Fort McMurray Minute: Highway Twinning, Downtown Aesthetics, and the Municipal Voting Experience

Fort McMurray Minute - Your weekly one-minute summary of Fort McMurray politics

This Week In Fort McMurray:

• Tomorrow, at 4:00 pm, there will be a meeting of Council. The meeting begins with a closed session until about 6:00 pm. On the agenda for the public session is a discussion about the Off Highway Vehicle Pilot Project Bylaw. The bylaw will allow limited off-highway vehicle use in the Abasand neighbourhood. Currently, residents are supposed to load up the vehicles on the back of trucks or trailers and drive a short distance to the trail head. If the bylaw passes, the off-highway vehicles can be driven directly to the trail head. Council will also discuss the Q1 2024 Capital Budget adjustment and receive the 2024 Q1 Financial Performance Report. The report notes that the municipality is facing a projected deficit of just over $238,000 due to higher than budgeted operational costs. To end the meeting, Councillor Bussieres will bring forward a Councillor’s Motion to explore opportunities to name existing and future municipal facilities after retired or deceased elected officials.
  
  
• RMWB is asking residents to share their thoughts on the municipal voting experience. An online survey has been set up to collect information on the voting experience in 2021 and assess why people didn’t vote. The goal is to improve the 2025 municipal elections. The survey can be completed online and is available until June 2nd, 2024.
  
  
• The Multiculturalism Day Festival will take place on Saturday. There will be food, games, and cultural performances at the Fort McMurray Heritage Village. The event runs from 11:00 am to 4:00 pm and is put on by the Multicultural Association of Wood Buffalo. Tickets are $5 and can be purchased online.

Last Week In Fort McMurray:

• The wildfire evacuation proved costly for some evacuees. Evacuees who are out of their home for a week or more are provided with $1,250 per adult and $500 per child from the Alberta government. But, since this evacuation only lasted from May 14th to 18th, evacuees were ineligible for the funds, despite being warned to prepare for a longer time away from home. Mayor Sandy Bowman said he is concerned about the slow service and long waits for supports that many evacuees reported, particularly in Edmonton. Some evacuees also felt they were better supported during the 2016 wildfire when there was a national appeal for donations from the Red Cross.
  
  
• Council agreed to ask the Province to complete the twinning of the remaining portion of Highways 63 and 28. The project was made even more urgent after the evacuation of much of the southern half of Fort McMurray on May 14th. Currently, Highway 63 is fully twinned from Fort McMurray to Atmore, a hamlet in Athabasca County. The highway goes back to a single-lane route for the remainder of the drive. Councillor Kendrick Cardinal was the only Councillor opposed to the motion. The Province has recently said it’s committed to constructing and designing route 686, which would link Fort McMurray to the Peace Country as an alternative route in or out of the community.
  
  
• Council approved a $2.4-million expansion of the Downtown Revitalization Incentives Program (DRIP), despite concerns about its costs and effectiveness. Since its inception in 2020, DRIP has allocated $9.1 million to 275 projects aimed at improving downtown Fort McMurray's aesthetics. The expansion includes extended project completion timeframes and new eligibility for accessibility and safety improvements. Some residents argue that the program does not address deeper issues like crime and economic stagnation. However, supporters believe DRIP enhances downtown's appeal and prevents businesses from relocating. Despite mixed opinions, Council largely supported the program's expansion, with only Councillor Cardinal opposed. Councillor Waquan was absent from the vote. Recall that in 2022, this grant program helped to fund renovations to the Rivers Casino and Entertainment Centre...