Pearl Lorentzen
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Lakeside Leader

Capital Projects

Roland Schmidt, chief financial officer, and Kush Patel, project manager, showed council the draft 10-year capital project list. They didn’t go into details, but asked council if they had any questions.

Schmidt called it “a preliminary overview of what we’re looking at. These aren’t ranked.”

During strategic planning, council will decide on priorities, he added. Then administration will rank the projects.
“Not all have project profiles,” said Schmidt.

Buildings, parks, and trails will be assessed this year, he added. The goal is “a deep dive to get some better information, so we can also add them to our plans.”
Mayor Francesca Ward mentioned projects for the Multi Rec Centre (MRC) and other assets that are shared with the M.D. of Lesser Slave River. A split of how much would be a town and how much an M.D. cost would be useful, she said.

Councillor Kimberly Hughes asked about the MRC generator, which was listed as 2025, but not completed.
It would be nice to have, she said.

The town applied for a grant, said Patel, but wasn’t successful. However, administration is actively looking for funding streams. It doesn’t qualify for green initiatives. In 2016, when the town received a grant to replace the ice compressor a transfer switch was added. This means that a generator large enough to run the whole building could be plugged in.

Ward asked why the diving board from the 2025 capital projects wasn’t completed.

Tariffs increased the cost from $8,000 to $10,000, said Patel. However, in February, diving boards will be exempt from tariffs.

Snow removal equipment

Council decided to purchase a skid steer blade to help with snow removal and if the price is right a very large snow blower. See article on Page 1 & 7.

MRC lighting and boiler

Council decided to approve a capital project for lighting at the MRC and replacing two boilers, however this will only go ahead if the grant application is successful.

Administration asked council to approve the project on January 13, because the grant deadline was close.

The project costs $367,000, said Schmidt. However, if the green energy grant is successful, it will only cost the town $187,000.

Over the last few years, the town has used green energy grants to change the lights in the MRC to LEDs, said Patel. This would finish that. The MRC also has three boilers which were installed in 2010-11, and are only expected to last 15 years. It is becoming difficult to get parts. These are 85 per cent efficient. The new ones are 97 per cent efficient. The plan is to replace two. These are used to heat the dressing rooms, lobby, and Arena 2.

Councillor Cindy Williams asked how much one boiler is.
The two boilers are $320,000, said Patel. The lights are $46,000.

Council passed a Ward motion to go ahead with the project if the grant is successful, and use $187,000 from the Capital Building fund.

CAO report

“We’re still seeing lots of activity in Fournier Place,” said Pavcek in his CAO update. In 2025, the town issued 72 development permits. So far in 2026, it has issued seven. Of the 2025 ones, five were for new homes in Fournier Place.
Pavcek mentioned each department, including the Lesser Slave Regional Fire Service.

The Slave Lake hall recruits have become probationary fire fighters, he said. December was the busiest on record for the fire department. Most of the calls were motor vehicle collisions, but many were minor with people sliding off the road. One or two people would check the minor ones, not a full crew. Six new students started in the EMS and Fire program run jointly by Northern Lakes College and Lesser Slave Regional Fire Service.

Town programs have been busy, said Pavcek. Frost Fest details will be announced soon.

Electoral Boundaries Commission

Two items on the administration task list had to do with Alberta Electoral Boundaries Commission. Both were done, or close to being done. The 29-page document from council arguing against the removal of the Lesser Slave Lake riding had been submitted and Mayor Ward was scheduled speak at the January 15 public hearing at 2:40 p.m. for six minutes.

Hughes asked if the town’s response to the commission was on the town’s website yet, as community members had been asking.

Ward said she needed to send it to administration. Once it is sent, it will be added to the website.

Question period

Hughes mentioned that Hwy. 2 west of the Athabasca River didn’t seem to be as well maintained as it was on the east side. Who could council talk to with Alberta Transportation or the contractor to address this issue, she asked.

Ward also asked that administration follow up with the Minister of Transportation, as council had asked for clear communication on where people should expect sand and salt.

Hughes understood that the contractor had 600 km to maintain, but it could be better. The M.D. of Lesser Slave River also wants to talk with transportation about the highways.

Pavcek suggested that administration organize a meeting between council and the area manager for transportation. The M.D. is asking the same questions, he added.

Council passed a Hughes motion for administration to set up the meeting.

Council reported on various committees that council members sit on.

Tri-Council Health

Councillor Lynn Bowes reported on Tri-Council Health. A doctor is leaving for a year, a new doctor is doing an evaluation, there are two more doctors needed. The Slave Lake Family Care Clinic is trying to be open evenings. In December, it had 2,749 appointments. Of these, 366 were over the phone, and 674 were able to book an appointment for the day they called.

The number of patients who do not have a family doctor or nurse practitioner (NP) is growing, she added. However, it is good to be attached to a doctor or NP since funding is based on registered patients. Unregistered patients get missed. EMS is 90 per cent staffed and is recruiting more casual workers.

Chemotherapy is not offered in Slave Lake, said Bowes. One of the challenges is there is not a fume hood for staff to mix the treatment. Therefore, it would need to be shipped from Edmonton, and the courier needs special training. This is what Barrhead does. Barrhead is closer to Edmonton, but staff are going to find out what courier Barrhead uses.

The Slave Lake hospital or clinic has phone issues, said Bowes. The issue is the phone system can’t keep up, and Alberta Health Services (AHS) isn’t approving any capital expenses until all of the health care transitions are finished.

“Call in the morning; hopefully you’ll get through,” said Bowes.

Slave Lake Region Tourism Society

The tourism society has a new board, said Hughes. This includes representatives from many municipalities and operators from three tourism businesses in the area. She was glad to have “a bit more diversity on the board.”

The society co-hosted a tourism summit in Grande Prairie, added Hughes. This will hopefully be an event every two years, with Slave Lake hosting in the future. This was focused on tourism in the north.

The society has applied for a legal name change to reflect its new focus on the whole Lesser Slave Lake region, including Wabasca. Work is also being done on the website.

Slave Lake Regional Library Board

Even with being closed over Christmas break, the Slave Lake Library had 520 people attend events in December, said Councillor Cindy Williams. Flatbush and Smith libraries also held events. Security in Slave Lake Library dealt with 11 incidents, but the police didn’t need to be called. The library is looking for local artists to display their art on the art wall for a month.

Youth Advisory Committee

Bowes is the council representative on the Slave Lake’s Youth Advisory Committee. On January 6, the committee was sworn in. The youth are planning a Valentine’s dance and on getting involved in Beach Fest.

“The kids are pretty engaged,” said Bowes.

“When I was with the Rotary Club, we were trying to get a youth Rotary Club as well,” said Williams. It might make sense to reach out to the Rotary.

Municipal Planning Commission

The MPC approved two more variances for new homes at Fournier Place, said Councillor Shawn Gramlich.

Slave Lake Airport

The Slave Lake airport had a busy year, said Hughes, with 1,051 flights. Design work is almost done for the erosion control at the end of the runway. A new helicopter company has rented land for a hangar.

Slave Lake Waste Commission

Snow removal has been a challenge at the waste transfer site, said Mayor Ward. The commission has asked administration to come up with a plan for replacing the landfill cell, which has had space for one to two years for the last 10 years. The estimated replacement cost is $3.5 million.