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Upping the anti of false alarms

Council passed first and second reading of stricter false alarm bylaw, increased penalties and alarm system registry Council will be increasing the penalty of false alarms in the community.
Athabasca town council met on March 7 and passed first and second reading of a stricter False Alarms Bylaw, in an effort to cut back in rising numbers of false alarms.
Athabasca town council met on March 7 and passed first and second reading of a stricter False Alarms Bylaw, in an effort to cut back in rising numbers of false alarms.

Council passed first and second reading of stricter false alarm bylaw, increased penalties and alarm system registry

Council will be increasing the penalty of false alarms in the community.

In response to increasing numbers of false alarms, Athabasca town council passed first and second reading of a new False Alarms Bylaw during their March 7 meeting.

Highlights of the changes include penalties for first offences, and increased fines for repeat offences.

Chief administrative officer Doug Topinka said this is a more in-depth approach to deal with the issue of increasing false alarms.

“It goes into much more detail on the false alarms, the different types,” he said. “It also introduces a registration of alarm systems. That's the biggest change.”

All current and future owners of alarm systems will have to register their systems, a $10 fee. Failure to do so would incur costs identical to those of a false alarm, which is $250 for the first false alarm offense, and $250 more for each offense to a maximum of three.

Owners would then have their permit revoked, and have to purchase a new one.

Topinka said nearly half of calls to the Athabasca Fire Department are false alarms.

“Hopefully, it'll help to kick the numbers down, and through the process, hopefully eliminate these alarms that are going off on a regular basis,” he said.

The bylaw unanimously passed first and second reading, and will come back to council March 21 for third reading.

Community report cancellation

Town council discussed the community report and decided to keep with the status quo.

Coun. Joanne Peckham took the opportunity during her councillor report on the communications committee to bring up council's decision cancel the 2017 community report.

“Being respectful as much as I can, if I were to step down from the committee and give it back to Coun. Verhaeghe, would there be a possibility that council would entertain doing the community report?” she said. “A lot of time and energy had gone into it.”

Mayor Roger Morrill responded that it was a motion of council to turn it down, and the decision was not conditional of who was serving on the committee.

Coun. Verhaeghe agreed with Morrill, and said from his point of view the cancellation of the community report was based on the overall expense of it.

“We do the quarterly report with water bill and that's sufficient,” he said.

Peckham noted council just approved $1,100 spending on councillor photographs, when council already has photos in place.

“(The report) is not that big of an expenditure, and recognizing the community is primarily seniors that don't…. get information from the Internet, it was really appreciated to have that hard, tangible copy,” she said.

Boyle condolences

Mayor Morrill requested that council entertain making a motion to send condolences to the Village of Boyle of a notable community member.

“I would like council to consider making a motion to pass on condolences to the Village of Boyle on behalf of the Town of Athabasca, for the untimely passing of Mr. David Bencharsky, a value municipal member,” he said.

Peckham said that she wanted to make that motion, as she had worked with him on the FCSS board.

The motion passed unanimously.

TED committee position filled

After advertising for a position with the Tourism and Economic Development Committee, council has found an individual to fill the position.

Council unanimously voted to approve Howard Peterson to the open position.




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