A group of concerned High River citizens handed in a petition to the Town on Monday.
It was started on Friday, September 27 available to the public the next day and was handed in well before the 4 p.m. Monday deadline.
The petition opposes the Town of High River's proposed bylaw to allow them to borrow $15 million in order to complete the Aquatics Centre expansion.
Carol MacMillan, spokesperson for the group says she's very grateful for the 75 or so citizens who helped collect the signatures and get them in on time.
"We handed it in on Monday, October 7th at 11:27 a.m. to be precise, and we handed it both to the CAO of the Town as well as the manager of Legislative Services. So, it went smoothly, and we definitely got it in on time because the last signature we collected was at 6 p.m. on Sunday, October 6 and we had until 4 p.m. on Monday, October 7."
The Town of High River has yet to pass a bylaw allowing them to borrow $15 million even though the construction work for the aquatic expansion has already started.
MacMillan says she's unsure of what the next steps for the Town of High River's council are, however, the provincial government is well aware of the petition.
"I've advised the Minister of Municipal Affairs (Ric McIver) that the petition has indeed been directed towards the office of the Town of High River and just waiting for further steps there. It will be by January 6, is the date that the whole review of the petition will be finalized."
Shovels went into the ground during the first week of August.
MacMillan says the response they got from fellow citizens when volunteers were door-knocking was very heartfelt and encouraging.
"It was received wholeheartedly and what I'm really pleased to say is we had about 75 volunteers. Whether it was businesses or residents who were door-knocking collecting signatures during meetings or going to businesses to sign. It was a heartwarming experience because the stories that we heard at the doors in particular were just very eye-opening. What I really learned was that people want to be heard, and they want their voices to be heard.
Also, we informed the public that this was about a petition against the borrowing bylaw, not against the pool expansion, not against recreation. So, that was very informative for people to know too about the implications of the $14 million potential borrowing."
The group is looking to make a formal delegation presentation to the Town Council on Monday, October 28.