By Dwayne McLaughlin and Josh Hall

leaders need to step up, he says

Council briefs: Penhold mayor frustrated over lack of COVID communication from province

Jan 29, 2021 | 3:11 PM

Rural policing

Penhold Mayor Mike Yargeau addressed a pair of provincial matters at council’s meeting this week, including the Alberta Urban Municipalities Association’s upcoming President’s Virtual Summit.

Taking the place Feb. 4 and 17, the summit will be focused on the future of policing, and the possibility of a provincial force.

Yargeau says Penhold has given the province money through a requisition but not really noticed any improvement in service.

“I’d kind of like to learn about what the province’s goal is with this police requisition,” he says. “They’re obviously collecting more revenue, so what is the end goal?”

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He hopes there will be better news included in the next budget cycle.

Fighting COVID-19

Yargeau is also frustrated with the lack of communication by provincial leaders on the COVID front.

The Town submitted a letter to Premier Jason Kenney and Alberta NDP leader Rachel Notley on Dec. 15 on the subject of forming a unified working committee to fight the pandemic.

Neither leader has responded, so council has requested a follow-up letter be sent.

“How anyone thinks this is the time to play politics boggles the mind. It’s absolutely not the time to play politics, yet our provincial leaders think it’s the perfect time,” Yargeau says.

“Helping each other get through this should be common sense. Nobody should have to write a letter asking you to do that, but at the very least, when someone does, you owe them a response.”

Yargeau’s hope is that there is still time for provincial leaders to come together during these tough times.

Skate park coming soon

It’s been a long time coming, but Penhold is moving ever closer to the reality of a new pump track and skate park.

Draft designs for two options will be received by end of March, the Town says.

One will show how it would look with the currently committed funds, and the second will depict what could be if additional funding is secured prior to construction approval. Once received, designs will go to the pump track/skate park committee for review.

“There have been a lot of people on our committee working towards this for years now,” says Mayor Yargeau, adding that they’ve overcome hurdles related to the project’s vision to get here. “I’m happy we’re finally able to get something done for the community. It will be appreciated and well used. I’m excited about it.”

The committee has representatives from the Penhold & District Optimist Club and the Town of Penhold. Once a review is done, a construction date will be set, likely in the summer, Yargeau notes.

Election preparation

With a municipal election just around the corner, council has formalized rules around signage and how people will vote.

Council agreed signage will not be permitted before Sept. 20, which is nomination day. Any signage must be removed within 48 hours of the election ending.

It cannot be placed on Town parcels, which includes municipal buildings, parks and on school property.

Says Yargeau: “There is a lot still to be determined from the province because they have already told us we are going to have some referendum questions apparently. We are going to have a vote on senate election. They are kind of throwing a lot of extra stuff to municipalities here.

“We are probably also going to have to reconfigure the machines from how we had them in the past and maybe even look at expanding the machines depending on how many questions they make us put on there.”

Advance Voting is scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 9 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Penhold Regional Library.