Town of Slave Lake
Council notebook
June 5, 2018 meeting
Joe McWilliams
Lakeside Leader
“We need to do something out there,” said Slave Lake Mayor Tyler Warman, leading off a late addition to the June 5 town council agenda on the state of some of the roads in the Gloryland neighbourhood. “There are some very ugly spots out there, for sure.”
Director of Operations Calvin Couturier said his people are doing what they can with small equipment. The drainage has improved a lot, he added.
Couturier had been looking into a product that might help to create a crust. It’s expensive, he said, but not as expensive as rebuilding the roads from scratch. However, that is the ultimate answer to the problems out there.
Councillor Darin Busk said he’s tired of having the same discussion every year.
“We might have to bite the bullet,” he said.
“I think we are overdue to take a look at it,” said Warman.
Warman made a motion directing town staff to work with the engineering firm to come up with a proposal, with costs. Will do, said CAO Vance, but it’ll cost money to do it.
Big concept for Big Fish Bay
Council was asked to give its blessing to the ‘outline plan’ for expansion of the Big Fish Bay RV Resort. It’s an ambitious plan that calls for the addition of 400-odd campsites, several cabins and a marina in several phases. Planning and development director Laurie Skrynyk called it a “broad brush concept,” and that it didn’t tie the developer to exactly what is showed on the concept plan. “It gives direction,” she said.
One of the details in the plan – a water retention pond – drew a question from councillor Busk. When the town’s overland runoff goes across country and ends up in the lake, why should Big Fish Bay be required to build a retention pond? Responding, town manager Brian Vance said, “We’re moving in that direction,” adding that Fournier Place has a retention pond, as does Gloryland. Skrynyk added that “at some point, the town is going to have to build a retention pond,” on the west side of town.
Commenting on the overall plan, Busk called it “very ambitious,” and thought it would be “great for the community.”
“We keep talking about needing more camping,” Warman said. He added that aspects of the plan required permission from other jurisdictions and wished the proponents the best of luck. Council passed a Julie Brandle motion to accept the plan as presented.