Raymond council approves new street lighting

WWN GRAPHIC

Jeremy Appel
Westwind Weekly News

Raymond town council approved at its June 5 meeting a street lighting proposal from Fortis, which will see more than 90 new street lights in town.
The Town of Raymond declined a request for further information, such as cost and a timeline for the lights’ installation.

Security issues

Council also received a presentation from Raymondite Beth Wendorff, who expressed her concerns about security issues and crime in town.
Wendorff says policing in town has been very lackluster.
“I’m just concerned and I think that things are not like they should be here,” she said.
Some of her main concerns include slow police response times and the inability of Raymondites to recover stolen items once they’re recovered.
Wendorff suggests that the Raymond RCMP have a force that focuses solely on the Town of Raymond.
The entire detachment covers Del Bonita, Magrath, McNabb, Stirling and Spring Coulee, as well as other rural municipalities in the area.
“I think we should have town policemen who stay in town and don’t have to patrol the whole country(side),” she said.
Wendorff said council was generally receptive to her misgivings.
“They received it politely,” she said, adding that Coun. Joan Harker was “in total agreement with me.”
Wendorff said council may invite her back to express her concerns directly the next time the RCMP reports to them.

Land-use Bylaw amendments

Council passed the first reading of two amendments to its Land-use Bylaw.
Bylaw No. 1056-18 would re-classify a lot to “General Commercial – C1” from “General Residential R-1.”
A public hearing to discuss the amendment will be held July 3 at 5:30 p.m. in council chambers.
Bylaw No. 1055-18 seeks to clarify the role of approval authorities, update administrative processes and timelines for determining complete applications, as well as clarifying development and agreement standards.
A public hearing for this amendment is scheduled for July 17 at 5:30 p.m. in council chambers.

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