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 appointed three members at large to the Subdivision and Development Appeal board, leaving one  vacant position as the fourth member indicated that he was no longer interested in serving on this board.

Tom Kurek is interested in sitting on this board for the three year term.

A the June Meeting, Council passed a motion to approve a one-year agreement with the Lakelander’s Trailer Club to provide access through Floatingstone Municipal Park to MLL Lease No. 2201 located on NW 29-60-11-W4 for the 2010 camping season.  A condition of the agreement included that the Lakelander’s Trailer Club will provide the County with an update regarding the progress of a new access by December 31, 2010.  Carried

 Attached is an e-mail from Brad Shapka on their Club’s progress on the road to their leased site. 

A the November Meeting, Council passed a motion to enter into a one year agreement with the Town of St. Paul for recycling at the St. Paul Transfer Station and that administration bring a recycling agreement to the January Council Meeting for Approval.

Dennis Bergheim is working on a recycling agreement with the Town of St. Paul.

  

Lane Scott has an appointment to speak to Council regarding his property in Heinsburg.

Dawna Nygaard with Bellamy Software will be in at 3:00 p.m. to give a demonstration on the Call to Order Software for agenda packages, action tracking and minute management.

Dennis Bergheim and Krystle Fedoretz would like to attend this Municipal Law Seminar n Thursday, February 10, 2011 in Edmonton as there will be some discussion around Planning and Development.

In August, 2007 Council passed a motion to add Mary Ann Price to the County payroll and then bill out her salary accordingly.

 North East Muni-Corr is now requesting to enter into another three year contract with the County of St. Paul to continue providing payroll services.  The term of the contract is January 1, 2010 to December 31, 2012.

  

The following land leases are being presented for the year 2011:

            PNE 8-56-4-W4                        Craig Lorenson

            NW 31-55-4-W4                       Larry Bazian

            SE 4-56-3-W4                           James Boyd

            PNW 34-56-5-W4                     Lionel Romanchuk

            SE 20-56-7-W4                         Banana Hill Farms

            Lot A, Plan 7620846 in            

                NW 20-56-10-W4                 St. Paul Grazing Reserve Assn.

            PNW 27-57-8-W4                     Jean Fontaine

            PNE 6-60-10-W4                      Don Imeson

            NW 34-62-10-W4                     Mardell Thompson

            NE 33-62-10-W4                      Mardell Thompson

            NE 34-62-10-W4                      Mardell Thompson 

Section 61 of the M.G.A. allows a municipality to grant rights with respect to its property.

At the November, 2010 meeting, Council tabled the request to lease Lot 28ER, Block 2, Plan 8023220 pending clarification on whether or not we can lease Environmental Reserve land. 

Section 676(1)(c) of the MGA states that a Council may by bylaw, after giving notice in accordance with section 606 and holding a public hearing in accordance with section 230,

     (c)  lease or dispose of an environmental reserve other than by a sale for a term or not more than 3 years.

 If Council wants to continue leasing this property, we will draft a bylaw and bring it back for to the February Meeting for 1st reading.  The Public Hearing can then be held in March.  The bylaw and public hearing would have to be done a minimum of every 3 years.

 Council will also need to determine if they are going to continue leasing the property to the current lessee or if they will consider the request from the adjacent landowner to lease this property.

 All 2011 leases are up for renewal.

  

In September, 2010 Council made a motion to approve Camp Whitney Society as an additional named insured under the County’s Insurance policy if they meet the application requirements as set out by Jubilee Insurance. 

 We received notification from Jubilee Insurance that they are not overly comfortable adding this organization as an ANI under the County policy, however they can make it work.  They have concerns with the condition of some of their buildings as they are quite old however they can be insured at Actual Cash Value.  Also, they feel that if they allow this organization on their program they are opening the door for other church groups and their program is written specifically for municipal operations. 

If Council still wants to include Camp Whitney Society as an ANI under the County policy, Jubilee insurance is requesting that Council to make another motion approving them stating that they are aware of Jubilee’s concerns 

The Mallaig Legion is applying for a grant through the New Horizons for Seniors Program for funding to commence Phase III of the Legion Hall repairs and they required a letter of support in principle from the County.

A copy of the letter is attached.

NLLS will be hosting a System Board Orientation session on January 22, 2011 at 10:00 a.m. to ensure members are aware of their roles and responsibilities.  Topics to be covered include:  Law, Legislation, Governance, Board Structure, Library System Service, Accountability, Risk Management and Advocacy. 

The Council of the County of Vermilion River would like to meet with the County of Two Hills, M.D. of Bonnyville and County of St. Paul to discuss the impact of heavy oil on their road infrastructure.  The idea is to develop a strategy to lobby for more funding for these types of roads.  The County of Vermilion River would be willing to host the meeting and are looking at January 27th or 28th.

  

Economic Development Alberta offers a one-day “Economic Development for Elected Official’s” course.  This course provides elected officials with strategies, tools, resources and experiences to help communities survive, thrive and grow.

 This course is being offered on February 24, 2011 in Wetaskiwin at a cost of $325 per registrant.  The County of Vermilion River indicated that they may be holding a course. 

http://www.edaalberta.ca/Default.aspx?pageId=68115&eventId=251256&EventViewMode=EventDetails

The Theme of the Economic Developers Alberta Conference is “Fostering resilience, innovation and sustainability”.

This annual conference attracts almost 200 experts in the field of economic development and elected officials from various parts of the province.  Delegates are provided with updates on economic development issues and trends, best practices, inspiring keynote addresses and valuable networking opportunities

 It will be held April 6-8, 2011 in Kananaskis and registration fee is $467.25 

 

The agenda for the conference can be viewed at:

http://www.edaalberta.ca/Resources/Documents/Draft%20Conference%20Agenda.pdf

Dieter Langer, the AEMA Emergency Management Field Officer for East Central Alberta, would like to give Council a presentation on “Council Responsibilities Before, During and After Emergencies”.  He has a 60-90 minute presentation which includes the changes in the legislation that was revised in March, 2010 and outlines emergency management background and framework information. 

 

Because of the length of the presentation, he would prefer to set up a special meeting, possibly with the Towns of Elk Point and St. Paul.   

I would like approval from Council to attend the Banquet at the ASB Conference and the Bear Pit Session on Friday Morning.

  

The proposed Permit Fee Schedule for 2011 is being presented to Council for Discussion and approval.

 

The changes to the fee schedule are indicated in red.

We have received a letter from the County of St. Paul Library Board thanking Council for their continued support of the community libraries.

The Town of St. Paul is requesting if the County would consider appointing a Council Member to the Town Library Board.

At the Joint Meeting with the Town of Elk Point, Mayor Parrish Tung proposed the formation of a Regional Economic Advisory Board to offer observation and advice to respective Municipalities on the issue of economic development.  This Board would be comprised of members from the County of St. Paul, Town of St. Paul and Town of Elk Point.  He proposed a membership of nine (9) members: three (3) members from each municipality comprised of one (1) elected official and two (2) members at large. 

We are now at the stage of setting up a working Committee for the Wellness Clinic.  We require a motion from Council to appoint 2 members from the County to the working committee with Town and developers. 

At the organizational meeting Reeve Upham, Councillor Martin and Tim Mahdiuk were appointed to the Medical Clinic Committee.

  

Bylaw No. 1563 is being presented to Council for second and third reading to adopt the new Inter Municipal Development Plan between the County of St. Paul and the Town of St. Paul and to rescind Bylaw No. 1539.

The Joint Public Hearing was held on January 5, 2011.

Residents/Customers are billed for services received from the County through our Accounts Receivable process.  A Customer will receive a letter if an Invoice remains unpaid for 60 days.  This letter indicates that this is final notice and that further non-payment will result in a suspension of services to that customer.  If the invoice is still unpaid following 90 days, a letter indicating that services will be suspended is issued to the customer. 

 Unpaid invoices at 180 days are sent to a collection agency.  The collection agency will collect what they can for a fee of 35% of the invoice amount.  Unfortunately not all invoices can be collected.  Attached you will find a list of uncollected invoices that we are asking Council to allow Administration to write-off. 

The written off amounts will be expenses in the 2010 fiscal year.  The amount of the expense equals $3,953.28.

The final update to the 2010 Strategic Plan will be presented to Council at the meeting. 

The 2011 Strategic Plan, as updated after the Planning Meeting on December 6 & 7 is being presented for Council approval.  Following approval of this plan, Administration can proceed with the 2011 budget process.

Further to the January 5th Salary Negotiations meeting, we require a motion from Council to approve the Salary Grids effective January 1, 2011.

The Province’s Working Alone legislation requires employers to ensure that any worker working alone is safe at all times.  Employers must review situations where employees are required to work alone and provide strategies to ensure that it is a safe place.

Currently the Administration Office remains open during the lunch hour with one staff member in the building.  On December 23, 2010 an unhappy resident came into the building at 12:30 p.m. and intimidated one of the staff.  While we have recently upgraded the security system for the building, it seems inadequate as a measure to keep staff safe in the event that someone enters the building with intent to cause harm.  The incident on December 23 did not result in any harm to our staff; however the staff member was very upset by the encounter.

Administration would like Council to consider closing the office during the lunch hour except for the months of Mid May to Mid July to accommodate the tax payments.  During this time, there is a summer student hired that is scheduled to have lunch break from 1:00 – 2:00 p.m.  A schedule for lunch rotation would resume in order allowing residents to make tax payments.  This would ensure that two staff members would be here at all times.

 If we make this change, it will not be done until we provide notice with an effective date in the local newspapers and on our website. 

During the month of February, 2010 we kept track of customers and incoming phone calls during the noon hour.  There were 14 customers and 17 phone calls.  We also surveyed the municipalities in our zone.  Of the 12 municipalities, 5 are open during the lunch hour.  A copy of the survey results is attached.

As per the discussions at the Public Works Meeting on January 5, 2011, we have received the following quotes for the purchase of a 3500 Automatic Plow Truck Gas Extended Cab 4 x 4:

 

            Smyl Motors – Chev     -$37,303.00

            Zarowny Motors – Ford  -   $33,669.00

            St. Paul Dodge              -N/A

 

            6 to 8 weeks delivery

  

Further to the January 5 Public Works Meeting, we have requested a quote from Fort Garry Industries for 2 snow plows to be mounted on one-ton trucks.

Prices will be presented at the Council Meeting.

As per the December 6 & 7, 2010 Planning Meetings, we have requested quotes from Finning for 4 -14m Cat graders and from Strongco for 4 - G990 Volvo graders.

Prices will be presented at Tuesday's Council Meeting.

As per direction from Council at the January 5, 2011 Public Works Meeting, I have requested quotes for the purchase of a new D8T Crawler, but I will not receive the quote until the beginning of next week.

The prices will be presented to Council at the meeting.

The road construction list as discussed at the January 5, 2011 Public Works Meeting is attached.

Approve the present list to begin purchase of easements.  Changes may occur, but will be brought back to Council.

The current price of gravel is:

 

            $5.50 per yard plus truck haul of $4.10 = $9.60 plus GST

           

The proposed new price as discussed at the January 5 Public Works Meeting is:

 

            $8.00 per yard plus truck haul of $5.00 = $13.00 plus GST

  

Resource Road Application for 2012 -

 

  • -  Northern Valley – 4.5 miles of pavement, Twp Rd 560 & Rg Rd 63 & 64
  •  
  • - CNRL Plant off Murphy Road – ½ mile, Twp Rd 572

    Start the engineering process and send the application before the end of 2011 to start the project in 2012.

    In Camera Item to be presented at the meeting.

    To be presented at meeting.

    The past couple of years Council approved a $300 donation for this group.