Independent the
Stettler SERVING THE
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December 16, 2015 STETTLER, ALBERTA
VOLUME ONE-HUNDRED NINE NUMBER FIFTY PM40011853 R08546
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OF CENTRAL ALBERTA FOR 108 YEARS
Sports
Wildcats girls win their weekend tournament See story p.17 Community Dancing and Christmas crafts at annual Craftapalooza
p.2 District
See story
Not a brown Christmas after all See column
p.18
Directed by Rhonda Sylvester, members of the Gracenotes Choir perform in one scene of the ‘There’s Christmas in the Air’ in the sold-out evening show at Performing Arts Centre (PAC) on Saturday, Dec. 12. Please see our story on page 9. Photo by Moush Sara John
Cost of keeping old facilities running weighed against cost of new facilities STACEY LAVALLIE INDEPENDENT REPORTER Discussions over plans for the new County of Stettler offices and workshop dominated the county council’s Wednesday, Dec. 12 meeting, though final decisions were delayed until January at the request of absent councillor Ernie Gendre. Gendre, who wrote in ahead of his absence to explain a medical emergency had prevented him from coming, was revealed to be going into surgery for an unspecified ailment, as reported by councillor Joe Gendre. After a brief discussion, council voted to delay decisions about the new county property until January so Ernie Gendre could be present. The county quietly purchased land earlier this year with an eye to building a new
county facility, as the current county facility is at capacity, with projected growth anticipated. The facilities are also older, with the workshop nearing five decades, and the administration building nearing three. Troubles facing the administration building include lack of office space for current staff members, let alone projected growth, council chambers too small to accommodate more than a small audience, not enough meeting rooms, washroom capacity, and deficient cabling for both electrical and Internet. The old shop facility is old and not expandable, with several issues with its bays — not large enough, doors not wide or tall enough, wash bay too small, not enough bays, no drive-through bays — and storage issues. The county heard a presentation from Will Woodward and Brad Quintilio, from
Scott Builders, who went over the plans for the new administration building and workshop, but council was divided on how to proceed — all at once or in phases. The cost of the new building, originally estimated between $11 million and $14 million, doesn’t include the profits upon the sale of the old county building and property. Council heard about additional troubles plaguing the workshop, troubles that must be fixed if staff is going to continue to work there. If staff will be moving into new facilities in the near future, those fixes can be patches — but if the building of the new facilities are going to be delayed, more investigation into the problems and potentially more expensive fixes will be necessary, Rick Green, director of engineering, said. ^ continued on page 4
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