Vilna

Welcome

Welcome to our community. We hope the information contained within this profile is useful. If additional information is required, please contact our representative from the "Key Contacts" section.

Area Overview

The Village of Vilna is a thriving community located in the Lakeland tourism district. The local economy is vibrant and varied, including peat processing, tourism, forestry, and steel fabrication. In addition, efficient highway and rail connections, as well as numerous trucking firms, bus and courier services ensure that Vilna is well-connected to local, regional and national markets.

Downtown Vilna is the site of the world's largest mushroom, a 20 foot high, 15 foot diameter giant replica of tricholoma uspale mushroom, a traditional ingredient in the ethnic dishes of the region.

Community Services

Municipal

Village of Vilna
Box 10
Vilna, Alberta T0A 3L0
Tel: 780-636-3620

Vilna Municipal Library

Provincial

N/A

Federal

Canada Post Office

Community Lifestyle

Recreation

Recreation facilities include a 9 nine hole golf club(which is currently developing grass greens), cultural centre and hall, arena with artificial ice, senior drop-in centre with 2 lane bowling facilities, playgrounds, Bonnie Lake baseball diamond and the Bonnie Lake Campground. Community Organizations Recreational and cultural organizations include the Vilna & District Agricultural Society, Vilna Main Street Project Society, Fish & Game, Minor Hockey Club, Old Timers Hockey Club, Figure Skating Club, 4-H Club, Church Clubs, Vilna Soccor Club, Vilna Veselka Dance Club.

Religious Services

• Sacred Heart Catholic Church
• Vilna Greek Orthodox Church
• Ruthenian Greek Catholic Church
• Pentecostal Church
• United Church

Special Annual Events/Attractions

Downtown Vilna is the site of the world's largest mushroom, a 20 foot high, 15 foot diameter giant replica of tricholoma uspale mushroom, a traditional ingredient in the ethnic dishes of the region.

Vilna holds an authentic, early 1920's pool hall. The Vilna Pool Hall is Alberta's oldest operating pool hall and barbershop. The Vilna Pool Hall and Barbershop features 4 old-time tables, a Booker coal heater, oiled wood floors and an antique barber chair. The Vilna Pool Hall and Barbershop was awarded Historical Designation by the Alberta Historical Resource Foundation in June 2000. Phone 780-636-3666 for more information.

Vilna's Annual Fall Fair is held annually the third weekend in August. The Vilna and District Agricultural Society provides entertainment all day Saturday at the Arena facilities for children and adults of all ages to enjoy. On Sunday, the Village of Vilna hosts a Pancake Breakfast and in the afternoon offers a picnic in the park with activities for the family.

Hospitality

Accommodation

• Vilna Hotel
• Countrylane Bed & Breakfast
• Inn at the Ranch
• Kittiwake Retreat
• Spedden Inn
• Kalna Cottages

Restaurants

• Side Street Cafe
• Spedden Inn
• Family Corner

Economic Base

The economic base of Vilna is agriculture and natural resources.

The agricultural industry benefits from a variety of agricultural resources including low cost grazing lands to the north, good quality, flat crop lands to the west; a climate suitable for most crops and ready access to processing facilities, and a large domestic market about 1 1/2 hours away in Edmonton.

Primary natural resources in the area are large deposits of natural gas, extensive areas of peat, and some forested areas suitable for logging.

Economic Facts

A major industry in the nearby rural area is a peat processing plant which harvests, dries and ships peat to Edmonton for containerization and distribution. Large areas of undeveloped peat lands are located in the regions to the north and east of the Town of Smoky Lake.

Steel fabrication is a minor industry in the town and surrounding area. There are a number of highly qualified and innovative welders undertaking custom steel fabrication and manufacturing of recreation equipment such as campground stoves, steel framed picnic tables, and agricultural implements such as manure spreaders, bale loader/carriers, ground rollers and specialty trailers.

Tourism is regarded as a significant growth industry for the Village and surrounding areas. There are numerous small business enterprises starting to evolve as rapidly changing economic factors encourage the large Edmonton market to look closer to home for vacation and recreation opportunities. The area is viewed as having significant potential for eco-tourism oriented ventures.

In the year 2000, the Village of Vilna was awarded participation to the Alberta Main Street Programme through the Alberta Historical Resources Foundation.

Since its creation in 1987, the Alberta Main Street Programme has been a catalyst for downtown revitalization and community economic development initiatives throught the historic restoration of Alberta's Main Streets. The program's objective is to help selected communities capitalize on their heritage resources as a source of pride, a business opportunity and a mechanism to increase tourism.

The emphasis of the Vilna Main Street Project is primarily on the successful implementation of the Four Point Approach - organization, design, marketing and economic development. Thus, the focus falls initially on the design component and subsequent architectural rehabilitation and restoration of Vilna's commercial buildings. Yet, interdependantly, the health of the business idstrict is also a large determining factor in Vilna's downtown revitalization. Organization, marketing and economic development are therefore equally important to Vilna's well-structured approach to improving both the physical appearance and economic conditions of the community.

Fundamentally, downtown revitalization breathes new life into a community. The Vilna Main Street Project process generates excitement and optimism for the future and encourages the community to reevaluate its direction and find, once again, its own unique identity that made the community a special place to begin with.

Major Businesses Products/Services

N/A N/A

Financial Institutions

Toronto Dominion Bank - Agency
Alberta Treasury Branch - Agency

Education

Vilna is part of the Aspen View Regional School Division #19, headquartered in Athabasca [Tel: 780-675-2273].

Daycare/Nursery

N/A

Public

Vilna School provides education for Grades K to 12.

Separate

N/A

Private

N/A

Emergency Services

Fire Protection

Vilna is served by a volunteer fire department, 3 fire trucks and an emergency rescue van [Tel: 780-636-3511 or 911].

Police Services

Vilna is served by the Smoky Lake detachment of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police [RCMP] [Tel: 780-656-3691 or 911].

Ambulance Services

Paramedic and ambulance service is available [Tel: 780-656-3030 or 911].

Health Care

Our Lady's Health Care Centre is located in Vilna which houses medical clinics and diagnostic services 5 days a week. There is also a senior citizens' lodge and self-contained units available for seniors. Senior citizen housing is also available in Smoky Lake. Home care health and support services are available.

Key Contacts for Business Development

Municipal

Village of Vilna
Box 10
Vilna, Alberta T0A 3L0
Tel: 780-636-3620
Fax: 780-636-3620
vilna@mcsnet.ca

Carol Trider
Mayor

Twila Petrushka
Administrator

Reach Corporation
Box 310
Smoky Lake, Alberta T0A 3C0
Tel: 780-656-2110
Fax: 780-656-2106

Provincial (Updated December 2004)

Alberta Economic Development
Box 412
Room 308, Provincial Building
5025 - 49 Avenue
St. Paul, Alberta T0A 3A4
Tel: 780-645-6358
Fax: 780-645-6241
Garry Krause, Regional Manager
Maryann Robinson, Client Service Representative

Ray Danyluk
Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA)
Lac La Biche - St. Paul Constituency

Constituency Office
4434-50th Avenue
St. Paul AB T0A 3A2
Phone: (780) 645-6999
Toll Free: 1-866-674-6999
Fax: (780) 645-5787
laclabiche.stpaul@assembly.ab.ca

Legislature Office
#503 Legislature Building
10800-97 Avenue
Edmonton, AB T5K - 2B6
Phone: (780) 415-9578
Fax: (780) 422-6284

Federal (Updated May 2006)

Brian Storseth
Member of Parliament [MP]
Westlock-St. Paul Constituency
House of Commons
Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0A6

Location

The Village of Vilna is located in the County of Smoky Lake, in east-central Alberta. It is located approximately 1 1/2 hour's drive from Edmonton's city limits [157 km] to the southwest; and 45 minutes from the Town of Vegreville to the south; the Town of St. Paul to the east and the Town of Lac La Biche to the northeast.

Post Secondary Education

Post-secondary programs and courses are available in St. Paul through the St. Paul campus of Lakeland College. Other programs available in St. Paul include Alberta Vocational College and Blue Quills First Nations College.

Taxation

	Residential/Farmland	Non-Residential
2005
Municipal Tax Rate	20.0000	27.5000
Education - Alberta School Foundation Fund Tax Rate	4.4100	7.1400
Seniors Lodge Accommodation Tax Rate	.9000	.9000

Mill Rates [2000]

Residential - Public 28.0
Residential - Separate N/A
Non-Residential - Public 33.5
Non-Residential - Separate N/A

Transportation

Air Services

An all-weather airport is located about a 1/2 hour drive to the east beside the Town of St. Paul. To the west, a grass air strip is located beside the Town of Smoky Lake. It is maintained for casual summer use. National and international air service is available through the Edmonton Industrial Airport in downtown Edmonton and the Edmonton International

Airport

Highways Connecting highways include Highway 28, leading west to Edmonton and east to Bonnyville [via Highway 28A], and Secondary Road 859, leading south to Hamlin. Highway 28 is the main highway connecting Edmonton with the Lakeland tourism region and the Cold Lake military air base.

Secondary Highway 855 provides access southward via Highways 45 and 16 to the Yellowhead Route to the more eastern provinces and to the south and east sectors of the province. A network of highways connects through to Lethbridge and Medicine Hat and the U.S. border bypassing the major population centres of Edmonton and Calgary.

Highway 36, about 10 minutes west of the Village of Vilna, provides direct paved access to Lac La Biche and to Fort McMurray and the Athabasca Tar Sands developments.

Highways 855, 45, 15 and 21 provide paved access to the Edmonton International Airport, 1 1/2 hours distance, avoiding the congestion of Edmonton city traffic.

A network of primary and secondary highways serve into the Vilna region providing access to the western regions of the province and the Peace River country, preventing the need to deal with the restrictions of traffic in a large population centre.

Trucking Firms

Several trucking firms serve Vilna and region, providing general and specialized transportation services, including livestock hauling.

Bus Services

Greyhound Bus Lines operates a twice daily passenger and courier service between Vilna and Edmonton and Vilna and Cold Lake. In addition, Carson tours operates a luxury bus charter service from the area.

Courier and Taxis

Loomis and Purolator supply daily service to Vilna. Greyhound Bus Lines also offers twice daily courier service and Canada Post offers daily courier service. There is no taxi service in Vilna.

Utilities

Electrical Power

ATCO Electric Ltd.
Box 2426
Edmonton, Alberta T5J 2V6

www.atco.com

Tel: 800-668-2248

Standard Residential Service [1100]
Customer Charge: $16.10
Energy Charge: All energy 7.48/kW.h

Natural Gas

County of Smoky Lake Natural Gas System
Box 310
Smoky Lake, Alberta T0A 3C0
Tel: 780-656-3730

Residential Rates - $10.00 monthly service fee
- $7.27/g'j usage

Telephone

Telus Communications Inc.

www.telus.com

Tel: [toll free] 800-361-3311

Water Supply

Residential water rates are $18.00 per month for base of 13 cubic meters and $0.75 charged for every cubic meter above the base. The commercial rate is charged by the Village depending on the type of business.

Waste Management

Residential sewage rates are $7.50 per month. The commercial rate is a flat rate that is charged by the Village depending on the type of business.

Garbage is picked up weekly. Residental garbage/landfill charge is set at $7.50 per month. The commercial rate is set at $10.00 per month.

Population

Total Population 1991-2001

Vilna Population by Age Group (2001)

Education Statistics

Vilna Highest Level of Schooling 2001

Labour Force

Vilna Labour Force By Industry - 2001

Income

Building Permits

Total Housing Starts

Value of Building Permits

Dwellings