With the busy summer months coming up, Ponoka County is prepping boat launches at Gull Lake to make way for better accessibility.
"We just finished dredging the boat launch on the east side of the lake by Raymond Shores - 160 metres out from the boat launch has been dredged about three-quarters of a meter deep," said Peter Hall, the county's CAO.
"It's 20 meters side, so there is a channel now that will get people from the boat launch to the main part of the lake without dragging the bottom," he said, adding the lake's levels have been generally low.
Next up is the Stoner's Landing launch on the west side of the lake, south of the Parkland Beach area. Hall said that last year, this particular launch was basically unusable - again due to low water levels.
"So we will be dredging that one as well, and we will be doing a bit of work to re-position access to the boat launch there."
Hall said this extensive work on both launches is a big win for the community. "People are going to be happy to hear that."
Also, he said the county recently received notification from municipal affairs of an inter-municipal collaboration grant for $200,000 that is available.
"Ponoka County, Lacombe County, the summer villages of Parkland Beach, and Gull Lake - we will be applying for this jointly," he said. The grant would support a study that would explore how human activity - since the early 1920s - has impacted water flows to Gull Lake, and how various projects over the decades may possibly have diverted water away as well.
"We want to see if there is any ability to restore natural water flows to the lake without impacting other activities in the area," he said. Making this particular study all the more critical to tackle is that the county's residential assessment lies within two to three miles from the lake itself.
"It's a really important recreational resource. And it's just an important resource to the community."
In other news of late, Hall pointed to the purchase of a building in Rimbey which is now utilized as a fire hall.
"It was an existing structure owned by LV Energy Services.- Jason Henderson was the principle on this. He had the building for sale," said Hall, adding that ultimately, the structure has proven to be a perfect fit for the fire department.
"It was actually tailor-made to be a fire hall. It's perfect for what we are dong," said Hall. The old fire hall is expected to be listed for sale this month.
Hall said that Henderson, knowing what the purpose of the building would be going forward, also lowered the purchase price.
"I've got to give him a lot of credit for being really good to deal with," Hall said, adding the building also provides more room than the department needs, so they have been able to lease part of it out to a local business.
Looking ahead into March, Hall noted that the new budget is in the works, and will be presented to county for approval late this month.
