Advance polls open
Sturgeon County residents can vote early this week as the first of three advance polls opens for the Division 2 council by-election.
Div. 2 residents can vote in the advance poll for the 2019 council by-election this Sept. 5 from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Sturgeon County Centre.
Candidates Lynda Moffat, Kristin Toms, and Rudy van Woerkom are running to replace Susan Evans as Division Two councillor. Election Day is Sept. 17.
Any Canadian citizen who’s 18 or older and who will be living in Div. 2 on Election Day can vote in this by-election, said returning officer Jesse Sopko. You’ll have to bring a piece of authorized ID with your name and address on it (typically a government-issued photo ID) to the poll to get your ballot.
If you miss this week’s advance poll, two more will be held at the Sturgeon County Centre on Sept. 12 (4 to 9 p.m.) and 14 (9 a.m. to 3 p.m.). If you can’t get to the polling station due to physical disability, you can call Sopko to have two election workers come to your home to accept your vote. If you’re not able to vote at any of the polls (e.g. you’re out of town), you have until 4:30 p.m. Sept. 9 to ask Sopko for a mail-in ballot.
By-election questions should go to Sopko at 780-939-8377.
The Morinville & District Chamber of Commerce is hosting a meet-and-greet with the candidates from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. this Sept. 12 at the Cardiff Golf & Country Club. Email Roberta at [email protected] for details.
$6 mil from refinery
North West Redwater Partnership has given Sturgeon County $6 million to make up for delays at the Sturgeon Refinery.
County council agreed Aug. 27 to revise its tax credit deal with North West Redwater Partnership (NWR), the company behind the Sturgeon Refinery.
NWR officials also announced that day that they were giving the county $6 million.
In 2012, the county signed a deal with NWR that saw the company prepay about $5.6 million in taxes that it could claim as tax credits over five years provided the refinery was fully operational by the end of 2016. County council has extended that deadline several times, most recently to June 2018, but the refinery still isn’t running. The company has forfeited one year of credit as a result.
The refinery has been making diesel from synthetic crude since 2017 but its gasifier – the part of the complex that turns bitumen into synthetic crude – still isn’t online due to technical issues, NWR president Kerry Margetts told council.
“Basically what we’re doing is running half the refinery,” he said, adding that the gasifier has worked in previous tests.
Margetts acknowledged that delays at the refinery meant that NWR would pay far less tax this year than the county had expected, and offered a $6 million “community enhancement contribution” to make up for it. He expected the gasifier and refinery to be fully operational by the end of this year, and asked council to extend the deadline for the full five years of tax credit to the end of 2020.
Council agreed to extend the deadline until Dec. 31, 2020, and restored the forfeited year of credit using about $1.1 million from its general operating reserve, which will be repaid using future taxes from the refinery.
In an email, Mayor Alanna Hnatiw said that the $6 million contribution would help the county pay for roads and bridges.
“NWR is a good neighbour who values community. We will continue to be a supportive partner through all phases of the project.”
Garrison bus to end
Sturgeon County is cancelling its bus service to the Edmonton Garrison due to lack of demand, and that could mean more on-base fun for county residents.
County council voted unanimously last week to end its regional transit service agreement with the City of Edmonton effective Dec. 31, 2019, and to divert the $330,279 it would have spent on it next year towards recreation.
Sturgeon County has for many years paid the City of Edmonton to run a bus between the Edmonton Garrison and the Eaux Claires Transit Centre.
Community services manager Susan Berry recommended ending the bus deal due to rising costs and falling demand. Demand for the bus has dropped steadily over the last decade, with just 11,983 rides given on it in 2018 at a cost of $312,033. Garrison officials also support ending the bus service.
Municipal services general manager Scott MacDougall told council that the plan was to work with the garrison to find new uses for the cash the county would have spent on the bus, which could include more access to fitness facilities on the base for county residents.
