The Lamont Leader (Lamont, Alberta), Wednesday, Aug. 26, 2020 - 3
New entrance signs to Lamont County put on hold BY JOHN MATHER The proposed assessment model review has claimed its first Lamont County victim when proposed new entrance signs were put on hold by council, Aug. 11. County employee Tracy Bodnar appeared before council with a follow up on the signage issue that had been approved in this year’s budget. A total of $100,000 was approved for 2020 and a further $21,000 had been approved in the capital plan for 2021 to replace 15 signs at an estimated $8,000 per sign. At that time council had been informed the existing entrance signs had been in place for at least 30 years and are at the end of their lifespan. It had further been explained that two signs needed immediate replacement since they had been damaged; with one on Highway 831 by Elk Island Park removed, and a second on Highway 16 in the east end of the County having been hit and damaged when a vehicle drove through it.
The project is eligible for funding through the Municipal Sustainability Initiative. Bodnar asked council what they would like to do. “I’m just looking for direction,” she said. “I will admit when I was doing the research I was shocked at the prices of the signs. In addition many municipalities do two different sizes of signs.” Reeve David Diduck said things had changed since the sign replacement was first discussed in June. “A lot of stuff has changed in respect to current finances,” he
said. “With respect to the current assessment review model, future revenue streams for the county could take a severe hit.” “If we have to pass that on to the ratepayers, my feeling is the public perception, and I’m sure council will agree with me, is that sort of expenditure right now would be unacceptable.” “I totally get that,” said Bodnar. “I promised I would come back and that’s what I’ve done.” Diduck agreed council would like to look at the sign issue again in the future. Some of the signs Bodnar studied ranged
in costs from $12,000 to $21,000 each. Bodnar asked if it should be included into the budgets for 2022 or 2023. Councillor Neil Woitas felt putting the signs on hold for now would be a prudent move. “We have nothing to replace the signs with right now and one of the missing signs isn’t in a particularly busy location,” stated Councillor Wayne Woldanski. Council felt they would have to double their budget amounts to replace the signs. Bodnar suggested they could replace the signs over a period of time rather than all at once. Councillor Roy Anaka suggested leaving the issue for now. Council agreed to push signs back, with Diduck agreeing they may have to look at replacing just a couple of signs a year.
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Road signs marking the entrances to Lamont County, like this one along Highway 15 were scheduled to get replaced this year. When the costs for the signs exceeded County expectations, council decided to put the replacement on hold for at least a year. The current signs have been erected for almost 30 years.
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