If you’ve ever wondered where exactly the Township of Alberton begins and ends, you may not have to guess much long.
At its regular meeting last Wednesday, Alberton council decided to proceed with plans to place signs along Highway 11/71 at each end of the township to indicate to motorists they are indeed in Alberton.
One sign will be placed near the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, which marks the border between Alberton and the adjacent township of La Vallee.
The other one is slated to be placed near Alberton’s eastern boundary with Fort Frances.
Council currently is negotiating with businesses in the area for permission to erect the signs.
Council also was advised that MTO regulations stipulate the signs may not exceed three metres in height (above the ground or road level) nor six metres in width.
In other news, although Alberton council had decided at last month’s regular meeting not to contribute to the district’s handi-van program, the issue is not yet dead.
Coun. Louis Collier, who attended the Rainy River District Municipal Association meeting earlier this month, remarked the matter may be revisited down the road if there is sufficient public interest.
“I think if the idea comes up again and people need it, we’ll take another look at it,” he said.
Coun. Collier also attended the regular meeting of the board of Rainycrest Home for the Aged and told council that because of budget constraints and increasing costs, the board has not ruled out the possibility of involving private investment in the program in the future.
Meanwhile, Coun. Barb Cournoyer brought council up to speed on matters stemming from the Rainy River District Social Services Administration Board meeting held July 23.
She informed council that due to lower demand for subsidized housing in the district, the local DSSAB is contemplating selling some of the excess units and lower the rents in others in order to attract more tenants.
In other business last Wednesday, Alberton council:
•passed a resolution to donate $100 to the 2004 FireCon (conference);
•authorized Coun. Doug Mitchell (and possibly Coun. Cournoyer) to attend the 11th-annual Northern Networks Trade Conference in Kenora on Sept. 8-10.;
•appointed Coun. Collier and Reeve Mike Hammond to represent Alberton on the Fire Prevention and Protection Association Compliance Committee;
•authorized clerk Dawn Hayes to attend the annual fall meeting of the Association of Municipal Clerks/Treasurers in Thunder Bay on Sept. 23-24;
•passed a resolution to authorize the entire council to meet and tour the township with Thunder Bay-Rainy River MP Ken Boshcoff during the week of Sept. 13;
•passed a resolution allowing representatives from council to attend the Northwestern Ontario regional conference in Thunder Bay on Sept. 23-24;
•supported a resolution from the Township of Galway-Cavendish and Harvey, which is opposed to the two-hatter policy regarding volunteer firefighters;
•supported a resolution from the Town of Iroquois Falls requesting the provincial and federal governments make gasoline tax revenues available to all municipalities to support transportation infrastructure;
•endorsed a resolution from the Township of Severn seeking provincial funding for municipal emergency management programs; and
•declined to renew its contract with Union Gas to purchase gas at a fixed rate, regardless of market price fluctuations.
Alberton council’s next regular meeting is slated Wednesday, Sept. 8 at 7 p.m. in the municipal office.
Fort Frances Times
Local News from Across the Rainy River District
