It was a good news last minute agenda item for Canmore council at a meeting this month with the announcement the municipality has acquired a piece of property from the province.
Michael Fark, general manager of municipal infrastructure, told council at its June 6 meeting that the Town has purchased a lot on Boulder Crescent from the province after trying to renegotiate a new lease for the site.
The site is the home of a recycling depot and bus storage for local transit and was once the centre of local debate when a major waste transfer station was proposed there, and then later relocated, as it is immediately adjacent to a residential neighbourhood.
“This is very good news,” Fark said. “We are hoping to get a quick and simple approval from council to purchase the old waste transfer station from the province.”
The cost to purchase the site, which is just less than an acre in size, was $2,415. It includes the buildings on site and any improvements, he added.
Fark told council the sale does come with conditions, including what would happen if the municipality tried to sell the land.
The Town has run a waste transfer station on the site, in addition to recycling depot services. In 2012, a proposal to increase capacity on the site was objected to by local residents.
Nearby Grotto Mountain Village and Eagle View townhome owners expressed concerns about the capacity and use directly adjacent to residential. The municipality changed its proposed location for a waste transfer station to being adjacent to the wastewater treatment plant.
