Kootenay News Advertiser, January 30, 2014

Page 1

Free Press

the

Crowsnest Pass

Thur s da y, J a n u a r y 3 0, 2014

Serving the Crowsnest Pass area

We deal the small town friendly way.

Top dollar paid for good, clean trades!

Merlin Lewis General Manager Sales Manager

George Wolstenholme

Jillian Foster Finance Manager

835 Waterton Ave., Pincher Creek

888-667-8036 • www.castleford.ca

Vol. 1 Issue 13

FREE

Gallery of Sight and Sound Your Telus Store with More 12701 20 Avenue Blairmore, AB

“Live Your Dream”

ry Time, Guaranteed Patrick B Sager CFP,CLU,EPC 403-753-0020 Blairmore, AB

Looking for your little one to learn to ski/snowboard (ages 2-5)

Only $50

for a half day lesson from 1:30pm

Elaine Garner, Horace Allen School Principal, kicked off “One Book, Two Schools” on Jan. 20. The book “Frindle” will be read by students and families at Horace Allen and Isabelle Sellon School and is designed to create a shared reading experience and encourage families to read together. Photo by J. MacFarlane Castle Mountain Resort T: 403-627-5101 F: 403-627-3515 www.skicastle.ca www.powderstagecoach.ca

Off-site levies frozen – for now By Joni MacFarlane Editor

Complete & professional insurance services 403-562-8822 1-800-361-8658 12731-20th Ave., Blairmore, AB Fax 403-562-8239 www.crowsnestinsurance.com info@crowsnestinsurance.com

Council agreed to extend the suspension of offsite levies but will be reviewing the financial impact in their 2014 budget deliberations. Off-site levies are fees paid to the municipality on new developments to pay for water, sewer, roads or other municipal services impacted by the development. Widespread throughout the province, the fees are intended to pay for municipal infrastructure growth and must be used for specific capital works projects, not a municipality’s general revenue.

Off-site levies have had a long history in the Crowsnest Pass since their inception in 2000. The current moratorium was implemented on Feb. 22, 2013 after local developers, builders and retailers indicated the fees prohibited growth in a depressed economy. The current moratorium expired Dec. 31, 2014. Ken Bourdeau, development officer, told council it’s expected 2014 will be a busy year for development applications and suggested off-site levies should be charged due to this increase in activity. He said the off-site levy account has a current balance of $149,000. If the fees had been charged last year, they could’ve been collected on 15 projects with an estimated value of $100,000

r e FREE 19’’ TV h c n i P Creek

to $125,000, he added. A review of the financial impact of off-site levies was to be undertaken in 2013 but never took place due to a shortage of manpower in the Development Services department, said Bourdeau. He suggested this should still occur because of the “significant financial impact that off-site levies could have on the municipality’s budget”. Councillor Dave Filipuzzi said the issue needs to be discussed with interested stakeholders to get their input. Councillor Dean Ward asked that council be provided with the evaluation and justification report of 2009 completed by Stantec in 2009. Cont. on page 2...

with the purchase of $1299 or more on furniture or mattress sets.

valid at pincher creek location only. limited quantities. see store for details. david tetachuk Owner

Roberta koci sales associate

cheri Bobyk sales associate

Open 7 days a week • 403-627-3717 • Ranchland Mall • yOuR lOcally Owned advantage


Turn static files into dynamic content formats.

Create a flipbook
Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.