Grande Cache residents vote to dissolve their town
Town would become part of Municipal District of Greenview No. 16
Grande Cache residents have voted 97 per cent in favour of dissolving their town.
In a recent vote, 1,065 residents voted in favour of dissolving their town so it can be absorbed by the Municipal District of Greenview No. 16, the Town of Grande Cache said Wednesday in a news release.
Only 32 people voted for Grande Cache to remain a town.
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"The community has come together and spoken loud and clear," said Grande Cache Mayor Herb Castle. "This decision has not come lightly to our community."
He believes residents made the right choice.
"I was not surprised," Castle said. "I was elated that the people of our community supported the decision of council to take this direction and support us by this resounding vote."
Castle equates the decision to join the municipality to companies coming together to create a bigger and stronger corporation.
"We didn't have the revenue level to run our affairs going into the future with all the infrastructure costs that are looming on our community," he said.
"The way to deal with that is to become a part of a bigger organization that has the financial wherewithal to help support us and move forward."
The minister of Alberta Municipal Affairs will forward the decision to cabinet for approval, along with a recommendation to approve the dissolution of the town, the news release said.
If the move is approved, Grande Cache would become a hamlet.
An interim council would be created that will include the current Greenview council members and two town representatives.
That council would govern the municipality until the next election in 2021.
Dale Gervais, reeve for the Municipal District of Greenview No. 16, said councillors will try to make the transition as smooth as possible.