Grant applications point to future goals in St. Paul

St. Paul town council approved applications for five Alberta Community Partnership Grants. 

On Monday, August 14th, the CAOs of St. Paul Town and County, Elk Point, Summer Village of Horseshoe Bay and the STEP Economic Development Alliance presented five Alberta Community Partnership Grants that will benefit the communities.

St. Paul Mayor Maureen Miller said that they have been in partnership for a long time. 

“When you apply to the government on a joint partnership, it has to be of equal benefit to those that are in that joint partnership,” said Miller. 

The first grant that was presented was Recreation Facility Building Condition Assessment. 

The Town received information from Expedition’s reports regarding Regional Recreation Facility Feasibility Study. 

This project would see condition assessments completed on the St. Paul Swimming Pool, Visual Arts Center, and the Clancy Richard Arena along with the AG Ross Arena in Elk Point. 

“We already know the effectiveness. We know what we need to do to make it green or greener, I guess, and consumption of energy.”

The second grant application was for the Assessment of Lake Health. 

This project would leverage the results of the Regional Tourism Opportunities and Destination Development Strategy. 

“We’ve made very good decisions in our wastewater treatment plant to make sure that we don’t add problems to the lakes,” said Miller.

They will look at the lake health of Vincent Lake, Upper Therien Lake, and potentially other lakes within the County. 

“We’ll be able to make more long-range plans and that’s quite exciting for me and I know it’s very exciting for a lot of our members of our community,” said Miller. 

The third grant approved was Regional Housing Strategy, the project considers the opportunity to target the attraction of new residents to the community. 

The project looks at the housing inventory and assessment in the region, comparing it to housing needs. 

Miller said two years ago there was a study done on how to support seniors and senior complexes. Included in that study, they identified other issues that aren’t just seniors or affordability. 

“It’s what we have accessible in the communities and using our energy of that information,” said Miller. 

“To change land-use bylaws, if we need to put duplexes on single lots or whatever we need to do in order to make housing affordable and accessible.”

The fourth grant presented was a Joint Servicing Master Plan.

Joint Servicing Master Plan provides the initial engineering required for the implementation of water, wastewater, and stormwater infrastructure in both Area Structure Plans. 

The areas would be the Buffalo Trail North area structure plan in the Town of Elk Point, along with the St. Paul North area structure plan in the Town of St. Paul. 

The last grant presented was a feasibility study on stranded assets at SAGD facilities belonging to Strathcona Resources Ltd. 

The M.D. of Bonnyville will look at byproducts of SAGD operations, that could be used to provide benefits and economic opportunities