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Regional Collaboration Study Open House held in Village of Myrnam
Regional Collaboration Study Open House held in Village of Myrnam
Michelle Pinon - News Advertiser
The first of two public engagement sessions for the Regional Collaboration Study was held in the Village of Myrnam CTEC building on Feb. 29.
The open house was hosted by Transitional Solutions Inc. that was jointly selected by the Village of Myrnam, Town of Two Hills and County of Two Hills with funding for the study being funded through an Alberta Community Partnership Grant made available by the Government of Alberta.
Benjamin Proulx, Director of Municipal Advisory Services for Transitional Solutions Inc., (TSI)was on hand for the open house that had approximately 15 attendees. “While we had hoped for higher attendance, we are happy that those who attended were engaged and enthusiastic about providing their input on the project. A lot of the information we use to develop a final report is based on quantitative data and in-depth research, but residents' opinions are really important in rounding out a complete picture for us,” stated Proulx.
Attendees also filled out a survey that was supplied by TSI. Participants are being asked mainly about local services in an effort to gauge the value, efficiency and effectiveness of service provision currently seen in each municipality and across the region.
The project team assigned to the study is reviewing all areas of municipal service delivery. That list of municipal services include: transportation connectivity and roadway maintenance, economic development, utilities (water, storm water, waste water), waste collection and management, snow clearing, parks and recreation, emergency services and management, library, cemetery, Family & Community Services and municipally organized and hosted events.
According to TSI, “That input will be incorporated into the analysis of various inputs, including in-depth research con ducted by an expert team of municipal administration, governance and finance specials who will then develop a report for the three partner municipalities.”
Proulx said a digital version of the survey will be launched soon and will be made available for approximately one month. The date, location and time for the open house in Two Hills has not yet been determined, but Proulx expects that to happen sometime in the next week. The County of Two Hills has opted not to hold an open house.
County of Two Hills Deputy Reeve Don Gulayec was in attendance at the open house as Reeve Murray Phillips was unable to attend the event. Gulayec was asked why the County of Two Hills was not going to be holding an open house, and he said the question would be best directed to Phillips. As of press time, the Vegreville News Advertiser had not received a comment from Phillips.
Gulayec did complete one of the surveys and shared that, “The comment I had made is that I am a little partial because I live in the area. I have no reason to travel anywhere else because I can pretty much find all the services that I need closely.”
One of the survey questions asked was if they have to travel outside their area for services and what type of services. Gulayec said that would be for medical services as none are currently provided in Village of Myrnam and so the next closest centre would be the Town of Two Hills.
As far as regional collaboration, Gulayec said, “We do collaborate a fair amount just due to the fact that we work together with the fire departments and there’s a lot of spin-off from that as well.” The municipalities are also members of the Landfill authority, ACE water system and all of the senior lodges fall under the Eagle Hill Foundation. Having council representation on those boards also allows members to discuss items of mutual interest when they meet together.
TSI will be submitting a final report to the Village of Myrnam, Town of Two Hills and County of Two Hills for review by the end of April, 2024.
