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THEBACHA/FORT SMITH
A public consultation on a proposal to make Fort Smith property owners responsible for mowing ditches along roadways has apparently had an impact on town council.

Brad Brake: Presented petition on ditch mowing in Fort Smith.

After the July 17 consultation at town hall, council decided at a meeting immediately afterwards to delay voting on second reading of a proposed amendment to the unsightly premises bylaw.

"We had our public consultation, which lasted an hour and a half, and we want to be able to incorporate some of the really good ideas that we got that night," said Mayor Janie Hobart. "So we have tabled second reading until we have an opportunity to put some of those ideas in."

During the consultation, Hobart welcomed some of the suggested compromises, including that the town look at individual situations to determine if a property owner could mow a ditch.

The bylaw would require a property owner to prevent the area between a property line and the road from becoming unsightly land.

The town has mowed the ditches for many years, but wants to eliminate the practice so employees can be reassigned to other duties.

Eleven residents showed up for the consultation on the controversial proposal.

Brad Brake presented a 70-name petition against the change, noting the petition will be kept going until the bylaw reaches third reading.

"I urge you people to vote it down," he said of the proposed amendment.

Brake said ditch mowing by the municipal government is one of the things that sets Fort Smith apart from other communities.

In addition, he argued requiring property owners to mow the ditches would be a form of taxation in that the cost would be downloaded onto town residents.

Grant Paziuk said one of the problems is some of the ditches aren't just little dips, but he called some ravines.

"Where it is a ditch of significant size, I'd like the town to continue to maintain these ditches," he said. "They are dangerous. They're hazardous to mow."

Paziuk also noted the ditches are public domain property, and there could be legal implications if a person is injured while mowing them.

In addition, he suggested the town look at having the ditches mowed by people on fine option programs or by inmates at correctional facilities.

There was also a suggestion the town maintain a list of people who might be incapable of mowing the ditches along their properties.

Clayton Burke said the proposed bylaw amendment would not help to attract people to live in Fort Smith.

During the consultation, Hobart noted there are more than 60 km of ditches in the community and the municipality spends about $40,000 a year to mow them.

"It is a very expensive proposition to mow all of these ditches," she said. "By reallocating the resources to taking care of public spaces it does help keep taxes lower."

After an extensive discussion of the proposed bylaw amendment, the consultation meeting turned into a wide-ranging discussion of other issues, including the fiscal restraints facing all governments, roads in the community and even the overall amount of consultation by town council.

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