Lacombe County will meet with developers of a large RV resort on Gull Lake who are questioning a $1.7-million road-paving bill.
Delta Land Co. is developing Sandy Point The Resort, an RV development on the southwest end of Gull Lake. The development includes an inland marina and boat launch, and an 18-hole golf course is under construction.
As part of its development agreement with Lacombe County, developers built Sandy Point Beach. Under the development agreement, developers do not have to pave the access road until the traffic count hits an average 400 vehicles per day or prior to approval of the fourth phase of the project.
That threshold has been reached and county council approved a motion last week requiring Delta to put up a $1.7-million line of credit to cover paving costs.
However, developers argue that much of the traffic is bound for the beach and are not RV resort residents.
“Their position is that we should take into consideration the fact that there is significant traffic relative to the beach and the amenities there and they shouldn’t necessarily be solely responsible for that,” said Lacombe County commissioner Terry Hager on Wednesday.
“We’ll have to sit down and discuss that with them and see if we can’t come up with some type of resolution.”
The development agreement does not distinguish between beach and RV resort traffic.
“That being said (developers) are still going to make the argument and we know that,” said Hager. “We’ll see if we can come up with some type of agreement and take it back to council for their consideration.”
County Reeve Paula Law said the county will discuss the issue with developers.
“Council has just made a resolution to start the process,” said Law.
A Delta spokesman could not be reached for comment on Wednesday.
A resident from the RV resort presented a letter and petition with 57 names to county council last week asking that the county improve maintenance on the gravel access road, although paving was not specifically requested.
The road is dangerous when dust is thrown up by vehicles when it is dry, says the letter. In wet conditions, the road is muddy and slick in places.
pcowley@reddeeradvocate.com