Photo: The Town of Hanna council heard that a huge 49 acre lot owned by the municipality is now for sale. The report was made at the Jan. 28 council information meeting. Screenshot

The Town of Hanna council heard that a huge 49-acre lot owned by the municipality is now for sale. The report was made at the Jan. 28 council information meeting.

Readers should note information meetings are usually only held for presentations and similar items, and any decisions of council have to wait for the next regular council meeting.

Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) Matthew Norburn presented councillors with his regular report. In it, he noted he worked with the town’s realtor to list a municipally owned property at 605 Palliser Trail.

A quick online search revealed 605 Palliser Trail is listed on www.realtor.ca as a 49-acre urban residential (UR) parcel on Hanna’s west end. The listing notes, “This flat, cleared parcel is ideally suited for residential development, offering an excellent canvas for future housing projects or a thoughtfully planned subdivision.”

The CAO confirmed the listing is live and the parcel is up for sale. Norburn stated the listing will be active for two weeks on a “tender” basis, which it’s assumed means the town is accepting offers on the parcel somewhat similar to a closed silent auction. Norburn observed that after two weeks that approach will be reviewed.

Mayor Danny Povaschuk stated that the town should reach out to a member of the public who already voiced some interest in that property. Norburn responded that is being done. “Yeah, he’s been in on it all along,” said the CAO.

Investments

Norburn also noted he recently met with representatives of BMO to discuss the town’s investment portfolio.

The CAO stated that staff would probably be bringing something to the next council meeting regarding the Town of Hanna’s investment portfolio; Norburn noted it will be up to council to decide whether to keep investments with BMO or try another advisor.

In the event...

Norburn confirmed he’d recently completed the ICS-200 incident command system course, adding it was a refresher to renew certification.

The Alberta government’s website describes the course thusly: “ICS I-100 is an awareness-level training course. It is intended for all personnel assuming any position within an organization employing ICS.”

Website update

Norburn informed council senior staff had met recently to discuss the Town of Hanna’s website. He noted staff is looking at perhaps instituting some improvements on the website so that patching isn’t required as often.

Patching is usually done to ensure security is as strong as possible and to update software.