Construction is moving along at
an increased pace in Sylvan Lake this year.
“We’ve issued twice as many
building permits as we did last year during the same time,” said Development
Officer Kelly Trombley, during Monday night’s Municipal Planning Commission
meeting. Fifty-five permits were issued compared to 26 last year.
Statistics
released last week indicate the total value of construction permitted in the
first two months of 2012 is 61 per cent ahead of last year’s pace. The total is
$5.33 million this year compared to $3.3 million in 2011.
Many of the permits
have been for new homes or multi-family units, Trombley said.
Two permits
were issued for townhouse complexes in the area south of Ryders Square last
month. One, to Panterra Developments Corp., was for a five-unit building on Ross
Close and the other, to Falcon Homes, was for a four unit complex on Rafferty
Court. Total construction value of the two projects was $1.377 million or over
47 per cent of the month’s total of $2.891 million.
Permits were also issued
for three single family homes, two in Ryders Ridge and one on Lakeshore
Drive.
Commercial construction is also accounting for a significant amount of
activity, 24 per cent of February’s total.
Five commercial development
permits were issued. The largest, at $409,280, was for Lakehouse Furnishings and
Decor in Hewlett Park Landing. Sylvan Lake Dental Centre is undergoing
renovations valued at $215,000. One of the other permits was to create two
separate bays in the Ryders Square location formerly occupied by Blockbuster.
The development officer’s report presented at the MPC meeting indicated permits
have been issued for The Source and Pet Planet to locate in that
space.
Permits were also issued for minor renovations to Bikini’s Pub on
Lakeshore Drive and for Skin Deep Formulation to locate in the marina
building.
Associated Ambulance received a permit to locate in the building at
9 Erickson Crescent. Value of renovations to add a housing component to the
building for employees was valued at $50,000. The building was previously
occupied by Wrapex.
Four permits were issued for basement construction and
three for decks.

- Steve Dills
Sylvan Lake News

A big dump of snow in Central Alberta caused rural bus cancellations and slippery road conditions for the Red Deer area Tuesday morning.

As of 5 a.m. 19 cm had fallen at the Red Deer Airport, said Colin Fong, meteorologist for Environment Canada.

“We can expect two to five cm more before the storm tapers off and moves into Saskatchewan,” said Fong. Red Deer can also expect to see more blowing and drifting snow due to high winds early this afternoon.

Most of Central Alberta, especially the region closer to the Rockies, received up to 20 cm of snowfall, said Fong.

An Alberta Motor Association report issued a highway alert Tuesday morning for Red Deer, Ponoka, Stettler, and Innisfail.

Three to four semi-trucks were pulled from the ditches along Hwy 2 around Ponoka, said Cpl. Jerry Court from Ponoka RCMP. Highway lanes were restricted but the highway remains open.

Earlier Tuesday morning a truck was blocking a lane also on Hwy 2 by Didsbury, but no other problems so far have been reported, said Const. Steve Molnar of Innisfail RCMP. Roads around Innisfail are slick, partially snow-covered and if you don’t have to go anywhere today, stay home, said Molnar.

All Red Deer Catholic rural buses — covering the Bowden, Blackfalds, Caroline, Didsbury, Innisfail, Olds, Red Deer, Rocky Mountain House and Sylvan Lake areas — were cancelled Tuesday. Buses were also cancelled for Wild Rose, Chinooks Edge, Wolf Creek and Clearview school divisions. Gateway Christian School buses were cancelled in Red Deer. All city and rural schools remain open.

Graders and plow trucks have been on Red Deer roads since 1 a.m., said Jennifer Thoma of The City of Red Deer.

Red Deer didn’t set any snowfall records however. The record for Mar. 5 was set in 1958 when the city saw 27.4 cm fall, said Fong.

rfrancoeur@reddeeradvocate.com

- Red Deer Advocate

Unruly summer behaviour and liquor in boats on the lake were among topics discussed during a wide ranging discussion between senior Sylvan Lake RCMP officers and members of town council.

Staff Sergeant Gary Rhodes, Sergeant Michelle Boutin and Corporal Malcolm Callihoo, who’s been acting detachment commander for the past couple of months, reviewed some of their plans and answered questions at the Feb. 13 council meeting.

Rhodes will be moving to the area shortly but in the meantime is commuting from Wetaskiwin one day a week. Boutin is moving to the area this month and is currently commuting to the detachment on a daily basis.

One of the first questions from Mayor Susan Samson was about using enhanced policing at the marina to deal with impaired boaters.
Callihoo said that’s been a common problem since he’s been here. “We have had people on the dock, checking boat registration numbers, boating licenses. I can tell you liquor is a big problem on the lake. 70 per cent of the boats we stop have liquor on board.
One of the problems,” he said, “is if we concentrate on the Sylvan Lake side people drive around the lake and enter elsewhere.”
They’ve had that occur when someone was removed from the lake on the south side and was caught again later in the day in a different area.

“It’s an ongoing enforcement concern for us,” Callihoo said.
Samson responded, “I think if we deter that type of behaviour they might sneak around on a Saturday but the next time they consider coming they may think to go elsewhere.”
Callihoo indicated as part of the enhanced budget they receive from the province to bring in extra officers during busy summer weekends they do boat patrols on the lake. There were 19 patrols last summer.

The town also contributes $60,000 in enhanced funding for bringing in officers to deal with summer visitors.
“We’re totally on board making Sylvan Lake a family friendly place. We really work hard enforcing zero tolerance in town,” Callihoo said. Unruly behaviour, public drinking, fighting and other alcohol related issues are concerns during the summer season.
Samson also thanked the RCMP for their support of the initiative to get ice huts registered and then removed from the lake before spring thaw.

“Over the course of Saturday and Sunday we visited 91 huts,” she said. Among those involved with the program were Samson, RCMP Const. Michael Lee and Beverley Anderson, chair of Sylvan Lake Management Plan Committee.
“We picked up 11 voluntary registrations.” Samson said the biggest group of anglers were families — moms, dads with kids — while the second biggest group was friends. “Out of the 91 we saw one six-pack of beer. That’s all. It was noticeable that alcohol is not what’s going on out there.”

Callihoo noted they had positive feedback about the hut registration program. It also provides them with contacts in the case huts are broken into or stolen property is recovered.

Another issue Samson raised was the 781-11 intersection. Callihoo said he participated in all three focus groups.
“My concern always has been public safety. We’re concerned about the amount of complaints of people turning left against traffic unlawfully. I did say extending the barriers on both sides as well as enhanced signage would help.”

He added police officers have written 150-160 tickets at the intersection for illegal left turns. That’s been accomplished both by increasing patrols and also using some of the enhanced funding to bring in additional officers.
“There haven’t been any fatalities since it’s been changed. That’s positive in my mind.”

Asked if the town needs more police officers, Rhodes said Wetaskiwin is about the same size as Sylvan Lake but the community is distinctly different. Wetaskiwin has 30 officers where Sylvan has 15.
“There are detachments that have three times as much as your ratio” (Sylvan’s ratio is one officer for every 800 people).
He explained the City of Wetaskiwin pays for additional officers.

“It really comes down to you folks deciding, do you have sufficient numbers. If you want a school resource officer — presently you don’t have that — if you wanted a detective here, plain clothes to dive into the drug trade, we don’t have that.” Rhodes added in Wetaskiwin they’ve established a two person crime reduction team to work on petty damage crime.

He noted it’s their intention to make a submission to the provincial government in the spring to get two more members on the rural side. “It tends to be more difficult to get rural positions than municipal,” Rhodes said.

One of the discussions was the effect additional growth on the north side of the lake would have on the local detachment. Callihoo agreed it would probably put stress on the municipal side of the detachment.

“If it’s going to affect our detachment, it’s part of our problem,” said Councillor Ken MacVicar. “It’s beholden on us to actually lobby the provincial government on behalf of our detachment.”

Earlier in the discussion, when talking about youth initiatives, Callihoo said the detachment plans to get the DARE (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) program up and running again.

All the officers who have conducted the courses in the past have transferred out of Sylvan Lake so they didn’t run the program this past year.

- Steve Dills
Sylvan Lake News 

There is a new type of program taking off with a great impact in Red Deer that is aimed at making a difference in the lives of people recovered from addictions.

Abundant Safe Living House (ASLH) is a program that provides safe, accessible and affordable housing to people who have recovered through some type of program from an addiction of some sort.

“Currently there is nothing like this that exists anywhere. There is a huge demand for this type of programming,” said director James White.

ASLH started with a grand opening in December of one house for five women and continues to grow, having just opened house number two and aiming for house number three for the beginning of March.

The first two houses were geared towards women but the third will be men’s only. The need for this type of housing is high in Red Deer but White said it hasn’t been the focus before.

“Red Deer has a lot of harm reduction or housing first type scenarios, but we don’t go by that method. We go by once they’ve completed some sort of treatment they need a grounded space to be,” said White.

Housing first isn’t the issue according to White. Rather, recovery should be first and then housing.

On the web site for ASLH is a quote that simply states, “Understanding is the first step to acceptance, and only with acceptance can there be recovery.”

White would like to see people in the Red Deer community as well as other areas of the province and country become involved in making programs like Abundant Safe Living House possible.

The philosophy of ASLH is to provide opportunity to people recovering from additions to rebuild their lives to be able to maintain long-term sobriety from whatever addiction they may have been dealing with.

Part of the goal of ASLH is to reintegrate these men and women back into society. They pay rent in their new living spaces and function as a household with chores, responsibilities and structure.

“We encourage that they get a job and slowly get back into society and volunteer and do that sort of thing,” said White.

Along with the standard requirements of the home, ASLH asks of its tenants that they have an open mind and that they be willing to take actions on the advisors’ suggestions. These suggestions could come from a number of different resources that White said are always accessible to those involved in the program.

White explained that the approach of Abundant Safe Living House is very hands-on and that they have a trauma therapist who helps the women. White is an addictions counsellor as well.

Along with providing counselling, White said some basics are also provided through his wife including resume building, some cooking help as well as help with any day-to-day challenges the men and women may face.

White said some discussions have been held with Women’s Outreach, and they are always on the lookout for people to be aware of the program and reach out to help.

“The biggest thing for us is wanting people to be aware of it. We are always looking for professionals who can offer services like even a yoga instructor so we can build some programming around it.”

One of the biggest challenges for White and ASLH is furnishing the new homes.

“We need beds for the tenants and those can cost thousands of dollars along with couches and furnishings.”

The program houses multiple people in one home for a number of reasons.

“When these people come out of treatment they’re used to living with 40 or 50 other people. To put them in their own house might not work; they might start repeating old patterns.”

White said by housing a number of people together it provides a unity and a “we can do this” type of attitude instead of reverting to old habits and being alone again.

“What got the ball rolling for me was that I myself am a recovered alcoholic and I went through the same stages and knew what was needed. I knew where the gaps were and I wanted to aim to close them.”

For more information on Abundant Safe Living House visit www.abundantsafeliving.com or contact James White at 403-596-4010.

- kpalardy@reddeerexpress.com

Well it’s started again…interest rates are creeping upwards. The super low 3% levels are
going to be gone in the next 24-48 hours and it looks like lenders are going to
be settling in at the 3.39-3.59% for the time being, which isn’t far off right
now. If you are on the fence about getting pre-approved and want to buy in the next 4 months,  now is the time to
call and get your rate locked in!

- Jean-Guy Turcotte

TORONTO — Traders will be looking to another heavy slate of earnings from corporate Canada this week, with results largely concentrated in the financial, mining and energy sectors — the three main components of the Toronto stock market.

The gold segment will be in particular focus as three big companies report — Goldcorp Inc. (TSX:G) and Agnico-Eagle Mines (TSX:AEM) on Wednesday, while Barrick Gold Corp. (TSX:ABX) hands in its earnings the following day.

“They’re probably likely to report fairly good results, particularly when you compare them year on year,” said Chris Fehr, Canadian markets strategist at Edward Jones in St. Louis.

“There is certainly going to be a strong correlation between the performance of these companies on any given quarter and the price of gold itself.”

Gold prices hit a record high of more than US$1,900 in 2011 and have held steady around US$1,600 as the precious metal benefited from worries about higher inflation and the future of the euro.

“The most logical trade for the market most recently has been to flood into gold at times of extreme fear, going back to that store of value,” said Fehr.

“We’ve seen central banks around the world implement very easy monetary policy. The potential for that to create attention has certainly fostered the rise in gold prices.”

Major energy companies reporting include Nexen Inc. (TSX:NXY) on Thursday and natural gas company EnCana (TSX:ECA) on Friday. And like elsewhere in the segment, much has depended on what kind of energy these companies are involved in.

Oil prices have held steady around the US$100 mark, reflecting geopolitical concerns and steadily rising demand from developing countries, while abundant supplies and a mild winter in much of North America have pushed natural gas prices sharply lower.

“EnCana continues to be a good operator but we do think they will be the victim of very low natural gas prices in the near term,” said Fehr.

As for Nexen, “our expectation is that production will increase as Long Lake gets brought under control,” he said, referring to the company’s oilsands project near Fort McMurray, Alta.

Since it started up in late 2008, the steam-driven project has consistently lagged its design capacity of 72,000 barrels of oil per day due to a litany of operational glitches.

Nexen’s original partner at Long Lake, Opti Canada, filed for court protection from creditors last year and was later acquired by China National Offshore Oil Co. for $2.1 billion.

Nexen owns 65 per cent of the Long Lake development and operates it.

Fehr thinks another attractive element for the sector is that many energy stocks aren’t pricing in US$100 oil moving forward.

“We still think it’s pricing in something much lower,” he said.

“We think there is a compelling opportunity within the energy sector right now. You think about the global fears that are really dictating some of this, (and) the growth of China is going to have a direct impact on the price of energy moving forward.”

Also in the resource sector, investors will hear from Finning Corp. (TSX:FTT) on Wednesday. The Vancouver-based company is the world’s biggest dealer of heavy construction and mining equipment made by Caterpillar Inc.

The U.S. firm last month reported that quarterly profits jumped 60 per cent to US$1.55 billion, boosted by pent up demand for new equipment and continuing growth in developing countries. And Fehr thinks those results bode well for Finning.

“When you’re selling the product of the company that is doing quite well, you’re going to participate in that trend and we think that will be the case,” he said.

“They sell the equipment and then service it as well and that has high margins so it’s of benefit to them as well.”

In the financial sector, traders will look to results from Sun Life Financial.

Like other insurers, Sun Life has had a tough time because of a combination of very low interest rates and weak stock market performance, which diminishes their returns and increases the size of liabilities that stretch far into the future.

Rival Manulife Financial Corp. (TSX:MFC) disappointed investors last week after reporting a fourth-quarter loss of $69 million as it booked a charge of $665 million related to low interest rates.

- Red Deer Advocate

Well the rumour mill has started about new
mortgage regulations once again.

Last Thursday, Benoit Durocher, senior
economist with Desjardins wrote, “The third series of government mortgage rules
was announced nearly a year ago now, and we must conclude that the tightening
introduced to date has not slowed the market enough. Under these conditions, it
is likely, and perhaps even desirable, that the federal government will shortly
announce a fourth series of measures to further limit mortgage credit.”

I really hope Benoit is just stating an
educated guess, but what he writes almost sounds like he has some insider
information.

He also added, “Among other things, the
government could be tempted to once again raise the minimum down payment on new
loans as it went from 0% to 5% in October 2008.”

Many economists and home industry insiders
believe that a down payment increase would have a more negative effect than a
reduction in the maximum insured amortization from 30 – 25 years.

The down payment scenario is one that would
cause many to wait even longer for their first home. In my world, about half of
my clients don’t require outside help from family with regards to down
payments,  about 25% require a little bit
of help, maybe just a few grand to top them up then the other 25% obtain most
of their funds from a family member, and may likely have up to half of their
own.

An increase to 10% would mean an average
down payment of $28,000.00 for those living in the Red Deer area according to
MLS values, and likely stretching a home purchase for several months to years.
With the first time buyer accounting for about 1/2 of real estate unit activity
(according to Altus Group research) this could be devastating to the economy
and an unreasonable policy to bring about at this stage of slow national growth.

Canadian’s have weathered the storms during
the past four years with many changes to the mortgage rules, such as, lowering
of the amortization from 40-30 years, (likely to be 25 years if the government
moves forward), tightening of the self-employed qualifying rules, and dropping
the refinance loan-to-value to only 85%- which to me is the most devastating of
them all.

A reduction in amortization from 30-25
years will cut a typical buyers maximum purchase price by about 9%. For example
if you qualified for the average home price of $279,613 with a 30 year
amortization you’ll now only qualify for a price $257,000 with a lowered
amortization of 25 years.

Each of the times the government changed
the rules, it all started with a little sniff here and there, and no one truly
believed the changes were coming. If Las Vegas was to bet on changes coming,
they’d be betting 100% that more are on the way based on history. I don’t think
they’ll change the down payment rules, but I do think that the amortization is
dropping again, and they’ll further tighten regulations for the self-employed
individuals.  All of this without a word
about consumer credit card debt being an issue at all…makes me wonder who the
real puppet master is?

- Jean-Guy Turcotte

Jean-Guy Turcotte is an Accredited Mortgage Professional with Dominion Lending Centres
Reginoal Mortgage Group and can be contacted for appointments or questions at
403-343-1125, texted to 403-391-2552 or emailed to jturcotte@regionalmortgage.ca.

Have a look for yourself and see who made the TOP 10 list, Alberta is a promissing place to be.

http://money.ca.msn.com/investing/top-10-deals-in-canadian-real-estate#image=3

Thousands of Sylvan Lake and area visitors and residents are forced to drive in Red Deer for medical care each year….

So why does Sylvan Lake (and area) not have an urgent care facility??

If you care about receiving essential, 24/7 urgent care medical services in our area, please come show your support!

January 18. 2012

7pm – 9pm
Sylvan Lake Community Centre
(4725 – 43 Street)

Learn what an urgent care facility is and why it’s the best choice for Sylvan Lake (and area)

Find out what an urgent care facility can provide YOU

Be a part of the next step – find out how you can help make this happen!!

- Message from the Mayor of Sylvan Lake – Susan Samson

The City of Red Deer will boost transit service to the neighbouring county this summer and is looking at the potential for routes to Lacombe, Sylvan Lake and Blackfalds.

Red Deer County has requested operating hours be extended during evenings Monday to Saturday and an additional trip added to Springbrook during the afternoon peak period.

The changes would add about 600 more hours to the service that began in September 2009 and has proven popular.

If approved by council, the new schedules would start in August.

The city provides the transit link through a cost-recovery contract with the county and the new hours will provide the city with additional revenue of $4,500.

Red Deer Transit manager Kevin Joll said other communities have also expressed interest in developing transit links with the city.

Those talks are in the early stages and any contract providing additional service to outlying communities would be designed so there was no cost to Red Deer taxpayers.

Lease extension will increase costs

Putting municipal staff to work in leased space is expected to cost more this year.

The lease for Alexander Way office space expires on July 14 and to extend the lease for one additional year will cost one-time funding of $14,451 in 2012 and $345,858 in 2013.

The existing budget includes rent for the entire 2012 year based on the previous agreement. However, extension of the lease will involve an increase in costs, Red Deer city council heard on Thursday.

Red Deer Transit seeks another Action Bus as demand for rides grows

Red Deer Transit wants another Action Bus to reduce the growing number of trip requests that couldn’t be met.

The 2012 city budget includes a request for $40,000 this year and $79,000 next year to cover the operating costs of another Action Bus, which would come into service by the fall. The addition will allow the city to add another 200 to 300 bus trips per month.

Transit manager Kevin Joll said the number of unmet trips peaked at 600 last May. A new bus was added in July, reducing the number of unmet trips by 200.

“We have a huge demand for service,” said Joll. “We’re not meeting the needs of the community and we’re trying to stay on top of that.”

Pressure on the Action Bus system will only increase in coming years because of an aging population, he told city council during a budget presentation on Friday.

The Action Bus is typically used by residents who can’t use conventional buses because of mobility issues. It is also used by an increasing number of kidney dialysis patients.

Each bus costs about $75,000, which comes out of the capital budget.

The city has 14 buses, including one that Red Deer County paid for so that the city could provide service into that municipality.

City to develop Social Master Plan

A Social Master Plan for the City of Red Deer will be developed this year.

Social Planning Department manager Scott Cameron said a Social Master Plan is really about “the well-being of citizens.”

It will be developed within the input of community agencies.

Councillor Lynne Mulder said during Friday’s operational budget talks that she could “hardly stay in her seat” because she was so excited about this plan.

She said the plan will clearly articulate what the City of Red Deer and social agencies should eacgbe doing to address social issues in the community.

It will include who should take the lead on certain projects, Mulder said.

For instance, should the city continue to be the one distributing affordable housing dollars on behalf of the province and the federal governments, she added.

“The plan will define what our role is,” said Mulder outside council chambers. “As (the city), we provide more direction and bringing people together. I think that’s what it should be. It will be good to make those things clear.”

Mulder said she anticipates the master plan will also identify where volunteers are needed.

“I think we kind of have a crisis with our social agencies in terms of the needs and how we’re meeting them,” she said. “And I think there’s a redundancy and overlap, so I think (this plan) will be really helpful.”

Funding sought

to build new library branch

City council will be asked to approve $25,000 in the 2012 budget to go towards planning a proposed branch library in the Timberlands subdivision.

The city and Red Deer Public Schools are joining forces on the project to build a library as part of an elementary school in the subdivision on the southeast side of Red Deer at 30th Avenue and 61st Street.

Similar in concept but about half the size of the northside Dawe branch library at St. Patrick Community School, the 4,300-square-foot branch would be open for September 2014.

Council has already agreed to provide a $450,000 grant in 2013 and fund $150,000 in annual operating costs beginning in 2014.

It is expected the project will pave the way for a larger branch on the southeast side of the city in the future

- Red Deer Advocate