Tag: Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo

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Economic Entertainment Ft Mac Sports

Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo Still Negotiating Over Downtown Arena Project

Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo, downtown arena project

A downtown arena project is still under consideration by the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo, and the municipality is in negotiations with a business that may be able to arrange for tenancy in the completed arena who has an affiliation with the Edmonton Oilers. Talks with International Coliseums Company about the creation of a Sports and Entertainment Centre started on March 6 of this year and they are still going on. Initially the council was working with Clearwater Consortium and a non-binding letter of intent was signed, but discussions stopped roughly a month ago when it became apparent that both sides were so far apart that an agreement would not be possible. Eventually negotiations were started with the new company instead.

The new Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo negotiations over the downtown arena project shows that the project will go forward in spite of past delays. According to RMWB supply chain management director Ted Zlotnik “We weren’t able to reach a deal that I believed benefits the taxpayers and the citizens of Fort McMurray,. The key terms were not agreed to between both parties … our best and final offer and their best and final offer did not match and we parted ways. We had our first face-to-face meeting, talked about the key terms we would like to see in that letter of intent. (It) looks promising, both sides seem to understand the intricacies of the deal.” Hopefully the downtown arena project will attract attention and people to Fort MacMurray and provide economic opportunities.

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Economic Ft Mac

It is Municipal Census Time for the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo

Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo, municipal census

The municipal census for the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo will take place this year, and municipal authorities are already starting to prepare for this important project. Census recruiters need to hire roughly 100 census takers, and since the municipality funding is calculated on a per capita basis the census results must be accurate. RMWB municipal census 2015 coordinator Gary Gordon explained “We want to enumerate 100% of the dwelling units, that’s our goal. We’re looking forward to having a successful census. We’re not sure what the numbers are going to be in terms of, there’s a bit of a downturn, but we’re confident that we’re going to reach every door.” The census will take place between April 1 and June 30 of 2015. On January 27 the council voted to get approval for a census and to count the local shadow population.

The municipal census for the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo is a very important project. Mayor Melissa Blake commented that “It’s important for the municipality to count as many people as we can, because we get per-capita grants that actually can amount to something significant. It will be a fascinating exercise to go through the count of our shadow population, but I’m as keenly interested to learn more about our urban population.” Gary Gordon explained “We look at the census as three projects in one; we have the urban services area, which is the largest population, and it’s very challenging, we also have the rural communities … and then again working with the people in the project accommodations. The make-up of the community, a community where people work long hours, a lot of people that fly in and fly out or drive in and drive out … it’s very difficult to get a hold of people and that certainly makes it a challenge.”

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Ft Mac Politics

Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo Council Byelection Details Still Somewhat Murky

Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo, council byelection

Details about the players in the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo council byelection coming up soon are still somewhat murky, and many area residents are still not sure who is even running to replace Guy Boutillier, who stepped down from the council recently for personal reasons. Anyone who wants to be a candidate for the election which is scheduled for March 30 has to have their nomination papers filed on or before March 2, so there is still a chance that other contenders may come forward before the decision goes to the voters. According to Russel Thomas “I think it’s an incredibly important by-election because the person has the potential to really strengthen this council and help them get to the next level of their maturation. I certainly encourage people that if they’re passionate, if they really want to try and make a difference, go into the race with your whole heart and soul.”

So far there is no shortage of candidates for the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo council byelection. Those who have shown interest or announced that they will definitely run for election include Abbas Abbas, Michael Durocher, Michael Jesso, Verna Murphy, Colleen Tatum, Gene Ouellette, and Veronica Doleman. With this many possibilities the voters may have a hard time making a decision at the end of March. It is refreshing to see so many people interested in local government and willing to step forward to make a difference. Maybe the newest addition to the council can improve things and help round out the resident concerns.

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Ft Mac Politics

Bob Couture, Former RCMP Chief, Looks Forward to New Role With Municipality of Wood Buffalo

Bob Couture, RCMP, Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo

Former RCMP chief Bob Couture is looking forward to his new role with the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo, after spending the last four decades in a uniform and enforcing the law. Couture recently retired from the position of Wood Buffalo RCMP officer in charge, and he will be the new executive director of community and protective services. This department is in charge of bylaw services, rural and aboriginal relations, the RCMP contract, and emergency services. Couture explained “It’s been a tremendous experience, working in various different roles and various different functions. It’s been an exciting career, and I take all those skills and experience and bring them to the new challenges I have in the RMWB.” Dale Bendfeld will also play a role in Bylaw Services and RCMP Support, stating that in his previous position “I took on that role to fill that gap as a temporary measure.”

The Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo will benefit from the addition of both RCMP retirees, Bob Couture and Dale Bendfeld. According to Couture “Senior management looked at, well, you should probably separate that role again and have a municipal employee take on that function. Now that role has again changed, and we now have a director that has taken on that role.” Bendfeld was recommended for the current position by Couture, who praised Bendfeld by saying “(He has) a tremendous amount of experience of close to 27 years in policing and the military, he was involved in activities all over the world.”

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Economic Entertainment Ft Mac Politics

Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo Moves Ahead With Northside Leisure Centre

Northside Leisure Centre, Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo

The Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo will be moving ahead with the Northside Leisure Centre, with the project continuing at the original scale. This does not mean that the municipality is not looking at ways to ease the cost concerns though. A council vote on Tuesday resulted in the recommendation to move ahead with the project, which was put on hold last fall to see if the scope and the total cost could be lowered in some way but the recent council vote has put the project back on track while still providing hope that cost savings can be achieved. According to Mayor Melissa Blake “We certainly expect the remainder of the project to be able to go to a greater level of design detail. When we do go out to the market for those tenders, we’ll get a better assurance that the cost is more complete.”

When asked about the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo plans for the Northside Centre Coun. Tyran Ault responded “We’re finding a right balance between moving this community forward with some ice that’s definitely needed while also taking a step back with the price of oil. If they’re not coming online, we need to adjust our long term growth projections … and that means delaying some projects, scaling them down. I think this definitely strikes the right balance in what we need to do.” Coun. Sheldon Germain stated “There’s a need for all areas The community has spoken up and said they’re 94% in favour of the project, and they’ve done a lot of consultation to pare it down and get the right facility.”

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Ft Mac Politics

Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo Council Readies for Byelection to Replace Guy Boutilier

Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo, byelection, Guy Boutilier

On Tuesday the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo started to prepare for a byelection in order to replace Guy Boutlier, who recently resigned and was a source of controversy for some Fort MacMurray residents. The byelection will be held on March 30 so that residents will have an opportunity to choose a replacement. Coun. Tyran Ault said “It’s been a controversial and interesting 15 months for our term on council. There’s no shortage of topics for candidates to discuss.” Guy Boutilier won election in 2013, and over the last few months there have been allegations that the politician did not actually meet the residency requirements for the council seat that he won. So far none of the allegations have been proven in court but Boutilier resigned in spite of this.

The Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo byelection to replace Guy Boutilier has advantages and disadvantages. Since council members serve for a 4 year term Boutilier was expected to serve until 2017 at least. Fort MacMurray Mayor Melissa Blake said “The advantage of having a byelection at this time would be that folks that have a keen new interest in what’s going on in the municipal world may step forward. The downside that I see is that it’s a terrible challenge to get a byelection to have a lot of participation.” Coun. Tyran Ault also stated “My biggest worry is that we’re going to be burned out … and that’s going to cause voter apathy to go through the roof. It helps the municipality to get out ahead. By the time the federal election comes? Ugh.”