M.D. working with Glendon and Summer Villages on development plans

The M.D. of Bonnyville is continuing to work on provincially mandated Intermunicipal Development Plans with the Village of Glendon and Summer Villages of Pelican Narrows and Bonnyville Beach.

By March 31, 2020, all municipalities in Alberta that share a common boundary must create an Intermunicipal Collaboration Framework (ICF) with each other.

The IDP is the first step in that process.

The M.D. passed the first reading of the plans, and are scheduling a joint council meeting with Glendon, Pelican Narrows and Bonnyville Beach shortly for a public hearing and second and third readings.

“Really, it’s just an agreement that along our boundaries, this is what’s happening now and this is probably what’s going to be happening for the next fifty years.

“It has no influence on changing the boundaries. It has nothing to do with annexation.” said Reeve Greg Sawchuk.

These plans will list how services are currently provided by each municipality and shared, identify how each of these services would be best delivered, and outline how intermunicipal services will be delivered and funded, the Alberta government’s website states.

The town of Bonnyville and M.D. passed their IDP in 2016, and also completed a rural IDP with the County of St. Paul, Lac La Biche County, County of Vermilion River, Smoky Lake County, and County of Two Hills.

Pelican Narrows requests M.D. takes over road

At the same time as these collaboration efforts, Mayor of the Summer Village of Pelican Narrow Ash Hornseth, asked the M.D. to take over the road between the Birch Grove turnoff and the border of Pelican Narrows.

He also asked for cooperation in fixing the gravel road between Birch Grove and Pelican Narrows for emergency access purposes.

“We’re working on something there because Pelican Narrows when it was originally established, the M.D. had nothing on either side of this one road,” said Sawchuk.

“But now the M.D. has developed on one side of the road and so it only makes sense that perhaps we look after maintenance and take over ownership of the road as well. That’s what we’re going to be working on.”