'A confused issue': Alexandra unsure how to proceed with new municipalities act

The future of the tiny community of Alexandra is up in the air, and its council wants help in deciding what to do next.

The new P.E.I. Municipal GovernmentAct, yet to be proclaimed,forcesthe communityto provide a lot more services, and spend a lot more money. The council is at a loss for direction on the issue.

"For us it's pretty much a confused issue." said community council chair John Brehaut.

Wednesday night the council held the first of their newly-scheduled public meetings, another of therequirements under the incomingact. The new regulations say all municipalities will have to meet at least six times a year.

Amalgamation concerns

Seven people from the 200-member community attended. They were concerned about being swallowed up by nearby Stratford, and they had many questions around what would happen if the community can't meet the criteria under the new act in the timelines given.

That's what the council is wondering too. For example, Brehautsaid it would be expensive to have an office staffed 20 hours a week, and difficult to create and implement a community plan for land use in the area.

"It's very difficult to operate land use planning, that sort of thing, in a community of 200 people, because you're going to be ruling on your neighbours, dealing with your neighbours," he said.

Christine MacKinnon, acting director of municipal affairs and provincial planning, was at the meeting. She explained that there are many options open to small municipalities like Alexandra in order to meet the criteria set out in the act. One of those options isdissolution, meaning the community would go back into provincial jurisdiction. But MacKinnon said government is encouraging smaller municipalities to start conversations with neighbouring communities to see if they can come together.

'A very difficult situation'

Alexandra had preliminary talks with nearby Hazelbrook about a year ago, said Brehaut, but they didn't go anywhere.

Brehautestimates if all theareas surrounding Alexandra came together it might come to about 1,200 people. Getting those discussions going, he said, is easiersaid than done.

We don't really feel here that as a small community it's our mandate to go out and start talking to other communities which have no structure.- John Brehaut

"If government wants the larger community, maybe they're the ones who should take the action to initiate some discussion with some of the other communities," he said

"We don't really feel here that as a small community it's our mandate to go out and start talking to other communities which have no structure, no structure in their communities whatsoever. It's a very difficult situation to put a little community like ours in."

As a starting point, Brehaut wants the residents of Alexandra to think about what they want, and let council know.

"The legislation is passed and it will come into effect, so something has to be done," he said.

"It would be good if we had some direction as to what people want us to do."

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