AltaLink representatives Kevin Strangway, manager of municipal relations, and Mark Johns, director of siting, were invited to Crossfield council Feb. 1, to speak about the Western Alberta Transmission Line.
The Western Alberta Transmission Line will connect the Genesee area west of Edmonton to Langdon, east of Calgary, reinforcing Alberta’s transmission backbone for the future.
Altalink has held two public information sessions in the Town of Crossfield since beginning public consultation for the project in January of last year.
Council’s primary concern with the line is the expected proximity to the town.
The preferred route for the transmission lines will pass just one kilometre north of the annexed land of Crossfield.
“When planning a new transmission line, our goal is to find the route with the lowest overall impact,” said Leigh Clarke, senior vice president of external engagement with Altalink. “We consulted with stakeholders and conducted an in-depth routing process throughout 2010 to find the route options with the lowest overall impact. Our preferred route has low residential, environmental and agricultural impacts.”
During the meeting it was discovered that Crossfield is the only town on the entire route that these lines will come this close to.
“I am appalled that they brag about the fact they have had two meetings in Crossfield, and we are the only town they come this close to,” said Anderson. “I think we made it pretty clear that this isn’t acceptable. And they made it clear that they don’t really care. They will be filing their application. I think their route affects a lot of people. It affects the 2,861 residents of Crossfield. I felt that it was a bit of a slap in the face. At the end of the day, they don’t really care about Crossfield.”
Deputy Mayor Jo Tennant made mention of the fact that Crossfield is already limited by its growth on two sides; the gas and power plant to the south and Highway 2 to the east. This line would cut the town off to the north.
Councillor Jason Harvey echoed the mayor’s comments.
“People still don’t want to live near power lines,” said Harvey. “They can easily move them north, out of our growth area.”
Representatives of AltaLink feels the meeting went well.
“It’s always a success when you can sit down with people and discuss any concerns or questions they might have,” said Clarke. “I think people realize that our transmission system hasn’t been upgraded in a number of years and you don’t have to look far to see how much our province has grown and how demand for power has increased.”
Crossfield council has acquired a piece of land, which will be the future site of a new Civic Centre.
The land is where the old Baptist Church sat at 1420 Strathcona Street, and after years of looking for a site, fundraising can now get underway.
“This has been a contentious issue for years,” said Anderson. “The key thing is we have the land, which means the rest of it will happen.”
The piece of land next door to the site, which is currently the water pump station and reservoir, is expected to retire in the next couple years, giving the building room to grow. The Town hopes to include the library in the building along with Municipal Enforcement and multi-purpose rooms, but council is ensuring taxpayers will not foot the bill.
Council is in the process of setting up a building committee made of up residents and potential future tenants, to find grants and fundraise for the project.
“This will be a 75-year solution,” said Anderson. “Everybody would like to see it done before the first term is up. Is that what we are going to do? Not at the expense of the taxpayer. If it takes four years, then it takes four years.”
