A debate that inched to the “eleventh hour, 59 minutes and 59 seconds” over six miles of road has come to an end in MD council chambers.
The MD of Bighorn voted 3-1 in favour of authorizing administration to finalize a Road Use Agreement with Spray Lakes Sawmills (SLS) for log hauling trucks to operate on residential roads.
The agreement is a one-year deal for use of Jamieson and Richards roads because it was in the MD’s “best interest” to run a trial for one year over the proposed multi-year deal moving forward.
Council gave the nod on Tuesday (Jan. 12) and hauling trucks were expected to begin rolling down the roads the next day, as administration and SLS hash out the finer details.
Councillor Paul Clark declared a bias against the Road Use Agreement (RUA) and excused himself from the discussion.
Clark, along with residents in the area, argued that safety, as well as the integrity of the road, were jeopardized by the hauling trucks.
Coun. Erik Butters was firmly opposed to the MD signing the RUA and was the lone vote against it.
Before the vote, council requested that the intent of its “special terms/requirements” section of the draft agreement not be distorted when finalizing the terms to “protect what they fought for,” said Coun. Paul Ryan. It includes hauling operations only permitted between 5 a.m. and 7 p.m. Monday to Friday unless approved otherwise.
But Butters questioned the terms and the actual policing on the roads.
“I have little faith in us being able to enforce these conditions … what is the fallback if they are ignored? I suggest there is none,” said Butters.
“We have no authority except pulling the RUA … we’ll be barking at shadows.”
Butters also questioned the $60,000 security deposit expected to be paid to the MD by SLS before the execution of the agreement for road maintenance.
“It wouldn’t be enough to stop catastrophic failure of the road, it will only give us maintenance up to $60,000,” Butters said.
MD Director of Operations Bill Luka said the amount is “not much,” but the RUA would be ceased if it got to that point.
However, Luka believed the roads would still be used with or without a RUA due to jurisdictional control going to the province.
Minister of Municipal Affairs Danielle Larivee offered a clear response as to confusion about who possessed jurisdiction in the matter. In a letter to the MD, Larivee wrote Alberta Transportation has the authority to issue permits regarding widths and lengths of commercial vehicles.
The MD has the authority to determine speed limits and weight bans.
Luka advised council that they didn’t have the authority to reject any haul.
“(…) it’s under the ultimate control of the province,” Luka said.
“With the RUA we would be prepared to provide extra maintenance and it gives us control and management of the roads.”
Butters argued the RUA, stating it would create a “false sense of expectations” in the community and cause a headache for MD staff.
“If we sign this agreement (then) we become a partner in the agreement, and apologists in the agreement,” Butters said. “The MD can’t benefit from (the RUA) … this is a provincial issue.”
The controversial RUA saw opposition from Bighorn residents over the months who had highlighted safety and the roads’ integrity – stating they are not designed for heavy hauling.
Ryan said with the RUA, SLS is agreeing and acknowledging the terms and conditions, otherwise not there.
“I think we’re better off with (the RUA) than without it,” Ryan said.
Reeve Dene Cooper and Coun. Carolyn Montgomery both agreed that going with the legal counsel that recommend going forward with the RUA was the best route of action for the MD at this stage.
“I think we’re between a rock an hard spot. This can’t be interpreted as a normal business issue, it’s a political issue,” said Montgomery. “We asked for legal advice, and got stern advice. I think we have to go with what our legal counsel recommends.”
