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Area municipalities call for construction work on Highway 55

Athabasca County, the Town of Athabasca and the Village of Boyle are jointly calling for work to be done on Highway 55 between Highway 2 and Highway 63.
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Athabasca County deputy reeve Warren Griffin chaired the county council meeting June 28.

Athabasca County, the Town of Athabasca and the Village of Boyle are jointly calling for work to be done on Highway 55 between Highway 2 and Highway 63.

County council unanimously approved a joint letter to Alberta Transportation Minister Brian Mason during its June 28 meeting. The letter asks the Ministry of Transportation to hasten repairs along the stretch of highway. The joint letter came out of a tri-council meeting June 21.

"This seciton of highway is very important for our region and is currently in a poor state of repair," the draft letter said.

A project to repave 31 kilometres of Highway 55 between three kilometres east of Highway 827 and Highway 63 is currently in the design stages, according to Alberta Transportation's 2018 Construction Program. The program lists projects scheduled for completion over the next five years.

However, the joint letter requests the Ministry of Transportation to bump up the schedule and consider the project alongside currently tendered work for Highway 2 outside Athabasca.

"We don't believe repairs can wait much longer," the letter said.

The draft letter will be forwarded to the Town of Athabasca and Village of Boyle for approval by their councils.

Athabasca bridge concerns

County council is seeking timelines for Alberta Transportation's project to replace the Athabasca Bridge.

Council discussed a letter from county resident Travis Yeaman expressing concerns about the bridge and inquiring as to when its replacement, which is on Alberta Transportation's construction schedule, will occur.

"I am concerned about the deterioration of this bridge and the increased hazard it presents to those who travel across it," Yeaman said in the letter.

Alberta's 2018 Construction Program notes the bridge replacement is in the design phase but does not provide a timeline for when construction will move forward.

Coun. Kevin Haines said the county should give a gentle push towards Alberta Transportation to get a better idea of a timeline.

"Even if we don't have a real timeline," Haines said during the meeting. "As soon as we made the list and knew it was coming, we kind of backed off on it and I think we can't.

The idea was accepted as a direction for administration. Council also voted unanimously to accept the letter from Yeaman for information.

County to explore council recording

Athabasca County council voted 7-2 to direct administration to review the costs of a system that would record council meetings to be posted online.

Coun. Dwayne Rawson, who made the motion, said Thorhild County has such a system and said it would be beneficial for people who cannot attend daytime council meetings.

"We have to get with the times," Rawson said during the June 28 meeting. "If other people are doing it and it's working good, why aren't we with the times?"

Councillors Dennis Willcott and Haines opposed the motion. Haines said he has used the system as part of a delegation to Thorhild County and did not like it.

"I don't really care for it myself. I find it not user-friendly," Haines said during the meeting. "I like the way we do it here."

Perryvale community mailboxes

Canada Post confirmed in a letter to Athabasca County that the mail delivery in Perryvale will be permanently done through community mailbox delivery.

In a letter dated June 19, Canada Post area manager Ross Williams said it had decided to go along with the recommendations of Rawson to make the delivery permanent. The letter further said it would work with county administration to find a permanent location for the mailboxes, which are currently located along Range Road 232.

The mail delivery change comes after a postal outlet in Perryvale was closed in March following an RCMP and Canada Post investigation. In a June 20 press release, Athabasca RCMP said the post master was caught March 15 with personal possession of mail delivery items with a tracking device and a matching serial number, and was subsequently charged with theft of mail.

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