Drumheller seeks $1.235 million for flood costs

    The Town of Drumheller is getting close to finalizing its flood report to the Government of Alberta. At the moment, the Town is asking for $1.235 million to cover the costs of the flood.
    The Town will deliver the report to the province on Thursday, October 3.

    At the moment, the finishes touches are being made on the report and will go to Council for final approval.
    The report examines different aspects of the flood, including where repairs are needed, where new dyking is required, and the costs associated with each.
    “We’ve identified improvements that are required in the existing dyking. We know there are concerns areas during the flood that required additional material to be brought in, catch basins, and storm sewers that acted up. All of that has been included in the report. The report is going to look at the hot spots and identify dollars available for all those areas,” said CAO Ray Romanetz.
    “The second part of the report looks at those areas that don’t have dyking and identified costs.”
    The report also breaks down the costs of the flood. The Town spent $310,000 in flood prevention, $417,000 in flood recovery, $10,000 for the Evacuation Centre, $373,000 for road damages, and $125,000 to fix damaged pumps. In total, the Town is seeking $1.235 million from the province.
    There are also questions the Town is hoping will be answered by the province.
    “There will be questions for the province relating to our growth areas. For instance, we need to firm up what the elevation for the 1:100 level will be,” said Romanetz.
    The Town continues to work on recovering from the flood. Crews continue cleanup along the Red Deer River, identifying damaged pumps and pipes, road repairs. Since the flood, the trail system and Newcastle Ball Diamonds have been reopened.

    The Drumheller Town Council stepped up its support for Hope College.
    At the most recent meeting of Town Council, on Monday, September 23, a request was made by Hope College for Council to reconsider contributing financially to the post secondary institution.  
    Council voted unanimously in favour of a $5,000 contribution to Hope College.   
    “This decision and this contribution is tremendous! From the outset of the project to launch a college in Drumheller, it has always been envisioned that this college would be for the benefit of people living in this community and the surrounding region of East Central Alberta.  The Administration and Board of Directors for Hope College wish to express its genuine gratitude to the Drumheller Town Council for this tangible expression of support,” Dr. Jon Ohlhauser, President of Hope College.  
    Earlier this year, Council postponed any funding to Hope College, feeling the college had not made enough progress in its business plan.
    “Council saw they’ve made quite a bit of progress. They have students and are focusing on rural education, so Council thought it appropriate to give it support,” said Mayor Terry Yemen.
    Councillors who voted against contributing to Hope College earlier this year, were in favour this time around.
    “I was one of the councillors who voted against it last time, because I felt they didn’t really follow through with their commitments. Since then, they’ve really come through. I feel they’ve done a really good job,” said Councillor Doug Stanford.
    Further funding contributions from Town Council to Hope College will be discussed during Council’s next round of budget deliberations.
    “It’ll be talked over again. We’ll be going over the three year budget process and it will be one of the items discussed,” said Mayor Yemen.