Update from the Delegation at Regular Council Meeting on February 14

Good morning, Honorable members of Council. Thank you for having me here today. I am speaking on behalf of hundreds of people who live in the hamlet of Radway and surrounding area.

 

The Town of Radway was named after Orlando S. Radway in 1910 when he opened the post office. The Town operated the post office from 1992 until its dissolution into the County of Thorhild, when the County assumed the responsibility.

 

We, in the community of Radway and area, are concerned about the process in which the Radway Post Office contract was terminated. There was no communication to the community in any way that the Post Office contract termination was being considered - quite the contrary. In fact, the post office was included in the Operating Budget, approved on December 13, 2022 as well as the three year operating plan 2024 to 2026, which was also approved - as is- on the same date. The County did not address this closure until eight days after the decision to terminate the contract, which only followed the community contacting Council and County staff to express our concerns.

 

There is no mention of the Radway Post Office in agendas or meeting minutes before January 10 of this year. And even on January 10, the public was told specifically that “the closed session was the last agenda item for the day” and it was alluded that the public would not be returning to the meeting. Council voted to close the post office without public input. On that same day, Council carried the motion to increase remuneration for council members for a total of $21 000.

 

As outlined in the CAO handbook provided by Municipal Affairs, according to the Municipal Government Act, “transparent decision making processes are seen as part of the foundation of good governance of a municipality.” The MGA also outlines that “council must hold a public hearing to obtain public input on matters that have a significant impact on the citizens and property owners in the municipality. Additionally, council can seek public input or hold a “town hall” meeting on any other matter it chooses, even when public participation is not required by legislation. A public meeting may be a good idea when council is considering major changes that have a direct impact on citizens.” The closure of the Radway post office is a matter that does have a significant impact on the citizens and property owners in our municipality - specifically Radway and surrounding area, but also the entire county.

 

Radway is the second largest hamlet in Thorhild County, with a population of 231 people - only 160 people less than in the hamlet of Thorhild. From census information, the population of Thorhild County declined from 3254 in 2016 to 3042 in 2021. Thorhild County’s population has been steadily decreasing since 2006 as provided by the information on page 20 in the CAO report from January 25, 2022. On trend, Thorhild hamlet saw its population decline from 531 to 391 people, a 26.4% decrease in population. While Radway, however, had a population increase from 171 people to 231 people, a 35.1% increase in population. Terminating the contract for the Post Office creates barriers for increasing the population size in our county - thus impairing the tax base in this county. A vibrant community encourages people to move to and stay in the county. 

 

I’d like to tell you about the people here in the community that this contract termination impacts.

 

The only two amenities in Radway share the same building - the library, and the Post Office, and they also share the building with the Firehall. The firehall is not open to the community. The Radway Library is only open Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays, while the Post Office operates Monday through Friday and is available to the public every day of the year. The Post Office is also where residents can purchase flags to have our driveways ploughed in the winter.

 

The Post Office is the hub of our community - for people in town and out. Here, we catch up with neighbours and friends. We solve the problems of the world and share both exciting and sad news with each other. Events like births, marriages, deaths, and other happenings are passed along through our interactions at the post office, but also through the interactions with our post mistresses. Personally, I don’t use social media and I am not the only one - many people in our community don’t use social media for many reasons. The post office is our point of contact for community connection.

 

The Post Office also supports our seniors, our disabled, and our otherwise mobility impaired neighbours. Our Post Mistresses know when one of our community members has diverged from their regular routine in picking up mail or coming for visits and can make sure that that person is checked on, or check in on them themselves. Many people in our community cannot or do not drive, and the post office supplies them with many staples - groceries, clothing, and other necessities like toilet paper, while still allowing them autonomy and independence. For example, one member of our community is legally blind and the post office allows him to stay in the community and still receive necessities. Many of our seniors rely on the post office for the same necessities. Closure of the Post Office causes many of our community members mental stress and it also isolates them. Many people will have to move.

 

The Post Office is also where people have life-saving medications delivered. Medications that are temperature sensitive and cannot be left to freeze or overheat. For example, one child in our community receives $16 000 worth of life-sustaining medications there monthly - a delivery, that if re-routed to Redwater, would stop and pick up from Edmonton would be required because Redwater is too close to the City so the manufacturer doesn’t deliver, resulting in a minimum round-trip of 3 hours each time the medication needs to be picked up. We have cancer survivors who have their medications delivered there as well. Personally, I have spoken with three of those people who receive their medications at our post office.

 

Our Post Office is where children come before school to wait for the bus and after school to meet their parents. It is a place where the children can find protection from the elements both in hot weather and in cold weather, and if necessary, have access to an adult.

 

Our post office also supports somewhere between 45 and 60 small businesses and farmers. There are over 30 farmers who use the post office to conduct business, which also includes delivery of supplies. The post office supports welders, oil field businesses, and many other small businesses within the community. People open bank accounts through the Radway Post Office - a necessity, now that banks are closing branch offices.

 

With the termination of the Post Office contract, the question then becomes, what happens to property values? They certainly won’t increase, since the Post Office is one of two amenities available to the community. The other question is, what is there to draw people to our county? What amenities are readily available that bind people to the community and make life more pleasant for them? Termination of the post office with no community consultation is not viewed as a decision made in good faith. Exactly the opposite. What is the draw for families and individuals to join our county and communities when decisions like this seem to indicate a lack of support?

 

We believe that the numbers presented to Council on the Radway Post Office do not paint an accurate story of both the physical nature of the expenses and the impact on the community. 

 

The building that the post office, firehall and library shares is approximately 4200 square feet. Of that, the post office is about 9% of the area. The County Release states that the fixed costs of $20 000 will remain for the building, without the post office, but that over $65 000 will be saved by closing the Post Office. 

 

We have attached the Line Item Budget for the Radway Post office. Here, the costs for the building are lumped as one cost, and the expenses are not allocated according to the firehall, the library, or the post office. The library leases their space for free, so all costs are allotted to the Post Office. The library levy per capita was calculated for a population of 3417, 375 people more than what we have in this county, an error of 12.6%. At $5.31 per capita, that is an extra $1991 allotted to the library system.

 

Telephone and utilities for the entire building are listed at $13 000 for 2023. These utilities will remain the same, except for the telephone and fax line, which is roughly $1200 for the year. The post office’s portion, which is 9% of the utilities, is a cost of $1170, not $13 000, keeping in mind that the post office does not have a water supply.

 

Repairs, maintenance, and janitorial is listed at $6500 for 2023. At 9% of the space, the post office portion of that bill would come in at around $585. There has also been a depreciation value incorporated into the Post Office budget for 2022, 2023, and each year forward. This depreciation value remains, regardless of whether the Post Office is in the building or not. 

 

Concerningly, there is a line item expense for “Contracted Services- Canada Post contracted inventory purchases.” Speaking with Canada Post did not elucidate these costs and even within the suggested items that could be these purchases, each of those come with a revenue attached, so this value of $20 000 in expenditures doesn’t seem to be accurately reflected in the budget.

 

Salaries and benefits are listed at $80 100 for 2023. Post Office staff are not unionized and aren’t subject to receiving the 1% Cost Of Living Allowance each year that is allotted to the unionized staff and Council. 

 

To draw comparisons, The Radway Post Office is an essential amenity that is available to the community every day of the year. It acts as the hub of the community and supports around 400 people directly, but many more indirectly. According to the budget, it operates at a projected loss of $85 700 for the year, and the media release indicates that the county would be “saving” over $65 000 per year. The Thorhild swimming pool operates at a loss of between $160 to 200 000 per year and is open for 4.5 months of the year, serving a total of about 3100 entries, around 775 entries per month. The Long Lake Ski hill operates at a loss of over $200 000 every year and is open for a maximum of 60 days of the year - weekends and days that the Aspenview Schools are closed - and has an average usage of 40 to 42 skiers per day, according to Councillor Paly’s report on January 24. Half Moon Lake Campground operates at a loss of $42 000 a year, is open for 5 months and serves 4608 entries (about 921 entries per month). We are not asking for these facilities to be closed, but are providing perspective - we would like to see all of our communities bustling and busy with people. We would like to see our county thriving.

 

We are aware that there have been no successful bids for the contract with Canada Post, so far. People with businesses either don’t work in our community and aren’t considered to have a stake in the game, or do not have a viable building. This is concerning to us as a community because if the Radway Post Office closes on July 31 with no party to take over the contract, our community loses. We lose our mail, but also our community hub. We just have to look at what happened to the Egremont Post Office as an example - the Post Office was moved into the Sunset and was closed less than a year later when the restaurant went under.

 

We have concerns about the superboxes - they are regularly broken into and are also not temperature controlled. Large parcels and packages will have to be delivered to other outlets outside of the community, requiring people to drive. There are currently around 235 boxes in operation, some shared by multiple families. The cost to residents is real: If 235 people have to drive to Thorhild once per week for mail, that fuel cost is $2645 per week, or $137 475 per year (calculated at $1.25 per litre) and at a loss of 195 hours driving time per week. It’s a waste of time and money and hardly in line with the “green” behaviours we have been encouraged to adopt. The additional 235 vehicles per week on Highways 28 and 63, both dangerous and deadly highways, increases the risk to residents and the burden on emergency services. 

 

We are requesting that Council reverse the decision to terminate the contract for the Radway Post Office. Following this request, our 60 day timeline to submit a Petition to Council to rescind the resolution is in one month, on March 12, at which time we will be submitting a petition with more than the required signatures of 10% of electors of the county to request that Council rescind its resolution to terminate the contract with Canada Post.

 

Thank you