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Last updateSun, 06 Oct 2024 1pm

Council okays park and pay at the hoodoos for 2021

Hoodoo paid parking

Drumheller Town Council has agreed to continue its program to charge for parking at the Hoodoo site.
The town implemented a pilot project to charge for parking at the Hoodoo site. In the initial pilot in 2019 parking was charged at $2 per car. In 2020 they added a charge of $10 for buses. In the first year, the program raised $27,559.
This year with declining tourism numbers during the COVID-19, the program was not as successful. With about 4,000 less cars, the program raised about $19,000.
The program utilized four employees to work rotating shifts, including a permanent town employee as a supervisor. The Canada Summer Jobs 2020 placement program subsidized three employees between July 13 and August 28. This helped make up for the loss in revenue.
Some of the recommendations discussed include that the program requires at least two staff members to safely operate and handle cash. It is also an opportunity to increase customer service and to supply parking attendants with tourist information, maps, and flyers. They could cross-train with Travel Drumheller or the Chamber of Commerce staff to familiarize employees with the valley’s offerings.
For security, they recommended a portable power supply to install security cameras in the portable shelter.
Council agreed to continue the program for the coming summer with a charge of $2 per personal car and $10 per bus.


Council agrees to sell former town works shop

Public Works Shop

Drumheller Town Council has agreed to sell its former Infrastructure Works Shop for $900,000.
The shop was vacated in 2018 after the Town of Drumheller purchased the former TriCan building on Premier Way. This became the new Drumheller Infrastructure Services Shop and also houses the emergency centre. The purchase price was $1.73 million and the town took possession July 6, 2018.
At the time of the purchase, CAO Darryl Drohomerski notes the town had outgrown the former shop and it was at the end of its usable lifespan.
At Drumheller Town Council’s Monday, September 28 meeting council agreed to sell the former Infrastructure shop property for $900,000. An offer for the property came from developer Wellings 2019 Inc. According to the Request for Decision, it is a large senior’s housing developer of 55-plus properties.
“We are ecstatic that we have a developer who wants to develop housing for 55-plus,” said Drohomerski. “It’s a great show of confidence that Drumheller is a destination for seniors in Alberta.”
The conditions of the sale include the removal of all structures on site, rezoning the property to residential, and an environmental remediation report for the site. All work must be complete within 240 days of the acceptance of the offer.
The purchase of the new Public Works Building was funded through the Capital Reserve Building Fund and the proceeds from the sale of the former shop will be returned to this fund for future building replacements and improvement.

Dear COVID-19

DearCovid

My sister lives in London, England. She’s CEO of a tech company and works crazy hours and used to travel a lot. Since CoVID, she’s worked from home and hasn’t travelled at all since March. Well, not until now.

The UK had over 12,000 cases last week, but the rules in Europe vary from ours here. There are countries you can travel to that don’t require you to isolate on arrival or return. The travel corridor exemption. For example, Turkey. After months of isolation, my sister, her husband and her daughter decided to head there to a resort for a week of sun.

They were tested for fever and checked for symptoms at the airport. Anyone who screens positive is sent away. They wore masks on the flight, except for their toddler who wasn’t required to. The resort has strict number restrictions, the buffet meals are behind glass and staff must serve you. There are no evening shows to attend. Cutlery is sterilized and sealed. If shops are open, you cannot touch items. They must be handed to you.

She says it’s great for the economy. That people in Turkey have no government support or coverage on lack of income (imagine getting through CoVID without CERB?)

I admit, I’m eager to travel again, albeit likely only within Canada at this point. And most definitely not in the US. For years to come. The general push to slowly allow travel has begun. Slowly. Money is, of course, the driving force.

Representing more than 60 public and private tourism-related organizations, the European Tourism Manifesto alliance appealed to governments of the European Union’s (E.U.) member countries to urgently agree upon a harmonized set of travel restrictions. After all, the Travel & Tourism sector has been hit hard by CoVID.

But are people ready to travel? Aside from restrictions, second guessing, and worries about safety, there’s something called: “travel shaming.” Does that worry anyone? I admit, when my sister said she was going to Turkey for a week, I was like: “What?! Come again?” Mostly out of jealousy for her opportunity to go sit on a beach for a week, but also because when the stakes are high, we feel justified to shame others. Especially on social media.

First it was about COVID opinions in general. Then about breaking quarantine. About wearing masks, and now about not wearing masks. About sending kids to school, or choosing not to. Shaming those who travel, or those who don’t.

It’s easy to shame, criticize and judge from a keyboard. It’s a lot harder to be understanding, supportive and considerate of others. After all, we never fully know the story, especially of that stranger on a flight, the teen without a mask, or the neighbour unable to leave his house. Shaming is unproductive and the work of unhappy individuals. Don’t stoop to that level. If you want to travel, figure out how to do so safely for yourself and your family. If you don’t want to travel, don’t.

Remember, those who shame are filled with despair. Despair, as per Gandalf, is only for those who see the end beyond all doubt. We do not.


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