Tag: RMWB

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Alberta Ft Mac

RMWB Sets Deadline of July 14 for Pet Owners to Claim Their Animals

The RMWB has set a deadline of July 14 for pet owners to come in and retrieve their animals. Many pets were rescued after the wildfire evacuations according to a press release issued by the municipality, and some are still in the care and custody of the RMWB’s Municipal Law Enforcement Animal Care and Control Branch. Anyone who is still missing a pet can go to the animal control in-care gallery on the municipality’s website and look through the animals who haven’t been claimed yet to see if their pet is in custody. To claim a pet the owner should use the ACU file number as a reference when they call 780-788-4200. This file number is displayed in the in care gallery beneath the photo of the animal.

Any pet owners who do not claim their animals from the RMWB by the July 14 deadline should consider them abandoned, and these animals will be transferred to various rescue group adoption programs after the deadline in an effort to find them a good home. Some residents may not have come back to Fort McMurray yet, others who have returned may not be aware that their pet is in custody at the municipality. If you are looking for your family pet and you have not already looked through the animals in the gallery on the municipal website then this should be your next step, otherwise you could end up losing the animal for good. Any abandoned animals will be cared for until a permanent home can be found for them.

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Ft Mac Health

RMWB Experiences First Brush Fires of Spring, Many More Expected as Dry Weather Continues

RMWB recently experienced some of the first brush fires of the season but more are expected as the dry weather continues and the municipality is preparing in case this happens. A recent brush fire at Parsons Creek had forestry staff, pilots, and firefighters all busy trying to eliminate the blaze. The very next day another fire flared up on the Abasand trail system. According to RMWB regional fire chief Darby Allen the dry conditions make brush fires easy to start, and right now the Fort McMurray area is drier than it has been for decades at this time of year. Reports from Environment Canada and Alberta Wildfire also confirm this fact. Both of the recent weekend fires were finally extinguished, no one was hurt, and no property was damaged. Things might not turn out so well next time though and residents need to be careful not to start a brush fire.

According to Darby Allen “Unfortunately, Mother Nature deals us this hand, so we have to deal with the hand we’ve got and prepare accordingly. It’s just very dry conditions and it’s still early spring. We certainly are preparing for a busy season.” One of the recent brush fires was close enough to Fort McMurray that city residents could see the smoke coming into the city. The fire risk level for Fort McMurray was quickly adjusted from low to very high by the province, and efforts are being made to get the message out to people about the risks so brush fires can be avoided. Allen explained “We’ve ramped up advertising, and are focused on getting the message out and trying to be safe.” Fire bans have also been put in place.

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Entertainment Ft Mac

Winners for the RMWB 2015 Winter Banner Contest are Announced

The winners for the RMWB winter banner contest, the 2015 Winter Art Banner Contest, have been announced by the municipality. There were a total of 6 winners chosen by the municipality, and the submissions which won will be on display at various locations until April 2016. Initially the winning banner submissions can be seen at the MacDonald Island Community Art Gallery, and they will be displayed in this location until February 3, 2016. After this date all of the winning submissions will be displayed at points along Thickwood Boulevard until April 2016. This area will also contain some displays before February 3. Some of the submissions were incredible, and the banner contest offers members of the local community an opportunity to get their work out there.

A press release about the RMWB winter banner contest included a statement from Communities in Bloom Committee member Julia Bennett, who stated “It’s a pleasure to engage our local high school youth and encourage their participation in public art and community involvement.” The contest winners include:

  • Richelle Stewart- Holy Trinity Catholic High School
  • Kaitlyn Vandenbilche- Holy Trinity Catholic High School
  • Gillian Rose Auteda- Holy Trinity Catholic High School
  • Leah Small- Westwood Public High School
  • Arianne Darveau- Westwood Public High School
  • Marissa Cardinal- Fort McKay E-Learning

Congratulations to all of the winter banner contest winners, and to those who submitted designs even if they did not win with their submission. The contest is a great way for anyone interested in art and design to take part in a fun contest that could offer recognition and the chance to have your artwork seen by many people.

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Ft Mac Health

RMWB Cut Power to Bus Shelters Due to Exposed Wiring

RMWB, bus shelters

The recent loss of power to heated bus shelters around Wood Buffalo were caused when the RMWB cut the power because there was exposed wiring that needed to be addressed. Three of the local bus shelters had wiring that was exposed but almost all of the 272 shelters in the municipality were without power as a result. The RMWB sent out an email response that explained the decision to power down was made after three of the shelters located on Barber Drive, Beacon Hill Drive, and Lougheed Drive were discovered to have issues with damaged protective casings for wiring, exposed wires, and “disrupting the power supply.” All of the shelters with the exception of 3 were powered down in what was called an “extra-precautionary measure”. Once the power was cut safety inspections were conducted on bus shelters to ensure that the same problems were not present.

The 3 bus shelters that have not been impacted by the power cut are the heated shelters located at the River City Centre, the Main Street shelter, and the one at the Peter Pond Mall. The RMWB email explained that these 3 bus shelters were still “fully operational as they were not affected.” The power is expected to be restored to the bus shelters at some point early this week as long as things go as planned. There was some initial concern because the reason for the power down was not explained for two days after it first occurred. The RMWB explained by saying “We needed a better understanding of the scope of the identified safety issue before we could begin to explain the nature of the issue. It is likely to be a combination of factors, rather than one recurring cause. Once the inspections are completed, the Municipality will be able to assess the scope of the problem and identify those contributing factors.”

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Alberta Economic Ft Mac Politics

Supreme Court Petitioned by RMWB to Intervene in Lawsuit Based in Edmonton

Supreme Court, RMWB

The Supreme Court has been petitioned by RMWB to intervene in a lawsuit based in Edmonton. The municipality’s position for the intervention is that millions of dollars are at stake in spite of the fact that the Edmonton based lawsuit is fairly obscure. The case involves a property tax assessment dispute, and it has mushroomed into something much bigger. Now the issue is also how much deference, or leeway, the Supreme Court should allow the decisions made by a lower administrative tribunal. The legal director for the RMWB, David Leflar, made a convincing argument to the councillors that an application for intervenor status in the Edmonton based lawsuit would be appropriate. The case is a dispute between a shopping centre in Edmonton and the City of Edmonton.

During the meeting about RMWB asking for Supreme Court intervention in the Edmonton based lawsuit LeFlar stated “This is an important intervention. To my knowledge — though I only go back about three years now with the municipality — this municipality has never done anything like this before.” LeFlar also said that “Nothing’s ever sure, the Supreme Court always has the discretion to say get out of here — but our chances of getting it given who we are and what we bring to the table are very good.” At issue in the lawsuit is whether tribunal decisions are upheld based on a legally reasonable standard or a legally correct standard. The RMWB argues that this is a difference that could affect millions of dollars. Do you think the RMWB is correct to try and intervene in the case? Why or why not?

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Ft Mac Politics

RMWB Tightens Rules on Travel expenses for Fundraiser Trips

travel expenses, RMWB

RMWB is making an attempt to clear up and tighten the rules that relate to taxpayer funded travel expenses when political events are involved. The Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo council held a vote to develop an expense policy for events which are political fundraisers. Under the new rules being implemented municipal officials will only be reimbursed for their travel expenses if these expenses were incurred due to municipal business during the same trip. The new rules also forbid paying travel expenses during any election that is municipal, provincial, or federal. According to Mayor Melissa Blake guidance is important. “It’s impossible to try and manage when you don’t have a policy giving direction. It gives you two legs to stand on versus none.”

The original RMWB council proposal on travel expenses was to allow these when the official could demonstrate learning or networking that was in some way in the best interests of the municipality or which advanced these interests. This proposal met with some resistance, and so did the idea that the easiest way to meet with government officials was at political fundraisers. Coun. Allan Vinni commented “If we are unable to get the ear of elected politicians without paying or attending their political fundraising events, then there’s something fundamentally wrong with democracy.” The amended policy is still a good idea according to Mayor Blake. “The amendments there are perfectly fine, it’ll be easy enough to manage. People are often critical, but when you have a policy that says, this is what we were supposed to do and this is how we did it, it becomes more difficult for people to be critical of it.”