The Town of Blackfalds hosted the second Open House on the Northwest Area Master Stormwater Management Plan on June 27. The evening featured a presentation on the updated plan followed by an in-depth question and answer session with content experts and presented an opportunity for public input on this project.

During the question and answer period the following information was presented and is stated below for clarification:
A statement made at the Open House may have been interpreted to indicate that Lacombe County Council endorsed the Northwest Stormwater Plan. This was not the intent. Rather, the statement should have been that Lacombe County administration, through recent discussions with Town of Blackfalds administration, supports the concept of developing of a Lacombe Lake Management Plan with lake stakeholders.

Despite the best efforts over the past 18 months to revitalize the Mirror Fire Department, there has been no increase in volunteers for the fire department. Lacombe County will be holding a public meeting as one last revitalization effort on July 25, 2018, to speak with the community about their options and the ramifications of closing the fire department.

“We have to meet the minimum standards to make this department viable and to perform the duties of a fire department safely, we need to comply with regulations,” explained Lacombe County Fire Chief Drayton Bussiere. “At the end of the day, we need the community to understand the importance of these minimum standards, as well as how it will affect their service levels and potential impacts to insurance if the Fire Department is not revitalized.”

Municipal property tax notices were recently mailed out to Lacombe County ratepayers and should be appearing in mailboxes in the coming week. If you do not receive your 2018 tax notice by the end of June, please contact Lacombe County’s Assessment Department at 403-782-6601.

"We encourage ratepayers to be proactive and make sure their tax notice was received,” said Michael Minchin, Manager of Corporate Services. “To avoid all penalties, tax payments must be received by last business day in August."

The County’s tax notice is a combined assessment and tax notice.

• Anyone wishing to appeal their assessment has 60 days from the notice of assessment date to do so. A per parcel fee will be charged for people making complaints against assessments. If the Assessment Review Board makes a decision in favour of the complainant, the fee will be refunded.
• Property owners who miss the tax payment deadline will have a 6% penalty applied on September 1, 2018, on the outstanding taxes owing. An additional 10% penalty will be added on December 1 for all taxes remaining unpaid after November 30.

Lacombe, Alberta, Friday, June 15, 2018 – CN Rail has notified Lacombe County that they are planning to close the Lakeside Sargent Road at Range Road 26-5 on June 19, 2018 from 8:00 AM to 6:00 PM.

Traffic will be detoured along local roads during the closure; watch for signs indicating the detour routes.

For more information contact:

Kevin Beavis
CN Rail
403-304-4114

With Canada Day celebrations approaching, Lacombe County reminds all residents that a fireworks permit is required if you wish to sell, purchase or set off fireworks within the province of Alberta.

“The use of fireworks is regulated under the Alberta Fire Code, and there are no exceptions to the rules spelled out in the code,” says Drayton Bussiere Lacombe County Fire Chief. “If you plan on shooting off fireworks, regardless of the time of the year, a fireworks permit is required within Lacombe County.”

Bussiere notes that conditions of having a Fireworks permit includes permission from adjacent landowners so it is important to discuss fireworks plans with your neighbors in advance. Fireworks can also not be set off from public lands or roadways, if there is a fire ban, or if wind exceeds 20 km/h.

The Milton Morningside Area Structure Plan (ASP) was adopted in 2008.  Since it's adoption there has been a lot of changes within the County, and to the planning policies of the County such as the new Municipal Development Plan 2017.  As such, the Milton Morningside ASP requires a thorough review.

If you have land in or near the plan area or are a resident of the Hamlet of Morningside, this plan affects you.

A Public Meeting was held Tuesday, May 22nd at 6:30 p.m. at the Lacombe County Administration Office Council Chambers - a copy of the presentation is attached.

The primary objectives of the meeting were to:

• Explain the process being used to prepare and update the plan;
• Explain the existing plan policies and required updates;
• Identify and discuss issues that the plan should address; and
• Gather input from you, the public, on what opportunities you would like to see happen in the plan area.

For more information, please contact Anita O'Driscoll, Senior Planner with Lacombe County at 403-782-8389 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Presentation from May 22 Meeting:  pdf Initial Public meeting Milton Morningside ASP May 22 2018 (1.18 MB)

pdf Milton Morningside Area Structure Plan Review - Notice of Public Meeting (959 KB)

West-Can Seal Coating Inc. has been contracted by Lacombe County to apply Graded Aggregate Seal Coat (Chip Seal) on the Eckville North Road and Eckville West Road from Rainy Creek Road south and east to the Town of Eckville (7.2 km).  The current schedule is for the contractor to start on May 25th and is estimated to take approximately 8-10 days.

• Schedule "A" - Eckville North Road
  From: Eckville West Road to Rainy Creek Road (4.8 km)
• Schedule "B" - Eckville West Road
  From: Eckville to Eckville North Road (2.4 km)

Please drive carefully and obey all signs and speed limits during construction. Please contact Les Charles of West-Can Seal Coating, at 403.507.9956 or Lacombe County Operations Department at 403.782.8379 if you have any questions or concerns during this project.

Click "Read More" to see the project map.

Thanks to the recent cooler temperatures and light precipitation, Lacombe County has lifted its Fire Advisory.

Fire permits are still required for all outdoor fires, excluding fires used for cooking or warming purposes and burning barrels. The public is reminded that conditions are still relatively dry even though they are safer for burning and to ensure they are familiar with the conditions included with permitted burns. Fire permits can be requested through our iPhone app (myLacombeCounty), through our online Fire Permit Request form, over the phone, or in person.

Please visit our website (www.lacombecounty.com) for the most current information.