Town of Bow Island Nov. 27 briefs

Posted on December 7, 2023 by Ryan Dahlman

By Anna Smith
Commentator/Courier

Though business is starting to settle for the winter, there was still much to discuss at the November 27 Bow Island Town Council meeting.

Code of Conduct Bylaw

Council passed the third and final reading on the Committee and Board Member Code of Conduct bylaw. This bylaw establishes a common understanding of ethical and acceptable conduct for all members of committees and boards for the Town, which is consistent with the principles of transparent and accountable government.

These bylaws are brought forward for review at the beginning of each term of Council, to ensure that it remains current and accurately reflects what is expected of members.

Land Purchase 

A motion was passed to accept an offer to purchase approximately 1.4 hectares of land, located behind the Water Treatment Plant. Administration has been in discussion for the past three years with a developer who has been seeking to build a continuing care facility in town.

Currently, the offer is conditional upon the developer completing a contract with AHS, as well as grant funding, but CAO Dave Matz commented that this is largely only red tape, and the purchaser is very confident in meeting these conditions.

Council expressed optimism that they may see progress on the facility.

RCMP Report

A delegation was made on behalf of the Bow Island RCMP, with Sgt. Philippe Beaupre attending to inform Council of some of the work that’s happening to better accommodate new members of the detachment and to hear what Council’s concerns and needs were from their local law enforcement.

It was noted that current members are having some trouble finding housing in town or the surrounding area, with hopes that this may change in the future to allow officers to live in the communities that they are serving. The ongoing concerns of vandalism in town were brought forward to be a potential priority, and Beaupre also expressed a desire to foster a larger positive police presence within the town.

Beaupre also noted that recruitment for the RCMP has been down in recent years, though he hopes that they will see movement in the other direction in the near future.

Shortgrass Library Update

A letter from Shortgrass Library urged the Town to take a look at the infrastructure of the library, claiming that other locations have been experiencing damage to equipment due to electrical shortages.