By James Bowler

Jurgens defends no show during P.A. flood plains meeting

Mar 29, 2015 | 4:40 PM

A local MLA is defending her absence at a community session concerning a new flood plains policy which will be used in Prince Albert.

Prince Albert Northcote MLA Victoria Jurgens wasn’t at the meeting which announced the adoption of the one-in-500 year flood elevation policy.

The provincially mandated policy bars future development in the floodway – the area at greatest risk for flooding beside a waterway – and it puts a number of building requirements on new developments elsewhere. That limited area, outside the floodway, is called the flood fringe.

During the meeting, opposition NDP leader Cam Broten questioned the lack of representation from government officials to address community concerns over this new policy.

Jurgens said she felt it would be inappropriate for any government officials to attend an even that was meant to be a community information session.

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“I really felt it was important that the residents in attendance last night would be able to have their questions answered,” said Jurgens. “I felt very adamant that we don’t need politicians in the room, taking up the time.”

Jurgens added that it was only meant to be a question and answer session providing technical details pertaining to the new policy.

She said that Jim Reiter, the minister of government relations, had assured her that the right officials would be there to speak to the concerns and questions of the citizens of Prince Albert, which further solidified her decision to remain absent.

With the recent leave of Prince Albert MLA Daryl Hickie, Jurgens is the only representation Prince Albert has provincially.

After the meeting Broten held no reserve in furthering his attack on the opposition when he tweeted this out:

Attended a mtg in PA Northcote with 100s of constituents hugely concerned about prov flood zoning changes. Zero govt MLAs there to listen.

— Cam Broten (@cambroten) March 27, 2015

Jurgens would not comment directly on Broten’s presence at the meeting or how he handled himself in response to the lack of her presence.

In regards to the new policy, Jurgens said she fully supports it.

“This policy goes back for three decades,” said Jurgens. “No governments from then till now, in Prince Albert, have worked on a flood plain issue.”

She added that other communities like Regina and Saskatoon have since adopted their own one-in-500 policies.

One of the major concerns brought forward was that the province is pushing communities like Prince Albert to adopt the flood plains policy without offering funding for preventative measures like dykes.

Jurgens said that as far as she understands, at this point the costs are not known, and that ministry and city officials should continue to work together to come up with the best option to deal with flooding in the most cost effective manner.

“I really prefer not to deal with hypotheticals,” said Jurgens. “Once the officials have the work all done then we can take the next step forward.” 

Jurgens said that any questions or concerns that residents may have surrounding the flood plains policy can be brought to her attention either through e-mail mlajurgens@sasktel.net or by calling her office at 306-922-4220. 

There will be a second meeting at Riverside School on May 7, but Jurgens has not confirmed if she will be in attendance.

– With files from paNOW reporter Thia James.

jbowler@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @journalistjim