Despite the challenging year, Mackenzie County Reeve, Josh Knelsen says there were some positives that came from this year.
Among them, according to Knelsen is approval from the province on a project to build a toll bridge over Tompkins Crossing.
The bridge would replace the ferry, which county officials have said on different occasions that it is a lot less reliable.
Depending on levels in the Peace River, the ferry could be closed on any given day.
“It’s absolutely huge,” says Knelsen on the announcement earlier this year from Transportation Minister, Ric McIver, approving the project.
“It’s something we have been advocating for, for a long time and we knew the province wasn’t going to pay for it so we will pay for it ourselves every time we cross it.”
Despite user fees being included, Knelsen ads the community is excited for the upgrade.
The reeve also says a natural gas pipeline that will bring fuel to the region will help with energy security during the cold winter months.
Agriculture and Forestry Minister, Devin Dreeshen along with Peace River MLA, Dan Williams announced $16.2 million in funding to build the pipeline from NOVA Gas Transmission Ltd, which is northeast of the Town of Peace River to the Northern Lights Gas Co-op in LaCrete.
“For the last several winters, we have had homes that have gone completely cold because we have ran out of gas,” explains Knelsen.
“We had schools shut down in our municipality; we can’t attract industry properly because we don’t have enough gas to supply them. It’s overdue but huge for the region.”
Another big event for the county was the flooding of Fort Vermilion in late-April, which forced around 400 residents to be evacuated from the hamlet and surrounding communities.
Knelsen tells the Trending 55 Newsroom that even today, the community is still dealing with the effects of the flood, which was caused by an ice-jam in the Peace River.
“There are still families struggling with it and we are not done dealing with this,” Knelsen says.
“We are still working with the province on this and hope to come to a solution where this won’t be something we ever have to worry about again.”
In closing, Knelsen was asked if the county is looking forward to turning the page to a new year.
“I think the end of 2020 cannot come soon enough so we are looking forward to a new year and a new start.”
