VOL. 69 NO. 17
66 YEARS OF SERVING THE COMMUNITY
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 27, 2016
State of the Town addressed at Kinsmen Golf Club
Joe Machney Reporter The beautiful Kinsmen Golf course was the venue on Wednesday, April 20 for the Vegreville State of the Town meeting for 2016. The guest speaker for the 50 or so people who gathered for the evening was the Mayor of Vegreville, Myron Hayduk. The address began with the introduction of Town Council Members and the Senior Administration, followed by the topics of discussion for the program. These included: Vegreville’s vision, the Role of Town Council, Town Council’s Committees, Vegreville’s Financials, Vegreville’s Indebtedness, Land Development, Building Permits, Assessment and Taxation, Services, Vegreville’s Population, 2015 Accomplishments, the projects planned for 2016 and the equipment purchased, and Volunteers. “Vegreville’s vision was proposed back in the midnineties and because of its truth and integrity it still stands as our vision today,” Myron said. “The Progressive community of Vegreville will promote steady and continual growth in population, business and industry. Our commitment is to ensure a clean, friendly and safe environment with an abundance of facilities and services to satisfy people’s needs and enhance their quality of life.” Discussed next was the role of the council and their position within the Vegreville municipality. According
to the Alberta Government, the Municipal Government Act contains 710 sections regarding municipalities and municipal officials. Section 153 dictates the role and duty of council, which was also presented. “The Town Council has many boards and committees that they attend to,” continued Myron. “All of which are very important to the Town and its citizens. Some of these Boards are operated by the Town and other Board Members of Town Council are invited to sit on. Some Boards require Public Members.” “Due to the efforts of Town Council and our very effective senior management, Vegreville is again in a good financial position. We have ended the fiscal year with a deficit of $280,000 due mainly to the additional costs to complete Highway Avenue,” Myron reported. “For the past number of years there have been annual surpluses due to the effort of each department being careful with the money they are allotted. Prudent spending and investment has put the Town in a good financial position.” “Two new debentures were issued in 2015 for the Arena Dressing Rooms and 50th Street Reconstruction. The 50th Street Debenture is for a 3-year term with an interest rate of less than 1%. The Debentures are issued by Alberta Capital Finance Authority,” Myron said when talking about the debenture debt for the town.
Two Hills Agri-Days
Communities fight fires
See page 12 for story
See page 15 for story