Emily Plihal
Local Journalism
Initiative Reporter
At its regular meeting on Oct. 14, Northern Sunrise County council discussed concerns arising from its decision to lease NW-34-83-21-W5 as a grazing lease to a county resident.
“The land owned by the Town of Peace River within that parcel is listed as a nuisance ground,” explains Reeve Corinna Williams.
“Due to the possibility of this, they do not want to enter a lease with the county resident for liability reasons.”
Williams says the County chose to lease their portion of the parcel to the resident as a 25-year grazing lease, noting that with Peace River choosing to not lease their portion, the resident will have additional costs to fence around the Town’s parcel of land.
“We feel that the grazing would be a good use of the land and cause little disturbance, as well as help control vegetation and benefit the resident with his operations,” says Williams.
“The County was open to the resident leasing the County’s land and requested that the Town consider entering a lease or selling the land to the resident.”
Williams says the County does not have any current use for this parcel of land and the resident brought forward a request that the council felt was appropriate use.
“The County-owned parcel of land is not listed as a landfill, so there was no concern on our portion of the land,” explains Williams.
“If the resident wants to fence the land as would be required to exclude access to the parcel owned by the Town of Peace River, they will still enter a lease with the resident,” she adds.
The land is located down Fairgrounds Road. Williams notes this will benefit the County because they are giving support to their resident with their livestock requirements.
“The County felt that a grazing lease would be a viable option for the Town to consider in consultation with the county resident,” concludes Williams.
In a letter to Northern Sunrise County from the Town of Peace River dated Sept. 24, Mayor Elaine Manzer expressed her council’s disappointment in not being asked to discuss the issue of renting the area as a grazing lease. She notes Peace River council was only made aware of the agreement in a letter.
“Making such a decision without any prior communication placed both the Town and your resident in a precarious position,” writes Manzer in the letter from the Town of Peace River to the County.
“Had the County first consulted with our administration, our concerns regarding the land could have been brought to your attention, possibly mitigating some of this awkwardness. It was disheartening to be put in such a position by our municipal partner.”
Manzer’s letter adds consultation would have informed Northern Sunrise County that their records show the lands in question were previously used as a landfill, and they could have discussed the Town’s concerns about leasing the lands for grazing purposes.
Manzer’s concerns go on to note there are provincial regulations to follow when a landfill closes in regard to remediation and how the site can be used in the future, all to eliminate liability concerns when a sale or lease is expected.