Morinville Council Briefs

By Stephen Dafoe

Residents to pay more for water, sewer and waste in 2013

Council gave unanimous first reading to next year’s water, sewer, waste and recycling rates Nov. 27.

As presented at first reading, Council is approving a roughly 2 per cent increase to both water and sewer rates, amounts that would see the average resident’s water and sewer bills increasing by approximately $1.68 per month.

Morinville has operated on a full cost recovery model for water and sewer since conducting an analysis of its water and sewer costs in 2005.

Morinville’s Chief Financial Officer said he anticipates water and sewer costs are likely only to go up by the rate of inflation in coming years.

Council also gave unanimous first reading to the 2013 waste collection rates. As presented at first reading, homeowners will see a nickel-a-month increase in their waste collection rates; apartment and condominium dwellers will see their rates increase by $1.25 per month.

Isbister explained the difference between residential and condominium / apartment rates is due to a decrease in the costs of yard waste pickup for home owners.

Roseridge will continue to charge Morinville $32 per tonne for waste and Valcourt estimates 2,370 tonnes will be processed next year, an 18.5 per cent increase over 2012.

Residents may also see an additional .50 per month charge on their utilities bill, monies being considered to fund an annual pickup around the time of the community’s Town Wide Garage Sale in the spring.

Second and third reading could come back to Council as early as Dec. 11.

Downtown Morinville vacant lot cleared for hotel or housing

Council gave second and third reading to an amendment to the community’s Land Use Bylaw that would open the door for a hotel or mixed-use development that could have apartments above ground floor commercial units.

The application for the amendment was received in mid-October and the bylaw amendment was given first reading Nov. 13. Council held a public hearing on the development during the Nov. 27 meeting and received no objections from the public on the development. No issues of major concern were received from Alta Gas, Telus or Morinville’s Public Works Department.

The property, a vacant lot between Rednex and Morinville Christian Fellowship School, consists of four lots with a total of 1.56 acres of land. The development’s proponent, Scott Jenrick, and consultant Armin Preiksaitis made a presentation on the proposal during the public hearing. Preiksaitis said the property’s current C2 designation is inadequate in terms of height and site coverage for the proposed development.

The amendment, in addition to changing the land designation to allow for a hotel of mixed-use, also increases the height of any potential development to four storeys rather than the current three. The development is looking at surface parking for commercial and underground parking for the residential portion of the development.

Morinville has recently been working on the Coeur de Morinville Area Structure Plan, a development that encourages mixed residential and commercial.

Community Cultural Centre fees approved

After being tabled at the Nov. 13 meeting of Morinville Town Council, Community Services returned to Council Chambers with a revised document for councillors to review and approve. Council tabled the discussion after voting unanimously to remove linens as an item included in rental fees. Councillor Sheldon Fingler declared a pecuniary interest and excused himself from the linen discussion.

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