Staff
The Rimbey Community Centre was the site of an AltaLink open house on Feb. 18 to both gather public feedback and to provide information on new electrical transmission lines that could be constructed in close proximity to Rimbey.
“I’m very pleased with it. All of our open houses have been well attended and that’s very important to us because we’re trying to listen very carefully to people’s information and their concerns,” said Leigh Clarke, senior vice-president of external engagement for AltaLink. “We are learning a great deal through this process; things we can’t learn sitting at a desk or in a helicopter looking at potential routes and we’re getting a lot of good information.”
With the completion of all 12 of the scheduled open houses along the Highway 2 corridor, Clarke estimated more than 1,500 people attended the information seminars and while he admitted AltaLink has not done the best of jobs in the area of public relations, the company remains committed to including everyone in their discussions and future plans.
“I’ve been having a lot of conversations with the folks around Rimbey and in the Levesta area over the last month or two and I really appreciate their feedback and their candor,” he said. “I think there are areas that AltaLink is recognizing it can do a better job on and I think we have to make sure that we do a very strong job of helping people feel like they’re part of this process.”
Clarke said there are four potential routes for the proposed transmission lines and while a final decision might not be made for more than one year, he added that in the meantime, AltaLink will do its best to rebuild trust while helping concerned citizens understand the need for the transmission lines.
“Clearly there are those people who are not interested in having a transmission line near them and we are able to record that information and bring that back into our decision making,” Clarke said. “There are also those who say they recognize that transmission lines are needed but they want to make sure that they are fairly compensated, and that’s an area we’re really going to put under the microscope, if you will, and really sharpen our pencils and see what we can do to ensure that the landowners and people that host these facilities on behalf of all Albertans, are treated fairly.”
Clarke said after dissecting the gathered information, they’ll forward their report to the Alberta Utilities Commission, which will make the final decision some time in 2011.