As the summer season quickly winds down, politicians at the Municipal District of Opportunity No. 17 are pushing the administration to clean up messy campground deliveries and finally unlock delayed recreation facilities.
During the regular council meeting on Aug. 10, council members expressed frustration over ongoing delays at the Wabasca splash park washrooms. Despite earlier reports that the facility was ready for the public, the doors have remained locked throughout the warmest months of the year.
During the meeting, it was pointed out that the warm weather is rapidly disappearing while the community waits for the public bathrooms to be opened.
“It is already August, and the summer is gone,” Councillor Darlene Jackson said. “Why is the Wabasca splash park washroom still not open? It will be fall or winter before it is open. A lot of these projects are delayed for some reason.”
Administration noted that the recreation committee was previously told the facility was completely ready to go. Staff promised to send a municipal worker to check on the building, unlock the doors, and figure out why it was closed in the first place.
In addition to the washroom delays, council addressed complaints regarding how municipal crews are handling firewood deliveries at the local campground.
Councillor Jackson told administration that the camp attendant is dealing with a frustrating mess because municipal dump trucks are dropping off firewood mixed with heavy rocks.
“I was down at the campground, and the camp attendant is concerned because when the municipality unloads the wood, it is full of gravel, rock, and debris,” Jackson said. “He takes out the logs, and now there is a big mess. He was asking who is going to clean this up.”
Administration admitted that the quality of the wood delivery often depends on who is loading the truck at the public works yard, noting that sometimes crews are simply in a rush. Municipal staff promised to remind the equipment operators to be more careful to avoid dumping excess gravel into the public wood sheds.
Switching to neighbourhood maintenance, Jackson asked the regional fire department if they could handle an overgrown, privately owned property. She noted the tall weeds are becoming a severe eyesore and a potential fire hazard for the surrounding homes.
“There is a lot on that is overgrown, and every year it would be a good area for you guys to clean up,” Jackson said.
Administration explained that because the lot is private property, the municipality technically cannot maintain the landscaping for the owner. However, the fire department does try to work with ratepayers to manage extreme fire risks.
“We did have it on the list for this year, but with the weather, we lost our window very quickly,” an administration member said, noting the recent heavy rains.
The fire department stated they plan to visit the property soon to safely burn the overgrown grass off. They hope the landowner will then step up and take care of the regular yard maintenance moving forward.
Finally, the fire department provided a brief update on their efforts to recruit a dedicated leader for the Sandy Lake Fire Department.
Administration told council that simply appointing people to the leadership role has not worked in the past, as most candidates have quickly stepped down. Instead, regional fire leaders plan to spend more time directly with the Sandy Lake crew to identify someone who naturally leads the team during actual emergency calls. If an internal promotion does not work, the municipality will post the job to the public.
Armaan Khanna
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter