waive the fee if the load is for provincial and county use. Councillors considered if they should do the same. Ponoka County sells used grader, and makes a profit

“The province, and other municipalities do not charge if it goes to another municipality or the province,” he explained.

The other benefit is for local businesses bidding on government jobs; they would not be as competitive paying for a surcharge.

“I think we need to be consistent,” Cutforth said.

County councillors approved the recommendation.

Contribution requests

Council agreed to award The Ponoka Covered Wagon Handicapped Transport Society’s request for $17,000 in 2012. The society offers transportation assistance to seniors in Ponoka and Ponoka County.

Client trips have increased to 3,170 from 1,920 over the previous year, which they attribute to an aging population. Coun. Gord Svenningsen appreciated their work.

“They provide a pretty valuable service, that’s for sure,” he stated.

In previous years, the society relied on volunteers to help, but they now need to pay staff for the work.

“As these numbers continue to increase, over the years they’ve had to pay drivers, because now they have to be trained,” explained Cutforth.

The county has also agreed to give $20,000 to the Ponoka Drop-In Centre to do some necessary maintenance and repairs to their building.

Cutforth said the county contributed money to the Senior’s Drop In Centre in Rimbey as well.

The Bashaw Lutheran Parish has requested funding assistance to clean up the grounds and place new signage on the Cross Cemetery located on the southeast corner of the county. Svenningsen informed the parish of potential government funding.

“They’re going to check that out, so maybe we can put this on hold for a bit to see if they have had any success with that,” he explained.

Council agreed to defer the decision until March 8 to give the parish time to investigate government funding.

Ponoka RCMP update

Ponoka RCMP Staff Sgt. Cameron Chisholm updated county councillors on police activities. Statistics show fraud, especially Internet fraud, to be the biggest increase in crime. The victim is usually required to make a payment over the Internet to an unknown seller.

Chisholm said there has been some discussion to equip police vehicles with mapping to be able to navigate the county’s new addressing.

“We have had calls come in with the new county address system, so it causes me concern if we’re trying to locate that in a speedy fashion,” he explained.

Ponoka RCMP and the county plan to discuss their GPS navigation options at a later date.

Coun. Verheire in hospital

Coun. George Verheire has had some recent health issues that have placed him in the Red Deer Regional Hospital Centre and he has not been able to attend county meetings.

“He has been moved to Ponoka hospital now, but he has indicated to me he’s going to be in there an extended period,” explained Cutforth.

Council passed a resolution to excuse him from meetings for the duration of his illness because “he certainly intends to carry on.”

Approvals

Council approved Gwen and Steffen Olsen’s application to rezone their 66.6 acres southeast of Rimbey to rural commercial from agricultural. The land will be used for recreation vehicles and general storage yard. Cutforth said there were no objections from county residents.

Council also approved Carey Anderson’s request to rezone a property north of Rimbey to country residential hobby farm from agricultural. Anderson would like to develop the land in the future.

The parcel has a gravel operation in the north end of it and Cutforth said Anderson won’t be able to develop on the land until the mining is complete.

Having the zoning in place will allow him to plan around the gravel.

“It makes good business sense,” he stated.

Because of the approval, council also amended its land use bylaw to allow for future development of the rezoned area. It gives up to 48 subdivided lots per quarter section, but not every plot proposed for subdivision has 160 acres. Ponoka County has established new guidelines to pro-rate the amount of lots created on a parcel smaller than a full quarter section.

Gull Lake stabilization

Ponoka County pumps water into Gull Lake in times of dry weather and council wants to keep any money not spent in an account in case of a dry season.

Coun. Paul McLauchlin said the agreement makes funding for the project more predictable.

Lacombe County contributes 45 per cent at $45,000, Ponoka County 40 per cent at $40,000, the Summer Villages of Gull Lake and Parkland Beach 7.5 per cent at $7,500. The dollar amounts are estimated.

Insured

Ponoka Moose Lodge and the Canadian Rodeo Hall of Fame will now be under the county’s Jubilee Insurance policy.

“They pay the premiums,” explained Cutforth.

Employee use of vehicles

Council had to make a decision on a policy sitting on the back burner for a few years. Cutforth said the county’s auditor recommended it as a way to improve accounting and for risk control. The policy states specific county staff are allowed to use county vehicles from their home to work daily, exclusively for county business or for emergency response.

“For the last 25 years that I know of, there’s been a note to create a policy for the use of county vehicles,” explained Cutforth.