Athabasca County and the Town of Athabasca discussed next steps in deciding what to do with the Old Brick School during a Jan. 10 joint council meeting.
County manager Ryan Maier brought forward a use study plan from Tourism and Economic Development (TED) officer Robert Buckle. The study is being launched this month and is set to follow a three-month timeline in gathering public input and studying comparable revitalization projects in determining a use for the Old Brick School.
Town of Athabasca Coun. Rob Balay asked who would be leading the process.
Maier responded by giving a bit of background. The Old Brick School has been “one of those items” that has sat on joint council meeting agenda meetings for over seven years, he said, and it only got as far as saying “we should do something about it.”
Maier said when the county’s former director of planning and development Jesse Ajayi came on board, he was very interested in the Old Brick School and heritage projects generally. Buckle was similarly interested.
Together, they applied for a grant to conduct the use study and were successful, Maier said. He added Buckle would be responsible for a lot of the leg work for the study, along with the steering committee, which according to schedule should be established this month.
Town of Athabasca Mayor Colleen Powell said she is really pleased to see this moving forward.
“It’s too bad we didn’t start it years ago, but I’m certainly happy we’ve got it right now,” she said. “The only suggestion I have is I think this schedule is overly ambitious, and will probably take several months more than what you’ve outlined here, but a good start.”
Balay, who sits on the TED committee, said when town council was at the fall Alberta Urban Municipalities Association convention in September, he made contact with “grant people” who work explicitly with federal grants. He added there is a possibility of a $2-million federal grant for the project, and the Old Brick School “very much fits the bill” for it.
“It’s first come first serve, so I mean the sooner we can get the study done, a decision made, and a set of shovel-ready plans to submit, the better chance we have of securing funding to actually make this happen,” he said. “It’s not going to be something that will be really cheap to do.”
He added the TED committee would take the necessary steps to apply for the grant.
Joint councils also discussed upgrading infrastructure around the new school area, in order to create safer driving conditions in light of increase traffic.
Athabasca County administration had submitted a letter to the Town of Athabasca concerning a ‘T-Y’ combo intersection just west of the Athabasca Regional Multiplex, at Township Rd. 663 and Range Rd. 225A. The intersection sits on the boundary of the town and county.
The county requested the ‘Y’ intersection be removed and a proper ‘T’ one installed, with a stop sign.
Town of Athabasca assistant chief administrative officer Rachel Ramey said in researching the issue, the intersection is not on a road plan and is on Athabasca University property. She added AU said they would have “no problem” with the intersection being removed, as long as there’s no cost to the university.
Athabasca County Coun. Larry Armfelt said he is concerned about safety going west into his division.
“That road, in my opinion, right now doesn’t really have the integrity to handle more than twice the traffic that could be going up there,” he said.
He also said the intersection at Highway 2 and University Drive would become a safety issue.
Ramey said the highway intersection is on Alberta Transportation’s 2018 plan to be upgraded, and they are working with Athabasca University to have their sign moved.
Athabasca County Coun. Dwayne Rawson asked if the town would remove the ‘Y’ intersection, since it is within their boundaries.
“Who’s going to remove it? I don’t know. It’s not on town property; it’s within town boundaries (and) it’s on university land,” Ramey said.
Rawson said the intersection needs to be changed before somebody gets hurt.
“It is a safety issue, and you can’t wait until somebody is killed or injured there, because it will happen,” he said. “That should be put into a ‘T’ intersection with a three-way stop.”
Athabasca County Coun. Dennis Willcott said he agrees with Armfelt, the intersection needs to be changed.
