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Red Deer Advocate Tuesday, Nov. 25, 2014
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Towle crosses floor Innisfail-Sylvan Lake MLA ‘terribly gutted’ by decision to join PC Party By MARY-ANN BARR Advocate staff
politics
Innisfail-Sylvan Lake MLA Kerry Towle said she heard loud and clear when she door-knocked during recent byelections that it was time to give new Tory Premier Jim Prentice a chance. The respected and outspoken Wildrose MLA surprised many people, but not everyone, on Monday when she crossed the floor to join the governing Progressive Conservatives. Another Wildrose MLA, Ian Donovan, who represents Little Bow, also joined the Tories on Monday. But Towle said neither of them knew what the
other was planning. Towle said she made the decision on Sunday. More and more constituents were telling her that maybe it was time for the two parties to come together, she said. Towle said that since Prentice became premier, there was a growing sense that a door was opening. As well, she said that some of the directions that came out of the Wildrose party’s recent annual general meeting in Red Deer “were creating personal and integrity difficulty for me.”
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“The idea that membership decides how I vote, that I don’t actually represent my constituents ... it’s not what I signed up for. “More importantly, it’s mostly the idea that if my constituents could be open-minded about how we worked with the (Prentice) government, then I needed to think about that as well. “It was not easy decision. I’m terribly gutted. I was a strong supporter of the Wildrose and I certainly consider Danielle Smith to be a friend and this is a very difficult day for me,” an exhausted-sounding Towle said.
Please see Towle on Page A3
Microbreweries
City council mulls bylaw change BY MURRAY CRAWFORD Advocate staff
Photo by JEFF STOKOE/Advocate staff
Safe Harbour Society employee Jill Lanz gets some help on a puzzle from Black Panther at the Central Alberta Adventist Community Services Centre in Red Deer. Located at 5014 - 49 Street, the centre will be one of two cold weather warming centres in the city that opened this week to give the homeless of Red Deer a place to keep warm during the day through the winter months. The Safe Harbour Society will also stay open through the day to accommodate people who are homeless. The two temporary sites will help fill the service gap that was left when Berachah Place was forced to close its doors last month.
It may be a while before the kegs are tapped, but the City of Red Deer approved a step towards making it easier to develop microbreweries. Microbreweries are not defined under the city’s land use bylaw. A site specific bylaw is required for any such development. The Drummond Brewery Company in Edgar Industrial Park had to do just that. Recent inquiries into developing microbreweries led city administration to recommend adding them as a use in two areas under redevelopment: Rail Yards and Riverlands. Though council approved gave first reading to the amendment Monday, with only Tanya Handley voting against the amendment, there was considerable concern about only approving the use in two areas in the city. Councillors Ken Johnston, Lawrence Lee, Frank Wong and Handley all wondered aloud whether it was appropriate to isolate microbreweries to two areas the city is redeveloping.
Please see Council on Page A2
New arena one of the big ticket items in $173M capital budget BY CRYSTAL RHYNO Advocate staff City of Red Deer administration proposes a $173-million capital budget that features new facilities and upgrades for the 2019 Canada Winter Games, increased spending on roads and basic infrastructure. In what is expected to be an all-day affair today, council will consider some 105 projects. Some can be dismissed and others deferred others to the 10-year plan during the annual capital budget deliberations. And for the first time, council will consider the projects alongside the recently completed Community
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another 10 to 15 years. Building new would increase the life of the arena significantly. The multi-year project will also include resurfacing the parking lot. In order to build the area in time for the games, planning would start in 2015 and construction would be completed in 2018. Council approved $26 million in June for the upcoming games and most of the major projects — upgrades to Canyon Ski Hill, enhancing River Bend and building a long-track speed skating track and turf at Great Chief Park — will get underway next year. The provincial and federal governments are expected to kick in $3 million each in grants.
Please see Budget on Page A2
Hockey world mourns passing of Pat Quinn A former NHL player, coach and executive, Pat Quinn died on Sunday night at the age of 71 after a lengthy illness. Story on PAGE B1
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Amenities Consultation document. Over a period of months, residents were asked to tell the city what amenities they would like to see in future Red Deer. One of the big ticket items on the table this year is the replacement of the Red Deer Arena ($21.5 million). It was built in 1952 and upgraded in 1978 and 1995. The arena is one of the key facilities slated for the 2019 winter games. City manager Craig Curtis told media on Monday that it makes better financial sense to replace the arena than to repair the facility. The entire building has about three to five years left while the roof has one to three years in its lifespan. Curtis said it would take about $8 million to renovate the arena and would only extend the facility for