County of St. Paul No 19

Council Meeting

AGENDA

Meeting #:
Date:
Time:
-
Location:
5015- 49 Avenue, St. Paul, AB T0A 3A4

At the November Meeting, Council made a motion to table the request from the St. Paul & Area Archery Association for more information.

 

We contacted the Archery Association and they indicated that they require funding to replace their targets which would cost approximately $2,000 and it could be paid in the 2012 budget year.

 

In 2009, Council gave a $2,000 grant to the St. Paul Archery Association for targets.

We received a letter from Barb Buryn, President of the St. Paul Child Care Society, expressing her disappointment with Council's decision to deny funding for the renovations to their building.  In her letter, Mrs. Buryn provided background on their society.  She also stated that the government funding they receive is a wage top-up to staff and this wage top-up is provided to all day home societies and day care, whether it is a private company or a non profit society.

 

Mrs. Buryn is requesting that council reconsider their decision.

At the November Meeting, Council gave 1st reading to Bylaw No. 1587, which is a bylaw to rezone S 1/2 NE 1-58-9-W4 from Agricultural to Country Residential 1.

 

Bylaw No. 1587 was advertised in the St. Paul Journal the weeks of November 29 and December 6 and the adjacent landowners were notified.

At the November Meeting, Council gave 1st reading to Bylaw No. 1585, which is a bylaw to rezone Lot 1, Plan 0021514 in SE 1-58-10-W4 from Urban Expansion to Country Residential 2.

 

Bylaw No. 1585 was advertised in the St. Paul Journal the weeks of November 29 and December 6 and the adjacent landowners were notified.

The date of the regular scheduled Public Works Meeting, falls on December 27th and the office will be closed as per policy Per-30. 

 

Section 193(3) of the M.G.A. states that Council may change the date of a regularly schedule meeting as long as they provide 24 hours notice to any Councillors not present at the meeting at which the change was made and to the public.

We require a motion from Council to set the date for the Salary Negotiations prior to the January 10th Council Meeting. 

Blue Quills First Nations College co-hosted by Tribal Chiefs Association Residential Schools Legacy Project and the Saddle Lake Residential Schools Heath Support Program are hosting a two day workshop on Understanding the Impact of Residential Schools on Families, Addictions, Violence and Crime.  The workshop will be held on January 12 and 13, 2012 at Blue Quills College.  The workshop is open to all of Council.

Roadata Services Ltd. will be holding their 5th Annual Infrastructure Protection Conference on January 19, 2012 in Red Deer.

Assessment Review Board Refresher Training courses are scheduled for the first quarter of 2012.

Wood Buffalo in partnership with the NADC will be hosting a Leading the North Conference on January 25-27, 2012.

 

A copy of the agenda can be viewed at www.leadingthenorth.ca

 

The 14th Annual Alberta Onsite Wastewater Management Association Convention and Trade Show will be held January 26 to 28, 2012 in Edmonton.  

The Community Planning Association Conference will be held April 16-18, 2012 in Red Deer.

Brownlee LLP will be holding their annual Emerging Trends in Municipal Law Seminar on Thursday, February 9, 2012 in Edmonton.  

The Certificate in Municipal Management and Leadership program offered by the Alberta School of Business - Executive Education at the University of Alberta develops municipal leaders by increasing their capacity to lead people, teams, departments and organizations.  This program is suited for managers who lead one or more teams, groups, or department and would like to further develop effective management and leadership skills in a municipal setting.  I am requesting that Council consider Krystle Fedoretz from our Planning and Development Department to participate in the program.  She has shown great leadership and management skills and it is my opinion that this program would assist her in developing those skills to a new level.  I also see this as a good fit into Council's goal of succession planning. 

The program consists of six modules occurring over the course of 11 months.  The next intake of the program commences in January 2012.  The program fee is $6,110.  This is for the program, however there would be additional costs for subsistence when Krystle would be attending.  I estimate those costs to be $5,000.  Total cost to county approximately $11,000.

I myself have taken the program and would highly recommend it for up and coming managers.  I realize that it is an expensive program, but would propose that if Krystle is granted the opportunity to participate in this program that we make the offer subject to her staying in the County's employ for an additional 1 - 2 years following completion of the program, otherwise a portion of the program would have to be reimbursed.  

The St. Paul Community Family Benefit will be holding their fourth Annual New Year's Even Family Benefit Dance and are seeking financial support as well as donations for silent auction items, door prizes or volunteer help.  The attached letter outlines the various levels of sponsorship.

 

In 2011 the County donated a silent auction item to this benefit dance.

The St. Paul & District Hospital Foundation will be holding their annual fundraising event on March 3, 2012.  They will be raising funds for a Drager Monitor and 2 Life Pak 12 Defibrillators/Monitors.

 

They are looking for support for their fundraiser by way of donations of a live/silent auction item and/or purchase a table of eight for $350.

 

In 2010 they County purchased a table and donated an item for their silent auction.

The Heinsburg Community Club is planning to replace the front steps to the hall in the near future.  The Riverview Seniors share the entrance to the building and would like to replace the ramp adjacent to the steps at the same time.

 

The Riverview Seniors Club is requesting financial assistance up to $2,500 to cover their portion of the cost of the ramp.

We have received a proposal from Frog Lake Minor Sports requesting to use the ball diamonds at Whitney Lakes from May 15, 2012 to September 30, 2012.  the diamonds would be used for youth ball as well as adult ball.  They would practice in the evenings during the week with the weekends reserved for games and tournaments.  They have suggested the following proposals:

1.  The County fix up the ball diamonds and they will pay rent.

2.  They will fix up the ball diamonds in exchange for rent.

We have received a request from Lac La Biche County for support with their lobbying campaign to retain the Medevac service standards that currently exist via the City Centre Airport.  The province plans to reroute the Medevac flights to Edmonton International Airport once closure of the City Centre Airport occurs which will more than double the transfer time.  

 

Attached is Lac la Biche County's communication strategy along with their goals, objectives and tactics they plan to employ.  They have also included a projected budget of $93,500 for the three month campaign. The investment from each municipality will depend on how many municipalities get involved with the campaign.

All MSI Operating and Capital projects have been submitted as per Council's direction at budget, however Administration is providing a listing of the projects and amounts for Council to ratify as approval of the grant applications submitted.  See attached listing.

The interim Operating and Capital Budget estimated number for 2012 are as follows:

Operating Revenues - $28,142,130

Operating Expenditures - $17,000,420

Capital - $11,134,302

 

Section 242(2) of the M.G.A. states that Council may adopt an interim operating budget for part of a calendar year.

Bylaw No. 1588, Borrowing Bylaw, is being presented to Council to authorize borrowings of up to Fifteen Thousand Dollars ($15,000) from the Servus Credit Union to finance the Master Card Account.

 

Section 187 of the M.G.A. requires that every proposed bylaw must have 3 distinct and separate readings.

Bylaw No. 1589, Borrowing Bylaw, is being presented to Council to authorize borrowings of up to Seven Million Dollars ($7,000,000) from the Servus Credit Union to finance the short term operations of the County.

 

Section 187 of the M.G.A. requires that every proposed bylaw must have 3 distinct and separate readings.

Each year the County Library Board submits its budget to the County Council for consideration and approval.  In 2011 the County approved an increased contribution of $3,000 (up from $27,000 in 2009) to $30,000 towards their budget.  In 2012 the Library Board is including $30,000, however they have received requests from both the St. Paul and Elk Point libraries for increased funding.  Therefore they are projecting a deficit of approx $11,300.  Therefore Council will have to consider if they are willing to increase their contribution from $30,000 to $41,300. 

 

The County participates in the FCSS Program.  Each year a Funding Agreement needs to be signed in order to receive the funding from the Ministry of Children and Youth Services.  The 2012 Funding per the agreement will be - Province $170,481 with a minimum contribution from the County of #$42,620.

We are looking for Council to ratify the signing of this agreement for the 2012 fiscal year.

Attached is the Culture, Parks and Recreation Agreement between the County and Town of St. Paul which was negotiated at the Joint meeting on November 16.  The Annual payments are increased by $5,000 per year.

The Safety Codes Committee met on December 8, 2011 to discuss the proposed 2012 fee schedule.  The proposed fee schedule is attached.

 

Krystle Fedoretz will be in to discuss the proposed rates with Council.

Urban Systems assisted Council with their visioning session which resulted in the adoption of a Vision, Values, and Guiding Principles.  I attended their office in November to have a look at the draft water policy which is being tied to those Guiding Principles.  At that time I realized that the wording on Guiding Principle #5 could be difficult for the County to follow.  It is currently worded:

Achieve operating cost reductions and operations stability over time to provide affordable services to residents.

In conversation with both Urban Systems and based on some of the feedback received at our Public Consultation sessions, I would propose that Council consider the following amendment to that guiding principle:

Strive for operations efficiency and stability to provide affordable services to residents.

 

Robert Jenkins is finalizing the submission to Alberta Municipal Affairs for the creation of the Regional Water Commission and he requires the names of

the 3 appointees from Council as well as the names of alternates, if any.

 

At the 2010 Organizational Meeting, Councillors Sloan, Fodness, Dach and Reeve Upham were appointed to the Regional Water Committee.

Urban Systems, the Engineering Firm contracted to work on the Ashmont - Lottie Lake Water Transmission Line as well as the Ashmont Water Treatment Plant has over the course of their preliminary scope of work performed duties and processes that were not part of the original scope of work, but that have assisted the County and Alberta Transportation with making better decisions regarding the project in respect to Detailed Design and Construction parameters.  Matt Brassard, Project Manager from Urban Systems has provided a letter outlining the additional work that was done, however not part of the original scope of approved work.  This letter informs Council about the work, the cost of each item, as well as the benefit it has provided to the overall project.  In all the additional work totals $28,000.  He is requesting that Council consider approving the scope of this work - after the fact.  He also acknowledges that in the future, any scope changes would need to be approved in a much more timely fashion.

Administration has been working to be ready for grant programs as they become available for retrofitting the Public Works Building to make it more energy efficient as well as increase the safety for the staff.  We have had the opportunity to apply for funding under the Municipal Climate Change Action Centre in conjunction with the AUMA.  Attached are the agreements for Council's approval.  The Implementation Funding Agreement provides $10,000 funding for undertaking the project.  The Bonus Funding Agreement will provide an additional $10,000 following implementation of the project once it is proven that the steps taken have reduced energy consumption. 

Further to the Strategic Planning Session, we require a motion from Council to approve the 2012 Road and Bridge Construction.

At the Strategic Planning Sessions, Council discussed new equipment purchases for 2012.  In order to secure pricing for spring delivery we require a motion to purchase 3 - 14M graders and a rock truck at approximately $1,855,000 to be funded from the 2012 budget.

Further to the discussions at the Strategic Planning Meetings, we require a motion from Council to do a survey at Bluebird Beach and Lac Sante to determine the location of the er property where the lake lots owners would like to determine as an access.

At the November meeting, Council passed a motion to participate in the Regional Coyote Reduction Program.  Attached is the final draft of the Guidelines and Application Form for the Regional Coyote Reduction Program.  

Further to the discussions at the Strategic Planning Meeting, we require a motion from Council to approve a new Salary Grid for the Assistant Agricultural Fieldman position before this position is advertised.

Attached is Bylaw No. 1590 which is a bylaw authorizing the County to lease Lot 1ER, Plan 8022307 in PNW 32-56-9-W4 to Serena Kennedy for a three year period.  Section 676(1)(c) of the M.G.A. allows Council to lease an environmental reserve property for a term of not more than 3 years. This Bylaw must be advertised in accordance with Section 606 of the M.G.A. and a public hearing must be held in accordance with Section 230 of the M.G.A.


This property was leased to Serena Kennedy in the past through a standard lease agreement.  She cuts the hay on the 18 acre property in an attempt to reduce the fire risk.  This will be the same process as the Scott Lease.

 

Item to be presented to Council at the Meeting.

Item to be presented to Council at the Meeting.

During the Strategic Planning Meeting with council, there was some discussion on proceeding with a design for the Mallaig and Ashmont Fire Halls at an  approximately cost of 20,000 dollars. 

The 2012 Provincial ASB Conference will be January 31 to February 3, 2012 at the Westin Hotel.

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