At its regular meeting on Jan. 13, Town of St. Paul council discussed the new turning light on main street at the intersection of 48 St. and 50 Ave and has decided to leave the light as it is.
Coun. Norm Noel made a recommendation, suggesting that a left turning signal continued to be used to allow motorists to turn left, but also a solid green to allow them to go straight through the intersection, with lights alternating between east and west.
Discussing the matter, council determined that such a plan would make northbound and southbound traffic have to wait much longer at the intersection, and could be problematic.
According to Town of St. Paul CAO Ron Boisvert, any changes to the intersection would have to wait until April because Alberta Transportation does not have any more money budgeted for the particular area, at this time. One of the possible approaches would be to hire a consultant to review suggestions, and determine which would be the best.
A recommendation by St. Paul RCMP Sgt. Wade Trottier was to allow some time for motorists to adjust to the new traffic light configuration.
In light of that, and the situation with Alberta Transportation, council’s decision was to make the best of the situation, and allow some time for motorists to adjust, until more can be done about the matter this spring.
Boisvert brought forward a proposal from Telus for a license agreement with the Town of St. Paul. The agreement would allow equipment to be set up in the town, to establish wireless telecommunication services in town.
According to Boisvert, meetings between Telus and administration have been going on for the last two months on the service.
“They’ve only got two or three other places in Alberta in consideration. We’re among those, and are earmarked as having higher potential as a community,” said Boisvert.
After a short discussion, a motion by Coun. Don Padlesky to sign the licensing agreement was carried.
At the beginning of the meeting, council held a public hearing for Bylaw 2011, which increased the business license fees. The bylaw is a general update for business license fees, which haven’t been updated since 2004.
With nobody showing up to discuss or object to the bylaw, it got second and third readings later in the evening, and a motion to accept the increase of business license fees was carried.
Noel reported attending the Evergreen Waste Management meeting and updated council, reporting that the commission has two new waste cells awaiting approval. Construction of those new cells is anticipated to begin in the spring.
Noel added that other priorities for Evergreen include building a new dry pit at the waste management facility, and replacing its track loader.
Boisvert updated council on progress with the water treatment plant agreement with the Town of Elk Point, saying that engineers and lawyers working with the town have reviewed the agreements and recommendations, and approved them.
Boisvert explained that the next step was to send the results of the review to the Elk Point/St. Paul Regional Water Commission for it to review. Once the commission has reviewed the recommendations, council will be ready to sign the agreement.
Council consulted Recreation Director Gary Ward on rental changes for facilities in 2014. Rate changes include an increase of the rental of the St. Paul Rec. Centre, multipurpose room, and the kitchen.
Also, the Recreation Department, as of this year, will no longer offer free set-up of furniture and equipment with rentals, but are offering a paid set-up service. A motion was approved to accept the rental increases and policy changes.
