Council backs concept for giant miner’s lantern

Crowsnest Pass council will provide a letter of support for the concept of building the largest miner’s Davy safety lantern in Canada, but the letter will stop short of committing the municipality to the full project.

Council discussed the request during its June 9 regular meeting after receiving a letter from Ron Hungar. Hungar had previously presented the concept to council.

Chief administrative officer Patrick Thomas said administration recommended caution around the wording of the letter because of unknown capital and operating costs.

Thomas said the previous presentation suggested the structure could include public access, an entry fee and viewing areas. He said that could eventually make it a municipal asset with ongoing responsibilities.

“There would be ongoing operating costs and then there would be obviously capital costs to maintain,” said Thomas.

Thomas said a 50-foot structure would not be a minor undertaking, particularly if it included interior staircases, viewing platforms and public access.

“That’s a rigorous structure,” said Thomas.

Mayor Pat Rypien asked whether the letter could be drafted to reflect those limits. Thomas said it could and suggested the letter support the developing concept rather than the full project.

Councillor Tony Vastenhout said he had spoken with Hungar and understood there was an engineer involved in designing the structure. He said the municipality would still want to ensure the project was built properly if it might eventually become a municipal asset.

“I like the idea and support with conditions would be great,” said Vastenhout.

Councillor Dean Ward said the municipality would need more information before the project could come to budget discussions, including design details and a sense of total cost.

Rypien summarized the motion as support for the concept, but not the project itself at this stage.

“We’re zero financial commitments at this point,” said Ward.

Council carried the motion to provide a letter of support with those limits.