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Local Minor Hockey Report Page 3
Your LOCAL Media since 1918! Volume 106 Issue 13
www.tofieldmerc.com
Wednesday, November 22, 2023
Ryley pleads case with Water Commission Jana Semeniuk Staff Reporter
Village of Ryley Chief Administrative Officer Glen Hamilton-Brown spoke as a delegate during a special meeting for the Highway 14 Water Commission on Nov. 16. Hamilton-Brown was hoping to persuade the group towards a cost sharing agreement to replace the water distribution system under 49th Street, owned by the water commission, at the same time a major road reconstruction is scheduled to start in the spring. Hamilton-Brown said, during his allotted five minutes of speaking time, that the water system is 70 years old and already past its life expectancy. He said the current agreement between Ryley and the water commission does not allow Ryley to carry out any capital improvements to roads and sewers unless the water commission agrees and approves the work. Additionally, Hamilton-Brown said that other previous capital projects were unsuccessful because the commission would not participate and approve the work. “The only successful project to be carried out to date was 54 Avenue in 2020, for which Hwy 14 ‘allowed Ryley to pay for upgrades to Hwy 14’s Water Distribution System’,” he said. “Ryley paid $60,000 and Hwy 14 paid $124,000 on the water system. Ryley (also) paid $650,000 for all other costs (including) removal, remediation, disposal, replacement, sub surface, surface, and site con-
struction costs. Hwy 14 would not share these costs. We need the water commission's permission to move forward on any of our projects and we've been unable to do that and unable to negotiate that.” Hamilton-Brown said the current road reconstruction project, replacing two blocks of road and totaling $1.4 million, was scheduled for 2019 but pushed back due to changes in administration. It was finally approved Oct. 24 by the village council. Hamilton-Brown added that there is a good chance the water system will fail at the time of construction, due to its age, and said he can’t understand why the water commission will not take the opportunity to replace it during the already planned road reconstruction. “Ryley does not understand why Hwy 14 has not been eager to exercise the most cost-effective option of replacing the water system when Ryley desires to conduct capital projects. While doing nothing does cost less than doing something, emergency deployments and operational fixes are far more costly than properly planned and executed capital improvements,” he said. “Planned capital rebuilds are going to be more cost-effective and less risky than responding to a catastrophic failure. Hwy 14 should be eager to rebuild their water distribution system.” Hamilton-Brown is asking the water commission for a cost-share of between $393,193 and $733,309 to replace the water system under 49th
Village of Ryley Chief Administrative Officer Glen Hamilton-Brown speaks as a delegate during the Highway 14 Water Commission special meeting Nov. 16.
street along with 11 services (to homes). He said he is hoping for an answer from them by their next meeting in Dec. “I'm hoping what they'll do is take that and then by their next regular meeting on December 21 (we might have an answer),” he said. “Hopefully for the new year because we want to get this to tender before spring. We have a lot of planning to do so that as soon as the snow melts, we can start (construction).”
Fill the Tree again this Christmastime What started out as a Christmas project decades ago, has grown into a major fundraiser for the food banks each Christmas in Beaver County, Flagstaff County and Lamont County. Let’s Fill the Tree again this year! Last Christmas season, Mercury readers and customers stopped in or sent cheques as we filled the tree and raised $4,238.55. Our four Caribou Publishing newspapers raised an incredible $23,000 in total, supporting four regional food banks and their various holiday hamper campaigns. This season, with food banks again in need of
supplies, we intend to do the same. “It’s a project we started years ago at The Community Press,” said Mercury Publisher Kerry Anderson. “It did so well that we brought it to the Viking paper, Tofield paper and Lamont paper too. Each year it has grown.” For every donation, no matter the amount, Mercury readers get their names on our Fill the Tree promotional page. Each week the number of names grows, and so does the amount of money for the Food Bank. “The thing I like about the promotion is that
every donation is equal although the amounts donated are not. We don’t put in amounts so that even if you are only able to bring in $5 you are still recognized as much as the person who helps us out with $100 or $500,” said Anderson. The Mercury puts in the advertising free of charge each week promoting the fundraiser, and every dime collected goes directly to the food bank just before Christmas. “The readers in our area are such generous people. We’re always impressed by how willing everyone is to stop in and drop down their cash for our Food Bank envelope.”