Black Diamond taxpayers with questions about flood protection, parks and taxes will receive some answers this week.
Black Diamond Town council and administration will bring citizens up to speed on various ongoing projects in town during an open house in the lower level of the municipal building May 14 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. A question period will take place at 7:30 p.m.
“It’s a time for council to share information about what’s going on in the community,” said Black Diamond Mayor Sharlene Brown, adding the last open house was held in the fall.
The open house will consist of displays and stations with staff, council members, engineers and an assessor in attendance.
Among the information provided will be the Town’s proposed $3.09 operating budget and $12.14 capital budget. The proposed operating budget shows an increase of 2.42 per cent, or $67,591.25, over last year.
“That’s below the cost of living increase,” said Joanne Irwin, the Town’s chief administrative officer, at council’s May 6 meeting. “We worked hard to bring this budget in as low as we possibly could.”
Council will approve its budget on May 20 or June 3.
Meghan Aebig, project engineer with Calgary consulting firm Urban Systems and the Town’s flood recovery project manager, will be present to discuss ongoing flood mitigation work including the construction of a berm both upstream and downstream of the Black Diamond bridge this summer.
Council approved the construction of a berm around well 3 last week, the only well not damaged in the 2013 flood. The cost is covered by the Flood Recovery Erosion Control program.
The well is located in the Sheep River upstream of Black Diamond and is owned by the Town of Black Diamond, Irwin said.
Council was asked to approve one of two options for the berm - a shorter berm that might allow some pooling of water in high water situations, yet providing no risk of flooding, and a larger berm that wouldn’t allow any water in the area but require an adjustment to the service road and removal of trees. Council approved the first option.
Construction will take place in August as to not impact spawning fish in the area, Aebig said.
She told council she looked into uses for the well’s non-potable water including watering vegetation, cleaning streets and equipment, connecting to an irrigation line, selling it to the public and installing a bulk storage system.
Council will decide on future use of the water at a later council meeting.
The open house will also provide information on its plans for Wilrich Park after equipment at the playground was damaged in the 2013 flood. The equipment was five years from reaching its life expectancy.
The equipment was removed last summer and donated to the Emmanuel Foundation for International Community Development to be repaired and used in a third world country.
The Town received funding from the Canadian Red Cross Society’s disaster management recovery proposal and the Province’s Disaster Recovery Program to purchase and install new equipment.
Coun. Michel Jackson, a member of the parks and recreation committee, said while the Town’s original plan was to put the new equipment in another area of town as was required by the Canadian Red Cross Society due to the park’s location in the flood fringe, the existing location was since approved due to the Town’s plan to construct a berm adjacent to the park.
“The park is not moving,” Jackson told council on May 6. “We’ll install new playground equipment in Wilrich Park after flood mitigation in the area has been completed.”
Brown said she hopes to see a large turnout at tomorrow’s open house, adding past events haven’t always been well attended.
“Previously when we’ve done that there hasn’t been as much of a turnout,” she said. “We are having great attendance at the council meetings now. Maybe it’s an indication of things to come.”
