The Municipal District of Opportunity No. 17 is preparing for future wildfire seasons by awarding two new contracts to clear away dangerous brush and dead timber from local communities.
During the regular council meeting on Aug. 10, administration recommended awarding the latest FireSmart maintenance tenders for Calling Lake and Sandy Lake to Cortex Management, a company based out of Sherwood Park.
Administration explained that the bids were evaluated on strict criteria. Before making a final recommendation, municipal staff reviewed the overall cost, proposed timeframes, previous project experience, and whether the company hires local workers to get the job done.
Cortex Management scored the highest in both community evaluations.
The Calling Lake project will see the company clear out 7.5 hectares of flammable vegetation across two blocks of land. This includes a large section of trees directly behind the local fire hall.
Before voting on the Calling Lake contract, Councillor Gerald Johnson asked administration to confirm if the out-of-town company actually provides jobs for people living in the municipality.
Administration confirmed that the company routinely hires local workers to complete the manual labour.
“They have done FireSmart projects in Calling Lake for us the last couple of years,” an administration member said. The member added that a local company also submitted a bid, but the Sherwood Park contractor was chosen because their previous experience and quality of work were simply much stronger.
Councillor Johnson made the official motion to award the Calling Lake contract, which council unanimously approved.
Immediately after, council reviewed the Sandy Lake FireSmart tender. The municipality received three bids for this project, but Cortex Management once again scored the highest using the exact same evaluation rules. Councillor Darlene Jackson made the motion to award the Sandy Lake contract, which also passed unanimously.
To pay for these ongoing wildfire mitigation efforts, the municipality relies heavily on provincial grant funding. Later in the meeting, council unanimously approved an updated organizational chart for the local FireSmart Committee. Administration noted this paperwork update was a strict requirement from the provincial government to keep the grant money flowing into the community.
Beyond clearing municipal land, the local fire department is also taking active steps to help individual homeowners protect their own properties from encroaching wildfires.
During the regional fire services report earlier in the meeting, administration announced that eight fire department members recently completed their FireSmart home assessor training. These firefighters are now officially certified to evaluate private properties at the inspector level.
The fire department plans to start offering these property assessments to the public in the near future. Administration noted that having a professional assessment done and following through with the recommended yard maintenance could actually save residents money.
“There is one insurance company that will give you a small discount if you have a good assessment,” an administration member said. “We are going to get it organized, and we will reach out to let people know that we are able to do.”
Armaan Khanna
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter