Walmart’s failure to fix their broken retaining wall has landed them in hot water with the Town of Drumheller.
    With the store stonewalling the Town on completing the repairs, Drumheller’s Chief Administrative Officer will be paying a visit to the town solicitor seeking enforcement action.
    “I’ve asked that administration take it in front of the judge to get a compliance order from the judge,” said Mayor Terry Yemen. “The judge will set the timeline.”
    The Town is concerned about the stability of the roadway that runs alongside of Walmart and would like the wall repaired to prevent the ground caving in.            “We’re looking at it as a health and safety issue, too.”
    In a July 15 letter to Walmart, CAO Romanetz requested a response from the retailer within seven days providing the Town with a definite construction timeline to fix the wall.
    The Mayor said the Town received no reply to their recent letter, but in conversations earlier this year, Walmart had told the Town it would be completing the repairs.
    “It’s a promise and a commitment made by them to have it fixed in the spring - it didn’t happen.”
    There are large areas on the retaining wall that are crumbling, and in two of those locations it’s easy to see the areas have experienced serious erosion.
    The Mayor said the reason Walmart gave the Town for not doing the spring repairs was that they had only received one bid for the tender they put out on the work, and their company policy requires at least two bids be received.
    Mayor Yemen was questioning why the company didn’t make another call for tender on the work, Walmart was questioning the Town’s jurisdiction, taking the position perhaps the province should be overseeing the matter because the store is located on a provincial highway right-of-way.
     Yemen says a review of the Town issued building permit to Walmart states the retaining wall is included in the permit, thereby nullifying Walmart’s jurisdictional challenge and giving the Town the authority to take action.   

    An area multi-million dollar water project is set to go pending a green light from the province.
    The Wheatland Regional Services Corporation is a colloboration between Wheatland County and the Villages of Rockyford, Standard and Hussar to save on costs while delivering potable water to people in the region.
    Rockyford Mayor Darcy Burke said the business, which is in the process of filing incorporation papers, filed its business plan for the $51.2 million dollar project with the province this spring.
    The project has been in the works for at least six years, with the Village of Rockyford spearheading the program and carrying out the studies.
    “We sit in an area where there’s no regional water - it’s out to Strathmore, and that’s it,” said Burke. “It’s time to move forward,.
    Funding for a good portion of the project is available through different provincial programs, including the federal/provincial Water for Life, which will fund 90 to 100 per cent of some eligible portions of the new regional water project.
    “We’re hoping to get a water treatment plant for the area and pipe the water out via a regional water line to the different communities,” said Wheatland County Reeve Glenn Koester.
    That water delivery would include to Gleichen and eventually, to Rosebud.
    Koester said Standard’s water treatment plant is currently being looked at as the hub for the four partners, as the plants in Gleichen and Rockyford are heading toward the end of their lifespans.
    The decisions would ultimately be up to the province and what they’ll fund, he adds.
    “It’s been well researched and I don’t think that our group has left any stone unturned,” said Mayor Burke.
    “We’ve looked at many, many different options and we feel we’ve been thorough and diligent in looking for the future for the ratepayers in this area to have ample and good quality water.”
    Burke said the Wheatland Regional Services Corporation will be delivering water through the Western Irrigation District.
    Phase One of the project is estimated at $39.8 million dollars.