Barrhead County asked for action on Township Road 604

BARRHEAD - County of Barrhead councillors will consider an informal petition from Clear Lake area residents and users of the campground to fix part of Township Road 604 during their upcoming 2025 budget deliberations.

That is what councillors decided after a 10-minute discussion during their Oct. 1 meeting.

The petition, signed by about 40 area residents and users of Clear Lake Park, asked for council to reconstruct Township Road 604 west of Highway 763 going towards Clear Lake Park back to an oiled road standard. The county started to reduce its oil road program about five years ago.

"The way it is now, with holes, mud, ruts and loose gravel, is not a good situation to have holiday trailers go over it," the petition stated, adding that it is a very busy road in the summer.

County manager Debbie Oyarzun said while it is council's responsibility to hear and consider the concerns of their constituents, there was a "big difference" between correspondence and an official petition, adding the document the municipality received did not qualify as the latter.

To be recognized as an official petition under Alberta's Municipal Government Act (MGA), it must be signed by at least 10 per cent of the municipality's population. In the county's case, this would mean roughly 600 signatures. 

Oyarzun emphasized that only a municipality's electors are eligible and that an adult must witness all signatures and sign opposite of the petitioner's name. She added that the petition's creator must take an affidavit stating that the signatures of those witnessed are eligible to sign the petition.

Oyarzun also noted that in early June, council commissioned ROHI Engineering to conduct a rural road study to help the municipality determine the health of the municipality's road system.

Related link: Barrhead County to study rural roads for first time since 2001

"The purpose of the study is to inform council about your upcoming decisions about the level of service and road standards for the county as part of your 2025 budget deliberations", she said, adding admin's recommendation was to add the road to council's overall upcoming budget deliberations.

Later in the meeting, infrastructure director Ken Hove said the ROHI study is expected to be completed before the end of October.

Reeve Doug Drozd agreed, saying it was better to wait until they had a complete picture of the status of the municipality's roads, prioritizing the most pressing ones rather than doing one-offs.

Deputy reeve Marvin Schatz asked what the condition of the road was.

Hove responded that the road had seen better days but added that it was more than serviceable.

"It doesn't have a bunch of ruts, but it does have some holes, which we continue to patch with cold-mix," he said. "We also have sections that still have oil on them, as well as sections that are slowly wearing out."

Hove added there are also sections of Township Road 640 where the county has replaced poor oil sections with gravel.

Coun. Paul Properzi asked when the last time the road was rebuilt was.

Hove did not know but said the east/west section "was a pretty good grade."

"The problem up there is a lot of the road burrow material is silty-sandy material, so it is more susceptible to frost boils," he said.

Properzi then asked about how many campsites were at the park.

Hove said he did not know but estimated it was over 100.

Councillors Walter Preugschas and Bill Lane said regardless of the number, the road can be pretty busy in the summer months.

Preugschas added that Township Road 604 is also a feeder road for people who live to the west.

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