Grocery Woes

I understand that operating a grocery store is a lot of work and hardship, with a fairly low return on the investment, but the store in our village appears to be in more desperate strife!   Since their takeover a few years ago, prices rose significantly and the selection started to drop.  Prices have now lowered somewhat, but are still higher than what I think they should be.  Selection is still continually dropping!  The meat counter is almost empty, the chicken rotisserie machine is gone, and fresh bread is in limited supply and selection. 

More and more shelves are empty or single stacked every time I go in there.  Like most seniors, I would prefer shopping for groceries here than having to drive to a neighboring community, but I can't!  Either it is too expensive here, or it's not available. 

Shopping in Airdrie or at Costco is another option, but not a good one for us.  First we have to drive there - and then we usually we overspend!  And then there's the problem of storing 300 rolls of toilet tissue, or six gallons of ketchup!

I don't have a solution!  Some small food stores in other communities in the area appear to be doing much better than ours.  Why is that?  I hope the folks who own our store will figure it out soon!  I will continue to support them where and when I can, but that is becoming increasingly difficult! 

Retirement from Municipal Politics

Yesterday was Nomination Day for municipal offices across the province.  I did not submit nomination papers which makes it official:  I am retiring from municipal politics.

This retirement comes without any malice!  It is simply time.  I have had the honor and pleasure of working with some great people over my almost thirty years as a village councilor in Beiseker.  We have accomplished some great things for this tiny village!

Beiseker is not out of the woods yet as far as our finances go, but we have survived one of the biggest economic down-turns this province has seen!  The provinces answer to our fiscal issues is simple; just raise property taxes!  Council has resisted that, and I hope they will continue to do so! 

Here's some things this Council can take credit for:

• We have been very successful at reducing the amount of back-taxes owing. This was  accomplished through many different programs, one of which is the monthly pay system.  Unfortunately, we still have a ways to go here!
• We have reduced the amount of "lost water" by the village so that Beiseker is selling most of the water it buys.
• This council has spearheaded a program to upgrade the streets.  So far, Fourth Ave., Seventh Street and First Avenue have benefited.  Our sidewalk replacement continues, too!
• We have created a program to replace faulty water valves around the village also saving lost water.
• We have our Public Works Department running extremely well.
• As a member of the Aqua-7 Regional Water Services Commission we have seen that organization become much more viable.  We survived the provincial government reneging on a deal to help us out, and we are now "in the black"!
• We started a "Building A Better Beiseker" project by upgrading the first block of our Main Street business district.  Hopefully as the economy picks up the project to revitalize the rest of Main Street will resume!
• We finally will see some action on dismantling and removing the now defunct railway museum.  We were unable to convince the federal government get a good accounting on where that half million dollars went! Hopefully that site will be cleaned up soon.
• I think we finally have our fire department woes solved.  The Beiseker Fire Department in the envy of many small municipalities and it continues to thrive. 
• We are in the process of subdividing and selling lots at the airport.  This will ultimately generate even more funds for our airport and village!

To mention a few!

To my fellow councilors and the village's Chief Administrative Officer with her staff;
thank you for your support, your advice and your candor.  All have been most valuable to me over the past years.

Sincerely,
Ray Courtman
Mayor; Village of Beiseker

April 6th Water Line Break

On the afternoon of Thursday, April 6, our Fire Department was testing various fire hydrants in the village.  While being tested, the valve on one of the hydrants at the corner of Main Street and Fourth Avenue began leaking quite considerably. 

The village water supply was shut off, the valve was excavated and replaced.  The water lines were flushed during the night as water pressure was resumed.  Provincial regulations dictated that we issue a boil water notice for a specified length of time after the water was opened to replace the valve. 

The water was tested and the boil water notice was lifted Sunday afternoon.

There is no good time for a major water main break, but for me these last few days was really bad timing:  I was doing my part as a volunteer at the Calgary Stampede Aggie Days! 

Fortunately, we have an extremely competent Public Works staff and Gail at the office who took charge and dealt with the issue at hand!  They got it done and answered questions!  My thanks to those hard working folks.  I also want to thank everyone in the Village for your patience and understanding during this past weekend.

Welcome to Eden Valley, Minnesota!

Photo by Elvis & Donna Chow, via Facebook

Beiseker is now acting the role of Eden Valley as they film (or tape, or whatever they do nowadays) the upcoming third season of FX Networks' award-winning TV show, Fargo.  Some changes have been made to our Main Street as it's made up to look like the show's setting of a small mid-western town in North Dakota.

I haven't been 'round to see the production crew at work, yet, but I see the evidence of their labors all around.

 

I am very pleased that parts of Fargo are being shot here!  For me, it's just one more way to show everyone that Beiseker is here, we're friendly and we're open for business!  See you on TV!

Christmas in the Village a Huge Success!

I know I'm over a week late with this one, but I had to comment on a wonderful day on Saturday, December 3rd at Beiseker's annual Christmas in the Village!   I had to leave very early Sunday morning for my annual air show convention, and I'm not techno-savy enough to blog from another location!  Call that a new trick and I'm an old dog!

I and hundreds of others had a great day welcoming Christmas to Beiseker!  First up was a visit to our Christmas Market at the Community Centre!  (A shout out to Les and Susie Spurgeon and their helpers for organizing this event)  It was crowded and business appeared to be brisk!  The Beiseker Fire Department was there accepting donations to our Food Bank and our Christmas Hampers.

Next it was off to the hockey game of the decade as the old-timers squared off against a women's team.  It was a close,  hard fought game with the ladies eventually eking out a 4-2 victory over the strong men's team!   I'm not a hockey player but in my opinion I thought the men spent too much time getting down close to the ice surface to check its temperature.  That extra dedication may have cost them the game!

After a spectacular fireworks display, we had a short parade down Main Street!  I walked the parade route this year and handed out candies and Christmas wishes to as many as I could.  I was pleased at the turnout.  The weather was good, and the Christmas spirit was alive and well in the Village!

Here's another shout out to Michelle Boyer, Gail Peckham and all their many helpers for making our Christmas in Beiseker just that much more special.  Merry Christmas!

Beiseker is Open for Business

Beiseker's Main Street is looking a little empty lately.  The loss of a couple of businesses have really impacted the heart of our village's commercial district.

We need help!  I read often of other small communities reinventing themselves after similar losses and economic slumps.  There's the Manitoba community of Swan River, which now houses a gourmet mustard factory!  How about the New Brunswick village of Gagetown that's now making jams and jellies based on local recipes!  How about the Alberta town of Vulcan, who have used the popularity of Star Trek to advance their town!  There are many other such examples.

Beiseker has much to offer!
We have plenty of property to be bought or rented for residential, commercial or industrial endeavors.
We have a very active Chamber of Commerce.
We have excellent access to roads going in every direction on the compass!
We are on the main CN rail line between Calgary and Edmonton.
We have an airport!
We have good water.
We are on a major tourist route from Calgary to the Canadian Badlands!
We have an excellent workforce here of all skill levels, and a K to 12 school for their families!
And, we have a fascinating history. 

All we need are folks to recognize that there are plenty of opportunities here.

If you hear of someone or know someone who is thinking of starting a business, mention our village as a possible venue for their enterprise.

Here are a few ideas to think about;

• An aviator who wants to live close to his airplane
• A sausage maker wanting to make some locally inspired sausages.
• A baker wanting to open a small village bakery
• An aviation mechanic wanting to own and operate his or her FBO (fixed base operation)
• Someone wanting to open and operate a independent hardware store
• Someone wanting to promote Beiseker's connection to Sam McGee and Robert Service
• An entrepreneur wanting to make something of a local resource.

Just to mention a few!

Fourth Avenue and Main Street!

We're finally seeing some action on our streets and sidewalks program.  Here's what's happening;

Fourth Avenue:  

While repairing a water main break last winter, we found some very old water pipes under Fourth Avenue between Main Street and Fifth Street.  They even found a connection to the CN Station which was demolished nearly forty years ago! 

Council decided to have the road completely dug up, all the old pipes replaced with new material, new fill placed and packed, then paved.  That project is very close to being completed once the paving crews arrive to pave that section. 

When the paving crews are here, they will also pave the areas left by crews repairing other water main breaks around town.

Main Street Sidewalks: 

Our sidewalk replacement program has been ongoing all summer and we have many blocks of shiny new sidewalks to show for it.  We were holding off on the Main Street section of sidewalks in hopes that the provincial government would renew their grant program which paid for the upgrades to Main Street between First Avenue and Second Avenue. 

Such was not the case.  The MSI Grants (Municipal Sustainability Initiatives) continue to be reduced, every year.  We decided that we couldn't wait any longer! 

The worst sections of the Main Street sidewalks are being replaced right now.  Other renovations, including the replacement of the rest of the sidewalks between Second Avenue and Third Avenue on Main Street will have to wait, until Beiseker has enough funds to pay for them!

Overall, I would like to thank all of you for your patience and understanding during these two construction projects.  And I would also like to thank all the drivers for avoiding those areas now prepared to be patch-paved.  Those areas should be paved along with Fourth Avenue in the coming days.

The Crater on Main Street

Photo courtesy of the Rocky View Weekly

A number of Beisekerites have voiced to me their concern over a business on Main Street, because of a large pit not far from the sidewalk.  It was brought up at our most recent Town Hall meeting in April.  We've even had visitors ask why this eyesore continues to exist.

I understand that the pit was created when underground fuel tanks were removed from the site.  I was told that environmental authorities insisted that the pit be left open for a length of time, to assure that no hydrocarbons would seep into the hole. 

I believe that the stipulated time stated has now elapsed.  The time to fill in the hole and return the area to its past configuration has come.  The temporary fence around the pit isn't really secure and permits people, especially youngsters, to enter the site.  This isn't safe.  In my opinion, the pit should be filled in and the area tidied up a bit.

The Village's Bylaw Enforcement and the Village Office are now working with Alberta Environment and other departments to resolve this situation.  We're hoping that we will have compliance in this situation as soon as possible.

Beiseker's First Stampede Breakfast a Huge Hit

Thursday morning on Main Street in Beiseker was the place to be!  The Beiseker Chamber of Commerce held its first annual Stampede Breakfast! 

More than 325 people came out to munch on pancakes, sausages, and eggs, while listening to live music from Verlin Rau and his group;

We were also treated to a square dancing demonstration.  What a fantastic morning! 

A huge shout goes out to our Chamber of Commerce and those members who worked so very hard that morning to give us an awesome Stampede Breakfast!  The support of businesses and businessmen and women like this is one reason why our village is a great place to live.  Well done!

Bridge Over Not-So-Troubled Waters

I was very pleased to see that Beiseker Public Works arranged to have the bridge over the drainage canal between downtown Beiseker and Beacon Heights repaired! 

The rebuild reinforced the handrails, and provided proper entrance ramps on each side.  I think it dramatically improved the look of the bridge, too!   I'm hoping that we can find the funds in our tight budget to rebuild the third bridge, down by the Public Works Yard.

Super Town Hall Meeting!

We had an excellent turnout for our annual Spring Town Hall Meeting last night in the Beiseker Community Centre!

Council faced some difficult questions on topics ranging from the burned out Bassano Station to sick trees.  There were some questions about the Village's finances, and suggestions on how we could save money.

The topic of junky back lanes and a disreputable Main Street business was a hot one.

Our application to the Canada 150 Fund to build a new Tourist Information Centre was questioned.  The water valve replacement program was discussed.  (Surprisingly, street paving was barely mentioned.)

We had some excellent suggestions made, too;

• We offer a babysitting service at town hall meetings to attract more young people.
• We encourage volunteers to re-engage at the recycling facility to relieve pressure on Public Works.
• We re-examine our Municipal Plan on a regular basis so it may be updated to reflect the current situation in the village
• We encourage residents to notify the village in writing of any junky or messy area within the Village.

To mention a few.

Overall, I thought it was a very productive meeting, giving council a good idea of what some of the folks out there are thinking about their town.  Now, council will take these suggestions and work out a plan to deal with them under the constraints of provincial and federal law, and available tax dollars.

Well done everyone!  Thank you so much for coming last night!

Main Street a Snow Route?

At last night's council meeting, we considered a bylaw to have cars parked on Main Street on "Snow Event" mornings towed away at their owners' risk and expense.  The bylaw would give the Village the right to have those vehicles hampering snow removal on Main Street and First Avenue to be towed away, possibly to an impound lot in Airdrie or Crossfield.  Council refused to pass it!

Right now, we have only a policy which states that Main Street be free of vehicles so that Public Works can plow the snow.  All residents and businesses on Main Street and First Avenue have been asked to keep vehicles off the street until the snow has been removed.  Still we have a problem with a couple of vehicles interfering with the snow removal almost every time it snows.

Council has held off on creating  a tow-away bylaw, hoping that we can get the cooperation of everyone without that heavy-handed approach.

We are expecting a pretty sizeable dump of snow later this week.  Let's see if we can keep Main Street and First Avenue 'vehicle free' until the snow has been removed.

Beiseker History: Floods!

Flooding on Beiseker's Main Street, 1914.
Glenbow Archives

T.L. Beiseker and his group of land speculators from the United States sold the land around what is now the village of Beiseker to eager settlers wanting new farmland.

When it came down to picking a site for the new town, they looked around at the options.  They needed a site that was adjacent to the then-new Canadian Pacific Railway right-of-way, and near the proposed Grand Trunk Pacific Railway (now, CN) right-of-way.  It had to be reasonably flat and preferably not saleable as farmland.

They chose here!  The site where the village now sits was a lowland, with small sloughs and wetlands.  It dried up every year, but it was sometimes too late to seed a crop.

Fill was brought in, buildings were constructed and the village grew. 

Unfortunately, the two railways interrupted the natural flow of water through the area, and on heavy run-off years (or after big storms) Beiseker always flooded.  There was many years where Main Street flooded.  In fact, there was a year when over a metre of water flooded Main Street in front of the King George Hotel, where the hardware store is today.

There is an myth of an unfortunate individual who staggered drunk out of the King George Hotel tavern, fell in the water and drowned, right there on Main Street.  I have yet to find any facts to back up this story.

In the 1950s, with the help of provincial funding, a drainage channel was built around Beiseker, just south of town.  That solved the severe flooding problems.  Because most of downtown Beiseker was built on a flat lowland, there are still some small problems with water pooling even today.  Practically every direction out of downtown Beiseker is uphill.  The only good flowing water channel is that one built over 60 years ago.  

Now that system is being burdened by water coming into Beiseker from Rocky View County lands, north of town.  If I had a chance to go back in time and talk to Mr. Beiseker, I'd advise him to build his town on higher ground!  

A Fantastic Country Fair!

The weather turned out perfect for Beiseker's 96th edition of its Lions Club Country Fair!  The fun started with a fantastic morning breakfast at the community centre and continued all day. 

I thought the parade was a little sparse of decorations but those who participated were definitely enthusiastic! 

I was disappointed that I didn't see Rocky View Fire Services in the parade, but our Beiseker Fire Department was joined by the folks of the Kneehill Fire Department from Acme, in their firetruck.  I met a few of them at breakfast and welcomed them to Beiseker.

The Color Me Beiseker Run was FANTASTIC, especially for the young people there.  Our MLA (and former Beiseker Mayor) the Honourable Bruce Rowe and his wife Carol actually ran in the colour run!  Everyone was having fun.  It was great to see.

I didn't see much of the 4H Show & Sale but I understand it was a huge success.  Some of the other scheduled events didn't have as large a turn-out as I expected, but those who were there had a great day!  Chris Heighton's tenth annual Show & Shine on Main Street was awesome!  I think the early morning clouds and rain kept some car guys at home with their mechanical babies, but they missed a wonderful day.

Overall I thought this year's Beiseker Lions Country Fair was one of the best ever!  Thank you to everyone who made that day possible. You rock!

(Here's a request from me;  If anyone got a photo of myself and my little dog Duggie in the parade, I'd love to put it here and on my facebook page.)

I'll See You at the Country Fair!

Mark down Saturday, June 14 down on your calendar!  That's the day Beiseker celebrates its 96th Country Fair!

The celebration is the centre piece of the very active Beiseker Lions Club.  This group continues to work so hard for the betterment of our community.  The fair gives them a chance to "let their hair down" and party!

Come early and have breakfast at the Beiseker Community Centre (7:00 am to 9:00 am.), then plan for a busy but fun day!  The parade starts down Main Street at 10:00 a.m.

There is going to be a HUGE show and shine on Main Street after the parade (weather permitting).  There will be ball games, face painting, a 4H show and sale, skydiving, a money pit, beer gardens, beef supper, pie & coffee at the Seniors' Centre, a tailgate sale, a colour run, a photo display, a cabaret, and a host of other things to see and do.

I'll see you there!

Road Work is Expensive!

During and after the Town Hall meeting last Monday evening, the condition of Beiseker's streets has been mentioned several times.

We have a few critical streets here in the Village which need some serious work.  Here's the ones I can think of, in my personal order of priority -

• The mud bog at the corner of Second Avenue and Seventh Street.
• The Beacon Heights Road from Beaver Place to the Public Works Yard.
• First Avenue from the Public Works Yard to the CN tracks.
• Fouth Avenue from Friendship Park to Seventh Street.
• Seventh Street from Fourth Avenue to First Avenue.
• Sixth Street from Third Avenue to Fourth Avenue.
• There are also some lane-ways which need work.

But, a huge amount of road work could mean increased property taxes.  I for one am opposed to such a property tax increase.

There are some provincial grants available.  The old grant for improving streets has a new name, but it's still offered.  There are also the Municipal Sustainability Grants available, although significantly reduced by the province.  We on council would like to continue our Main Street upgrade project with a big chunk of that money, but maybe we should be looking at that decision again.

There is also the option of naming a portion of a project a local improvement and assigning a frontage tax on those properties directly affected by street improvements.

What do you think? Let me know here; it's free.  I would like your input.

Clearing Ice from Main Street

Today there were lots of smiles from the folks who have been driving down Beiseker's Main Street this past few weeks. 

The lumps, bumps and ruts in the snow and ice are history!  First Avenue received the same treatment.  Second Avenue is next.  Those huge piles of ice will be removed this next few days. 

Thank you so much for your patience and understanding.  Hopefully Public Works will be able to keep up with Mother Nature and Old Man Winter, so we'll avoid this happening again.  Don't ya just love winter?

Temporary Changes to Garbage & Recycling Pick-up

Despite Beiseker Public Works' best efforts, our back lanes and alleys have become impassable to our garbage and recycling trucks.  The problem is we've run out of place to put all this snow!

So until further notice, all garbage and recycling pick-ups will take place from the street side in front of your home or business.  Starting this Friday (January 17), those pick-ups will made in front of your home or businesss.

Please have residential and business garbage out in front by 8:00 a.m., except Main Street garbage and recycling which should be out by 9:00 a.m. 

Please know that this is a temporary solution, and we hope to get back to normal collection procedures as soon as some of the snow melts and Public Works is able to widen the access down the alleys and lanes.

Thank you so much for your patience, cooperation and understanding.

2013 Year in Review

This past year has been a good one overall for the Village of Beiseker.  We’ve had our share of problems - mostly with the weather - but we’ve managed to overcome those difficulties and move forward!   

Most fortunately, we did not experience the massive June flooding that inundated other towns and cities in southern Alberta.  Our flooding problems came after a few torrential downpours dosed the village in July.  It was quite alarming to see more than 6 inches of water on Main Street, in front of the medical center!

Our fire department came to the rescue, and did their best to encourage the water to leave town. Council is now actively looking for solutions to this flooding problem. 

The other major weather incident was the blizzard of December 2, 2013!  And again, during these adverse conditions our fire department and public works performed admirably to keep Beiseker moving and keep our residents safe.

But I think the good things that happened in the village far outweighed the difficulties we had! Here are some of the good things; 

• The creation of a Medical First Response Team: this group was formed to respond to medical emergencies within the village. They’ve already saved a number of lives! I think this is a great addition to our emergency services.
• The purchase of a Fire Truck:  I couldn’t have been more proud of our village when we put out a call for a fundraiser to buy a newer fire engine to replace our old one.  When the money from the sale of the old truck was put into the pot, we managed to raise more than half the cost of the new truck.  For a village of less than 900 people that was astounding! Well done Beiseker!
• Grasslands subdivision:  the stalled subdivision on the west side of town was restarted!  Events elsewhere in Alberta prevented builders from starting this year, but we are looking forward to seeing homes built there in 2014! One of our slogans is, “If you lived in Beiseker, your kids could walk to school!” 
• The Municipal Election: I thought the electors here in the village had a very good selection of candidates to vote for. The four incumbents were re-elected, and we welcomed Dave McKenzie onto Council. We said goodbye to Fred Walters who retired. We miss Fred on Council but we welcome a new viewpoint from Dave.  I was very proud and honored to be re-elected as mayor!
• The Bassano Station: Although Beiseker Village Council has nothing to do with this project, we were pleased to see it progress to a point where it’s almost ready to be slid onto its foundation. We look forward to its completion in 2014!
• The Beiseker Country Fair, organized by the Beiseker Lions Club was a huge success once again as was our first annual Santa Claus Parade held just a couple of weeks ago.  I hope both events continue to grow and prosper.
• A new commercial building on Main Street:  A new building opened up on Main Street just before Christmas, housing Beiseker Registries!  This new structure is a great addition to our business district!

Overall a very good year for Beiseker, and we’re looking forward to an even better 2014!  I’ll take this opportunity to wish you all a Happy New Year and all the best in 2014.

Snow Removal!

With the first snowfall of the year, there's been comments about street snow removal in Beiseker, as well as some confusion about what the Village does about it - and doesn't do.  So here is my understanding of our snow removal policies;

• After each snowfall, our Public Works Department gets to work with three main pieces of equipment; the large plow-sanding truck, the skid-steer, and the tractor.  We do not own a grader.  In our opinion, a grader is a very expensive piece of machinery to own and maintain.
• Main Street (including the central business district) and the main arteries are plowed first.  The business sidewalks are also cleared.
• As in most municipalities, residential streets are not usually cleared unless they are impassable.
• Lanes are checked over on the Thursday to make sure the garbage truck and recycling van can get around.
• Public parking lots are cleared.
• The airport runway is always the last to be cleared.
• Residents are given 72 hours to clear the snow from the public sidewalk in front of their homes.
• The village maintains a snow removal budget which is not huge.  Moving snow is expensive!

Snow removal policies always generate much discussion in council.  Council must balance the need to keep the people of Beiseker moving and the cost of plowing and hauling snow.  The larger our snow removal budget and costs, the more risk that another program might have to be trimmed or that taxes may have to be increased!

If you think this needs to be changed, please contact a council member so that they can take your concerns to the rest of council.

(And let's pray for a lot of chinooks!)