Dan Kuftinoff wrote a letter to the council for the MD of Pincher Creek on behalf of the Oldman River Gun Club which in part reads "In July we are hosting the shooting events at the club for the 2014 Summer Games. As you well know, we underwent a pretty large transformation at the club and we are still working at it!"
Last year the Gun Club reoriented their berms to avoid a potentially dangerous conflict with new "cells" at the Crowsnest/Pincher Creek Landfill directly north of their location.
"For the most part we are ready to host the games with our current progress, but we could use a significant amount of gravel and pit run; I am thinking to the tune of 20 odd loads if not more. This material will be used to re establish a parking area and surround our new shooting enclosures as well as top up the road into the club's grounds. Currently, we are wallowing in mud! I would like to spruce that area up for the games and make a good showing for the community as we expect a large turnout."
Council discussed the gravel request at length at their March 25th meeting. Director of Operations Leo Reedyk informed council that there were approximately 20 yards of gravel to one load. Councillor Garry Marchuk suggested council grant the request for gravel but require the Gun Club to arrange for the hauling, as has been done frequently in the past with similar requests. The rest of council ultimately agreed with that suggestion. Councillor Fred Schoening moved the Gun Club be accorded "20 odd loads" as requested, "to be hauled by themselves". That motion passed unanimously.
Kuftinoff's letter also raised several other issues that concern the Gun Club specifically, including dust control and road improvements, as well as a noise complaint that he said was of significant importance to residents in the area.
"On March fifth we met with representatives from Pincher Creek who sit on the Rec. board as well as the representatives who are from the Southern Alberta Games department. The two organizations talked in length about the few things we feel we need in order to put on a successful event, the gravel being one, and another being some sort of dust control. This brings me to another issue, each year the club puts in a request to be put on the M.D list to pay for dust control. The past two years we have canceled the request because the summer passes by without action and the club doesn't need dust control in September since our season starts at the end of April beginning of June. We have inquired with public works how we can change this and frankly we have just been told, too bad! There is a list and it cycles in regards to priority. This is not a sufficient answer in my opinion. Perhaps there needs to be an investment in equipment or man power to make the dust control "cycle" more efficient? From speaking with other ratepayers and businesses, this is a yearly point of contention. Regardless of changing procedure, the club will be embarrassed if the games participants have to choke down dust as we have to all summer long."
"This brings me to another question. Why is that road that passes the club still zoned unimproved? Last year significant road work was done on that road and yet all winter it was treated with low priority with snow removal. The poor and sometimes closed road made it near impossible for us to maintain our grounds all winter. This road is a main vein all summer for people from Pincher Creek to the Landfill. In the Winter, the club needs access in order to care for the infrastructure that we have. The club approached the MD a few years ago and requested assistance with a snow fence in the field west of us but we were turned down. We feel that a snow fence will greatly reduce the snow load that ends up in the club and this will allow us to maintain what we have in a much more efficient manner. Presently, we have to get heavy equipment to mitigate the snow each winter and it is getting costly."
My next question is about the request that has been presented to the M.D for some sort of noise bylaw in the Burmis Mountain Estates (Editor's note: next to Lee Lake, west of Highway 507 and south of Highway 3) development. As you know we have a problem neighbour and after a few years of trying to deal with him by contacting the M.D, the police, and the neighbour himself, we are still having to deal with the same issue. Since last November he has been playing his music 24hrs a day seven days a week as a nuisance tactic toward his immediate neighbour..." (Editor's note: name excised for privacy reasons)
"Prior to November, he was playing his sound system all day up till 10:00 pm. Many neighbours, including myself, have filed complaints to the RCMP but nothing has been done. The RCMP feel he is not breaking Provincial law and since there isn't a municipal bylaw in place they have no grounds to take action. I'm not certain that a noise bylaw is what is needed. I feel that if he is given notice of a bylaw, say, nothing after 11:00 pm or nothing before: 7:00 am, we will just have to deal with louder music or whatever he comes up with, within the allotted hours. Everyone in this development pays a great deal of money to enjoy our area and this is getting ridiculous! There needs to be a disturbance bylaw in place, something that can protect the inhabitants from malicious behaviour from a disgruntled neighbour. The RCMP have personally witnessed his behaviour on more than one occasion and in their opinion it is very unreasonable but without a bylaw their hands are tied, what can we do about this?"
At the suggestion of Reeve Brian Hammond council decided these additional concerns were of a complex enough nature to warrant being discussed at a future meeting.
Related:
Division 1 Coffee with Council to be held March 27
Council discussed the gravel request at length at their March 25th meeting. Director of Operations Leo Reedyk informed council that there were approximately 20 yards of gravel to one load. Councillor Garry Marchuk suggested council grant the request for gravel but require the Gun Club to arrange for the hauling, as has been done frequently in the past with similar requests. The rest of council ultimately agreed with that suggestion. Councillor Fred Schoening moved the Gun Club be accorded "20 odd loads" as requested, "to be hauled by themselves". That motion passed unanimously.
Kuftinoff's letter also raised several other issues that concern the Gun Club specifically, including dust control and road improvements, as well as a noise complaint that he said was of significant importance to residents in the area.
"On March fifth we met with representatives from Pincher Creek who sit on the Rec. board as well as the representatives who are from the Southern Alberta Games department. The two organizations talked in length about the few things we feel we need in order to put on a successful event, the gravel being one, and another being some sort of dust control. This brings me to another issue, each year the club puts in a request to be put on the M.D list to pay for dust control. The past two years we have canceled the request because the summer passes by without action and the club doesn't need dust control in September since our season starts at the end of April beginning of June. We have inquired with public works how we can change this and frankly we have just been told, too bad! There is a list and it cycles in regards to priority. This is not a sufficient answer in my opinion. Perhaps there needs to be an investment in equipment or man power to make the dust control "cycle" more efficient? From speaking with other ratepayers and businesses, this is a yearly point of contention. Regardless of changing procedure, the club will be embarrassed if the games participants have to choke down dust as we have to all summer long."
"This brings me to another question. Why is that road that passes the club still zoned unimproved? Last year significant road work was done on that road and yet all winter it was treated with low priority with snow removal. The poor and sometimes closed road made it near impossible for us to maintain our grounds all winter. This road is a main vein all summer for people from Pincher Creek to the Landfill. In the Winter, the club needs access in order to care for the infrastructure that we have. The club approached the MD a few years ago and requested assistance with a snow fence in the field west of us but we were turned down. We feel that a snow fence will greatly reduce the snow load that ends up in the club and this will allow us to maintain what we have in a much more efficient manner. Presently, we have to get heavy equipment to mitigate the snow each winter and it is getting costly."
My next question is about the request that has been presented to the M.D for some sort of noise bylaw in the Burmis Mountain Estates (Editor's note: next to Lee Lake, west of Highway 507 and south of Highway 3) development. As you know we have a problem neighbour and after a few years of trying to deal with him by contacting the M.D, the police, and the neighbour himself, we are still having to deal with the same issue. Since last November he has been playing his music 24hrs a day seven days a week as a nuisance tactic toward his immediate neighbour..." (Editor's note: name excised for privacy reasons)
"Prior to November, he was playing his sound system all day up till 10:00 pm. Many neighbours, including myself, have filed complaints to the RCMP but nothing has been done. The RCMP feel he is not breaking Provincial law and since there isn't a municipal bylaw in place they have no grounds to take action. I'm not certain that a noise bylaw is what is needed. I feel that if he is given notice of a bylaw, say, nothing after 11:00 pm or nothing before: 7:00 am, we will just have to deal with louder music or whatever he comes up with, within the allotted hours. Everyone in this development pays a great deal of money to enjoy our area and this is getting ridiculous! There needs to be a disturbance bylaw in place, something that can protect the inhabitants from malicious behaviour from a disgruntled neighbour. The RCMP have personally witnessed his behaviour on more than one occasion and in their opinion it is very unreasonable but without a bylaw their hands are tied, what can we do about this?"
At the suggestion of Reeve Brian Hammond council decided these additional concerns were of a complex enough nature to warrant being discussed at a future meeting.
Related:
Division 1 Coffee with Council to be held March 27
MD of Pincher Creek Agriculture and Environmental Services Department Open House March 28
Note: corrected to include inadvertently omitted details
Note: corrected to include inadvertently omitted details
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