News

Cold Lake, AB – At a special council meeting held today, Cold Lake City Council voted to pursue an enhanced policing program that would bring a Police Dog Service to the city.

The enhanced policing initiative, which is supported by the Federal Government and the RCMP, was planned for the 2018 budget. A chance to acquire a police dog and Police Dog Service member at the Cold Lake RCMP Detachment presented itself earlier than expected, however, and the special meeting was called to vote on pursuing the service for 2017.

“We know that these two new members would very much be welcomed at the detachment and within the community,” Mayor Craig Copeland said. “We made the decision to bring a police dog team to the area to help ensure the RCMP in our region has a variety of assets available.”

Although the enhancement was planned for 2018, the City of Cold Lake was made aware that a Police Dog Service team will graduate this from the training centre in Innisfail, Alberta and may be available for posting to the Cold Lake detachment. The post would still require final approval by the Federal Government.

RCMP police dogs are used for a wide variety of policing applications. They can search for missing persons, track suspects, search for narcotics, evidence or explosives, and can also be used for community relations and school programs.

While Police Dog Service assets are based out of a given detachment, they are used by the RCMP when and where needed. Prior to council’s decision, the closest Police Dog Service unit was stationed in St. Paul and would come to Cold Lake when needed and available.

Cold Lake, AB – Council voted in favour of an attempt to create a dedicated outdoor facility for the growing sport of pickleball in Cold Lake this construction season.

During Council’s Corporate Priorities Committee meeting on May 16, 2017, council received an update to the Tennis Court Replacement Project (for Ivan Krook Park and Hill Top Park) where this discussion of pickleball originated. A number of emails were sent to the City over concerns that dedicated Tennis Court were being developed in Cold Lake North. 

At the May 16 meeting, council agreed to add four pickleball courts to Hill Top Park and one pickleball court to the Kinosoo Beach. At council’s June 13 Regular Meeting, it was decided that Cold Lake will see an additional eight dedicated pickleball courts developed in the community.

“We’ve received a lot of requests for this facility and have moved money around in the budget to add this project to the 2017 list,” Mayor Craig Copeland said. “There is a dedicated and growing group of pickleball players in the city and council identified the need to support this growing sport.”

Cold Lake, AB – The City of Cold Lake has hired a firm to start conceptual plans to see if a suitable new building to house the Lakeland Humane Society (LHS) can be accommodated at its existing location. 

“The Lakeland Humane Society provides a great service to our residents and is very well regarded throughout the region,” Mayor Craig Copeland said. “Our community is young and growing, and the society needs help to keep pace with the demand for the services it provides.”

The LHS operates independently of the City of Cold Lake, but provides the city’s pound-keeper services and pet licencing services under contract. The city is responsible for animal control and the enforcement of bylaws that govern the keeping of pets.

In late May, council approved a budget of $22,500 to prepare a site plan for the Lakeland Humane Society at its existing location. JMAA architecture has been retained to create the plans.

The Cold Lake Energy Centre will remain closed tomorrow to accommodate air quality testing before the facility will be reopened.

The City of Cold Lake is aware of the public concern about the amount of tent caterpillars that have been noticed. The city is doing its best to focus on mechanical, rather than chemical, measures of control. This is due to the fact that the most effective chemical solutions involve pesticides that are non-selective, which would result in the destruction of many other species.

Cold Lake, AB – With summer around the corner, City Council addressed the issue of tennis courts and pickleball courts within the city.

“Administration has come up with several options for us to consider on where we want to put down lines,” explained Mayor Craig Copeland. “Ideally, we would like to see a dedicated outdoor pickleball court, but at this time the solution may be to paint pickleball lines onto one of our tennis courts.”

The city budgeted for the replacement/rehabilitation of the existing tennis courts during council’s past budget cycle. The dual tennis courts in the North are being reconstructed as a new facility, while the tennis court in the South will be getting a new surface.

“Because the court in the South is built on top of a water reservoir, the weight of laying new asphalt became a potential issue,” said Copeland. “We asked a structural engineer to look into whether or not regular asphalt would work, and they were not comfortable with that much weight over the reservoir.”

Cold Lake, AB – Council voted to increase its Capital Road Improvement Program by just over $1 million after the Government of Alberta confirmed the continuation of an annual grant.

Cold Lake City Council had allocated $719,000 to the 2017 Capital Road Improvement Program, which generally sees significant funding from the Basic Municipal Transportation Grant (BMTG). Because the continuation of the BMTG, along with the Municipal Sustainability Initiative (MSI) grant, had not been confirmed by the Government of Alberta prior to the City’s budget process, the funding was not initially included in 2017 programming.

“Council took a prudent approach not to include grants that we did not know we were going to get in our budget,” Copeland said. “We are grateful that these grant programs were extended and we hope that this signals the continuation of these municipal grants on a long-term basis.”

Including the BMTG in the Capital Road Improvement Program brings the program’s total funding to $1.75 million for 2017, matching the funding the program saw in 2016.

Cold Lake, AB – Cold Lake City Council voted to authorize the purchase of naming rights and a marketing proposal from Portage College, which aims to transition its men’s collegiate hockey team into the city for the next season.

The City of Cold Lake was approached by Portage in mid-March and began discussions surrounding the possible relocation of its men’s hockey team, known as the Voyageurs, which plays in the Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference (ACAC).

“The city’s understanding is that financial considerations prompted the college to look for a new home for its hockey team,” Mayor Craig Copeland said. “We’ve built Imperial Oil Place for a very high level of hockey in this community, and we see the benefits of this partnership with Portage College. This will not only benefit sports fans, but enhance the experience for college students in our region.”

The Voyageurs men’s hockey team has nine years of experience in the ACAC and plays a regular season with 18 home games each year. The sponsorship and marketing deal which council accepted includes $300,000 in financial assistance over three years, as well as a commitment to help with the infrastructure that the team would need to make a successful transition.

Cold Lake, AB – With record-breaking levels of snow falling on the City of Cold Lake over the Easter weekend, city officials are thankful to the public for its patience.

“I’m very happy with the way the community responded to the weather,” said Mayor Craig Copeland. “I understand it was frustrating if a person needed to get anywhere, but our road crews were out all weekend to clear the snow as it fell, and we are proud of the job they did.”

Residents are thanked for their understanding and patience throughout the weekend. An announcement was made through the city’s Facebook page in regards to snow removal, which reached almost 14,000 people, and was shared over 80 times.

“I’m thankful the word was able to spread so quickly about what crews were up to over the holiday weekend,” said Copeland. “A lot of people had questions about what was going on, and it was nice to see interaction and feedback.”

Crews worked daily to remove the snow, following the priority areas as set out by the city’s Snow Removal Policy.

“The decision was made to push the snow to the side to allow for faster access to more areas,” said Chief Administrative Officer Kevin Nagoya. “Crews went back around later to unblock driveways once the main arteries of the city had been cleared; this took time due to the volume of snow.” The City’s snow storage facilities were also closed due to the recent warm temperatures making them into inaccessible mud pits which limited options to store snow.

As of Tuesday, some residential areas had yet to be cleared, as crews continued to work across the city to clear as much snow as possible.

Cold Lake, AB – Every year, marina slips struggle to be renewed on time, and council debated various options on how to improve the process at the last regular council meeting.

“It’s just not a good time to get people to renew their slips,” said Mayor Craig Copeland. “People go away for the winter, or may not know if they will even be here by the summertime, so a lot of people end up missing the deadline.”

Council voted to extend the deadline from March 15 to April 15 this year, giving slip holders an additional month to get their payments in for this year before losing their berth.

“It’s been a tough year for a lot of people, and we wanted to give them a bit more time to come through with their renewals before going down the list to replace them,” said Copeland.

The topic of changing the renewal policy also came up, with councillors offering various suggestions on how the process could be improved for the future. Council then voted to visit the issue in more detail at a future Corporate Priorities meeting, where they will look at changing the policy for marina slip renewals, and make it easier for administration and users alike.

Cold Lake, AB – A municipal election will take place this October, and preparations at the City of Cold Lake have already begun.

Information for voters and potential candidates has been posted on the city’s website, outlining everything from what kind of identification a person needs when voting, to the process of putting your name forward as a potential candidate. Election Day falls on Monday, Oct. 16, 2017, and information about the voting station and advance voting days will be made available closer to the date. Special ballots will also be available for residents who are incapacitated or who are out of town for the election.

Candidates will be officially named on Monday, Sept. 18, 2017, when Nomination Day takes place, though a candidate is still able to withdraw his or her name before noon the following day, should he or she change his or her mind. Candidates are required to submit their nomination papers between 10 a.m. and 12 p.m. on Nomination Day, along with the $100 deposit, as outlined in the City of Cold Lake Municipal Election Procedures Bylaw.

A candidate can run either for the position of mayor or a position as councillor. All residents interested in running are advised to read through the material on the website, and contact Returning Officer Linda Mortenson if they have any questions.

Prior to Nomination Day, potential candidates who wish to raise money for their campaign or who will self-fund their campaign in excess of $10,000, must complete and submit an Application for Registration of Notice of Intent to Become a Candidate for Municipal Office prior to accepting any campaign contributions.

Cold Lake, AB – The Meals on Wheels (MOW) program will continue on after the city was asked to help with the administration of the program.

The Cold Lake Seniors’ Society requested that the City of Cold Lake take over the responsibility of managing the program beginning March 1, 2017.

“The public can come to us or call for a client application if they need assistance,” explained FCSS Manager Kim Schmidtz. “We’re happy to help keep such an important program running in our community.”

MOW is a meal delivery program where volunteers pick up pre-ordered meals and deliver them to pre-registered clients. Meal plans range in options, from hot meals to frozen meals that can reheated on demand. The program had requests for 490 meals in both 2015 and 2016.

Cold Lake, AB – There was a strong turnout at the City of Cold Lake-hosted meeting with people interested in volunteering to patrol their community.

With about 75 people in attendance, a presentation was offered by representatives from the Alberta Citizens on Patrol Association (ACOPA) on how to create and run a local group in the City of Cold Lake and the surrounding area.

“We were asked about Citizens on Patrol, and in response, we contacted ACOPA to have them come up to teach residents what it is and how to start a group,” said Mayor Craig Copeland. “There was a clear desire last night to learn more, and we were happy to help the volunteers get in touch with the right people.”

Cold Lake, AB – City council is offering an additional rebate to assist those businesses that expand or enhance their building space to deliver services to the community.

“It’s important to continue providing retention and attraction incentives for our commercial businesses,” said Mayor Craig Copeland. “Our original policy is able to help if the property value increased, but we wanted to give businesses a bit more of a hand.”

In 2010, council passed a policy to help small groups and businesses get started, grow their business, or make improvements to their properties based off of an increased property value.

The original policy has been updated to grant a business owner a rebate worth 100 per cent of the municipal tax increase resulting from the increase in the assessed value of the property. This is an increase from the original 50 per cent, and is paid out over three years.

Though this rebate requires an increase in the business’s property value to qualify, council has decided to add an additional incentive for businesses to make improvements or upgrade.

Cold Lake, AB – Cold Lake Transit received a big boost from the Federal and Provincial Governments this weekend with the announcement that the City’s two transit grant applications were successful.

“Public transit has had enormous social and environmental impacts in our community and we are excited to see the Province and Federal Government’s support for transit not only in Cold Lake, but across the province of Alberta,” Mayor Craig Copeland said.

Cold Lake was successful in its Core-Fleet Replacement application as well as a second application for projects that will increase pedestrian connectivity to the transit system and provide for real-time GPS scheduling for the transit buses. The grant money totals over $1 million in Federal and Provincial support for Cold Lake Transit.

The Core-Fleet Replacement program will see the city’s two main buses replaced by new, low-floor diesel buses. The existing buses will stay in the fleet as backup units and to provide the capability to enhance scheduling or expand the routes in the future. Of the project’s total $1 million, $174,000 will be funded through the Federal Government’s Public Transit Infrastructure Fund, and $666,700 will come through the Provincial Green Transit Incentives Program (GreenTRIP). The balance of the project, or $159,300, will come from the City of Cold Lake’s Capital Budget.

Cold Lake, AB – The City of Cold Lake has named its first Junior Investigator.

Matthew McKay collected all six trading cards of the Municipal Enforcement Officers, and traded them in to gain the title of Junior Investigator.

“Upon successful completion of his investigation, Matthew made contact with Municipal Enforcement to give us his report,” said Senior Community Peace Officer Ryan Deschamps.

McKay was advised to come in to Headquarters, where he was presented with a Junior Investigator Certificate of Recognition, a high visibility Junior Investigator toque, and a Felix the Fox beanbag buddy, who is the sidekick of Peace Officer Pete.

The Junior Investigator program was introduced at the beginning of the 2016 school year. The goal was to reach out and make contact with the youth in the community in a positive and educational capacity.

Cold Lake, AB – Parking measures for recreational vehicles (RVs) and trailers have been outlined and passed by City Council after a lot of community feedback on the original proposal earlier this year.

“I think council should be proud of the work they did to amend the Land Use Bylaw,” said Mayor Craig Copeland. “It took a lot of time to come up with compromises that should work for the majority of the community.”

Changes were made to the Land Use Bylaw to add details about the definition of a trailer and where it can be parked on a residential property within the city.

A trailer is now defined as a vehicle designed to be attached to or drawn by a motor vehicle or tractor; intended to transport property, and includes any vehicle defined by the Alberta Regulation as a trailer, but does not include machinery or equipment solely used in the construction or maintenance of highways.

Cold Lake, AB – Since being established in the spring, the Photo Enforced Traffic Safety Program has been running smoothly.

Though warning tickets were given out in the beginning, the first tickets requiring payment were given out in August. The funds collected from these tickets were placed in a fund for safety and infrastructure projects, the details of which were passed at City Council on Nov. 22.

“Ensuring that funds from this program are earmarked for public safety is a huge priority for us,” said Mayor Craig Copeland. “With the funds from this program, we can turn around and help work on areas that citizens identify as a public safety concern.”

All net revenue received from the Photo Enforced Traffic Safety Program will be put into the Infrastructure Safety Fund. This fund will be used for projects that promote public safety, prevent a public safety issue, and/or to address an existing safety concern.

The public will be able to submit applications for use of the funds, so long as it is for a recognized public safety need, a preventable public safety issue, or a safety concern in the community. As well, the application must address a proposed infrastructure-based solution.

Cold Lake, AB – The popularity of a recent survey held by the City of Cold Lake has opened up a few questions as to how businesses become established in the community.

“There seems to be a bit of confusion on how businesses come to Cold Lake,” said Howard Pinnock, General Manager of Planning and Development. “The City itself does not open up businesses, no matter how much support there might be.”

Rather, it is an individual or investors who needs to open the business.

“Although the city can provide incentives for businesses, someone other than the city needs to initiate the process,” explained Pinnock.

Typically, there are two ways to bring a franchise or business into Cold Lake. The first, is an individual willing to invest in the business will approach the head office, at which point the head office will look to see if Cold Lake is a good fit for the franchise’s business plans.

On the other hand, some franchises have a team of people looking for new locations as part of their business development strategy. If a community meets the parameters they set, they will advertise for an individual to invest in their franchise or to manage their operations. Often, as these businesses saturate larger centres, they move to a smaller communities and scale their outlets to fit the new communities’ needs.

Cold Lake, AB – Cold Lake City Council has arrived at a draft budget with just over $42.2 million in operating expenditures and just over $18.6 million spent on capital projects. The budget allocates approximately $8 million in taxation revenue from ID 349 to balance the operational budget.

“After holding the line on taxes for four years, we are looking at a modest tax increase to balance the 2017 budget,” Cold Lake Mayor Craig Copeland said. “We are balancing the need to keep costs down for residents in these hard economic times with the need to pay for the increased cost in services and to keep up with our infrastructure needs.”

During the 2013 election, council vowed not to raise taxes for three years to bring the City of Cold Lake’s taxes in line with those found in similar communities. Council extended that commitment for a fourth year in 2016 as a response to the slowing economy.

The 2017 draft budget forecasts a two-per-cent increase in municipal tax bills. As a reference, each per cent in the municipal taxes equates to about $190,000 in revenue to offset costs. Also forecasted is a five-per-cent increase to water and sewer rates to maintain 100 per cent operational cost recovery for those services.

Not included in the budget is nearly $4 million in provincial revenue sharing that the City received last year through the Municipal Sustainability Initiative (MSI).

Cold Lake, AB – Construction has started on a secondary access road to the Cold Lake Energy Centre. 
The secondary access will be built to a gravel road standard and will connect the Energy Centre to 16th Avenue, ensuring ample access to the facility. 
“This project has been on council’s radar for some time – the trick has been to fit it into the budget at a time that made sense,” Mayor Craig Copeland said. “With all of the other work scheduled to be done at the Energy Centre and Imperial Park, we did not want to build a road we would have to end up moving.” 
The road will help ensure efficient traffic flow to and from the facility, especially during peak time such as concerts, hockey games and other large events. The total budget for the project, including engineering and construction, is $1.1 million. The project began in mid-October, and construction is expected to be completed by October 31, 2016. 

Cold Lake, AB – For the first time, the City of Cold Lake was the host city for the Alberta Provincial Communities in Bloom awards.
“It’s a real honour to be hosting Communities in Bloom,” said Mayor Craig Copeland. “We’re very thankful to the Communities in Bloom Committee for organizing and carrying out the event.”
Special guest speakers were Rhonda and Daryl Sidoryk, who spend their time cleaning up various parts of the community. They spoke about what they do and why they are proud to be part of the community.
The City of Cold Lake received five blooms last year, which is the maximum number of blooms a community can receive. As the host city this year, Cold Lake was not evaluated.
In attendance was the City of Edmonton, the City of Red Deer, the Hamlet of Woking, the City of Grande Prairie, the Town of Bruderheim, the Town of Taber, Saddle Hills County, the Village of Boyle, the Town of Ponoka, and the Town of St. Paul.
“Everyone who was involved did a really great job,” said Greenspace Coordinator Jazelle Robb. “Communities in Bloom is not just about the flowers, it’s about the community as a whole. Everything we did during the event really reflected that.”

Cold Lake, AB – In an effort to recruit doctors to the area, the City of Cold Lake has instituted a physician recruitment incentive.
“One of the challenges we have heard that makes a transition for doctors in coming to Cold Lake, is bridge income to get them started and settled in and place roots in our community,” said Mayor Craig Copeland. “For new doctors, and especially doctors new to Canada, it can be a challenge to get the credit they need to make the move to a new community.”
In an effort to complement the work done by Hearts for Healthcare and Alberta Health Services (AHS) recruiting staff, the incentive offers a $50,000 line of credit. With the help of the City of Cold Lake, the line of credit will be interest-free for two years. After that period, a repayment plan between the financial institution and the physician will be established. Further to the line of credit, other incentives are also included in the package that will assist the doctors in their transition to the community, such as access to loans and credit cards.
“With this help, we hope that new doctors can focus on getting established in the community,” Copeland said.

Cold Lake, AB – The contract for the construction of the Energy Centre Phase 3 expansion has been awarded, with work on the project to begin this fall. 
Phase 3 of the Energy Centre expansion will bring exciting amenities to the city’s recreational hub, including a second arena, 360-degree climbing wall, a lounge, office and storage space for local non-profit groups, a significant expansion of the concourse area, and a mini-stick arena. 
“This is another large step forward in council’s vision for the Energy Centre and Imperial Park,” Mayor Craig Copeland said. “Our North Arena has served the community well, but the building is tired and past its service life. With Imperial Park centrally located and easily accessible by trail, and now public transit, it is truly becoming the region’s premier recreation hub.” 
The new arena, designed in consultation with BR2 Architecture, will seat just under 400 people, with its own dressing rooms and a warm viewing area at the east end of the arena. People in the viewing area will also be able to see the climbing wall, which will be a 360-degree, two-story structure. 
The lounge will feature a catering kitchen and a bar, and will overlook both the new arena and Imperial Oil Place Arena, with the option to open the windows to accommodate private booths for concerts in Imperial Oil Place. The second floor concourse will be expanded to allow for access to the new arena, as well as an upper viewing area for the climbing wall. The concourse on the east end of the new arena will also feature a mini-stick arena. 
The construction contract was awarded to the construction firm Bird, with an estimated completion date in the spring of 2018.The Phase 3 expansion is proceeding with a construction budget of $20 million. 
“We have looked at every chance to make these amenities complement each other and the existing space,” Copeland said. “This phase of expansion will help to make sure that our youth have top-notch recreation facilities available year-round.”