The Village of Carbon had planned this year to work on repairing critical infrastructure but now will have to wait for the results of a plebiscite to go forward.
Last year the village undertook a review of its infrastructure to identify areas that needed attention.
“These are not improvements, not upgrades, these are repairs,” said Mayor Bryan Peever. “There are five areas in town, primarily on Bruce and Aberdeen and Grey Street.”
Carbon council brought forward a borrowing bylaw to take out a loan of $700,000 to undertake these repairs. However, a group of residents circulated a petition which was deemed successful.
“The petition was sufficient, and according to the Municipal Government Act we must obey the petition,” said Peever.
“Now the town must spend another $5,000 to have a referendum to find out if they want their infrastructure repaired.”
At the October 3 council meeting, council had the decision as to whether it should cancel the borrowing bylaw outright, or “decide to proceed with the proposed bylaw or resolution and submit the bylaw or resolution to a vote of the electors within 90 days after the chief administrative officer declares the petition to be sufficient.”
It noted if the council wished to proceed with the bylaw and submit it to a vote of the electors, the administration recommended hosting an open house, informing the residents of the villages of what the borrowing bylaw is to be used for and what areas the village will be repaired.
Peever said they are planning to hold the vote in the middle of November.
He also notes he feels the petition is not simply about the finances of the village.
“It has nothing to do with money or policy. It has been widely publicized on Facebook by the petitioners the reason they are doing this is to get rid of the CAO and the Mayor,” said Peever.
This has not been the first petition that has been submitted in recent history in the village. A petition to have the CAO removed was rejected by the Minister of Municipal Affairs.
Last week the Mail also reported while a petition to inspect the affairs of the Village of Carbon was deemed sufficient, the Minister's office, after a preliminary review, declined to conduct an inspection and that “there was no indication that council is acting beyond its legislated authority.”

Growing crops from seed to harvest can be filled with many challenges, including the risk of agricultural equipment fires which can cost thousands in damages and lost revenue.
While there are some factors beyond a farmer’s control, such as hot, dry weather conditions, there are also some measures farmers can take to prevent equipment fires from starting, or to keep damages at a minimum.
“In 2022, between all of the (Kneehill County) departments, there have been 18 grass, field, and bale fires, and eight vehicle, combine, baler, and tractor fires,” Kneehill County Director of Emergency Management and Protective Services manager Deb Grosfield tells the Mail.
Kneehill County shared several prevention and safety tips to its social media platforms in September to help reduce the risk of equipment and field fires during harvest.
The top two tips encouraged keeping machinery clean of crop residue and chaff, which can build up in cracks and crevasses and pose risk of ignition if met with a source of ignition or heat, and ensuring machinery is properly maintained to reduce potential ignition sources.
This is a sentiment echoed by neighbouring Wheatland County.
Equipment fires are a risk in any given year, and Wheatland County Emergency and Fire Services manager and Fire Chief Michael Bourgon says the number one way farmers can mitigate this risk is through proper maintenance.
He adds dry conditions can also exponentially increase the risk of fires during harvest, though this is something farmers do not have control over.
Although specific data regarding the number of fires Wheatland County departments have responded to was unavailable, Mr. Bourgon says there were several equipment fires this year, though this is “about on par” with other years.
Mr. Bourgon adds the farming community is very community oriented, and it is not uncommon to see neighbours rushing in to offer help until firefighters arrive.
In the event of a fire, both Wheatland and Kneehill County recommend having tillage equipment such as a disk drill on hand to limit flames from spreading out of control, and reduce damages; all equipment should also have a fully charged, easily accessible fire extinguisher on hand.