All the funds needed are in place for the Pigeon Lake Ice and Water Rescue initiative and training with the Mulhurst Bay and South Pigeon Lake fire departments is set to start.
“Council has authorized us to purchase the capital equipment for ice and water rescue and start training,” said County of Wetaskiwin assistant CAO Rod Hawken.
County of Wetaskiwin council approved the final draft of the initiative on April 5, 2016 and councillors were hoping to have the program up and running sometime around June.
However, Hawken says is has taken longer than originally expected to get all the agreements in place with the summer villages surrounding Pigeon Lake. “All the agreements here have not been put in place … the money is in place.”
Back in March, county councillor Larry McKeever said the summer villages have already contributed a combined $49,000 plus $1,000 per year, each.
The program cannot actually be implemented until all the agreements are finalized but the county wants to start training so everyone is prepared for when that light finally turns green.