Troy Sylvestre, manager water/wastewater for the Town of Cochrane, requested council approval Aug. 11 to access funds from the water reserve to be used to replace a recently leaking and aging water main that he said had served its life span of 45 years.
Sylvestre was asking for $150,000 from the water reserve fund, which would leave the reserve with a balance of $80,000.
Sylvestre said the main has 150 meters of length of pipe and that they would replace it with 140 meters of something he described as more efficient method.
Council agreed unanimously with the request.
The purpose of the main is to provide fire protection to the Cochrane Heights area and is the only supply line for the Sunterra area. Sylvestre said it is a very significant piece of infrastructure in that area.
He also added that the costs of temporary repairs are starting to add up and that digging up, finding and repairing the leak area cannot guarantee that it would continue to operate properly.
If they replaced it, it would have 75 years of service-life and Sylvestre said they believed it would be the most cost effective option.
He said he didn’t foresee any major disruptions to the area and said they would monitor the fire situation closely and they would have back up plans in place.
Council approved a bylaw that dealt with the electric distribution system franchise agreement with Fortis Alberta.
The agreement the town currently has with Fortis is a 10-year agreement and it is coming to an end and the town was looking to enter into a new 10-year agreement with Fortis.
Administration had recommended that council give a third and final reading to the bylaw.
The first reading to the bylaw was given May 26 and then went through a process with the Alberta Utility Commission (AUC). The AUC advertised the bylaw in the local paper for two weeks and left it open for comments from the community, but they did not receive any.
The AUC approved the town to go forward with the second and third reading.
The new agreement proposed before council had some changes in terms of the definition of major work. It would increase the definition of major work from $50,000 to $100,000, where town approval will not be required for work under $100,000.
There would be no change in the existing franchise fee rate of 15 per cent.
The Fortis Alberta franchise fees for the 2014 budget is $1.26 million and in 2013 the actual fee was $1.1 million.
Deputy Chief Administrative Officer Lori Craig brought forward the nomination of Cochrane CAO Julian deCocq for the 2014 Alberta Urban Municipalities Association (AUMA) and Society of Local Government Managers (SLGM) Dedicated CAO Award.
This award recognizes long-term excellence and dedication to municipal government and chief administrative management.
Last years winners were Craig Curtis, CAO of the City of Red Deer and Gordon Lundy, CAO of the Town of Slave Lake.
According to the Town of Cochrane website, the CAO provides leadership and direction to approximately 250 full-time, part-time and seasonal staff who work for the Town of Cochrane and also has an important role as a bridge between administration and council.
Craig said she had worked with deCocq for nearly two decades; deCocq has been the CAO with Cochrane since 1995 and has over 30 years of experience in municipal government.
The council supported the nomination unanimously.
CAO deCocq presented the quarterly strategic plan update to council. The strategic plan’s mission is to protect and promote Cochrane as a unique community through dedication to public service.
Key areas outlined in the plan are sustainable community building, communications, organizational excellence and people and potential.
One item deCocq pointed out that would not be completed by the date outlined in the plan is the East End Pathway, which was estimated to be completed by July 15.
The East End extension would be from the pedestrian railway crossing to Spray Lake Sawmills Family Sports Centre.
He did not have a finalized date of when it would be completed.
