County of St. Paul No 19

Council Meeting

AGENDA

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

At the May meeting, Council made a motion that Administration contact the Elk Point Chamber of Commerce to see if they will be submitting a request for the annual funding that the County provides to them.

 

We did contact them and their request is attached.  In their letter, they are requesting an increase in their grant from $4,000 to $5,000. 

At the May 22 Special Meeting, Council made a motion to give first reading to Bylaw No. 1598, which is a bylaw to authorize the Council of the County of St. Paul to incur indebtedness by the issuance of debenture in the amount of $1,000,000 for the purpose of a contribution to the St. Paul Wellness Centre.

 

The Bylaw was advertised for two weeks and amendments were made as required by ACFA.  After the Bylaw receives second and third reading there is 30 days for the public to appeal the decision through the courts.  After August 17th, the Bylaw can be submitted to ACFA for the funding.  

At the June Meeting, Mel Kutcher met with Council and requested an amendment to First General Services Development Agreement to deal with the boat launch that was supposed to be built with his subdivision.  Council made a motion to amend the Development Agreement which would allow taking money into trust, ($80,000) for the creation of a marina until a home owner association is formed.

 

Mr. Kutcher is now requesting that Council decrease the amount of money in trust from $80,000 to $60,000 which is close to the value of the Marina.  A copy of his letter is attached.

MP Brian Storseth will give a brief report on House of Commons activities and then take any questions or hear any concerns council may have.

Jordan Cicoria with Lornell Consultants will be in to discuss the following with Council.

 

Pengrowth is requesting the permanent closure of 3 miles of road allowance up by their SAGD facility in Lindbergh. These are undeveloped road allowances. Pengrowth has made application to the AUC for a Cogeneration power plant to be constructed in association with their SAGD facilities so that we can power our operations and plant sites. In order to do this, because we are not the power provider in the area, we are not able to cross road allowances due to the rules and guidelines as laid out by the AUC.

 

Unfortunately requesting a license of occupation (lease) from St. Paul County will not work as the road allowance would still exist.

 

Attached is a map for your reference. The Road allowances around out plant are highlighted in yellow.

Ryan Smyl and Albert Rachynski will be in to speak to Council about purchasing a portion of R4, Plan 3705RS.  Ryan is in the process of purchasing Lot 2A, Plan 0425147, however the roof is encroaching on a portion of R4 and the storage shed is on it.  The small sliver of land is of no use to the county and it goes no where.

 

If Council agrees to sell the the portion of property to Mr. Smyl, we will require a motion to remove the reserve designation on a portion of R4, Plan 3705RS and consolidate it with Lot 02A, Plan 0425147.  The adjacent landowner will also have to be notified.

NADC is hosting a one day no-cost workshop on September 5 in St. Paul to discuss Attainable Housing.  The Workshop will give a practical step-by-step walk through on how to bring market, affordable and non-market housing to small communities, courtesy of Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC). You will also learn about strategic attainable housing approaches that are leading to success stories in small communities of Alberta today.  The government housing department will provide information on housing grant programs of benefit to housing initiatives.

 

Alberta C.A.R.E. will be holding their 13th Annual Recycling Conference from September 5 - 7, 2012 in Fort McMurray.

The Northern Lights Library System 20th Annual Conference "Investigate the Possibilities" will be held September 13 to 15, 2012 in Elk Point.   The conference Agenda is attached.

The Synergy Alberta Conference will be held October 29 to 31 in Red Deer.  Some of the topics include:

Surface Rights Impacts of Agriculture
Risk Management Social License to Operate
Shale Gas/Fracturing Crisis Communications
Government updates Environmental Monitoring
Land Use Planning Odour Management
Energy Economics  

 

Councillor Dach has expressed interest in attending this Conference.

 

The St. Paul Municipal Seed Cleaning Association is requesting a grant from the County to assist with their property taxes.  In 2012 the property taxes were $17,368.42, $2,910.83 of which was school tax.

The owner of the Mann Lakes Golf Course is requesting an operating grant of $2,898.27 to help offset the 2012 property taxes.

 

Since 2009, Council approved a grant to offset the property taxes and Mr. McDonald was advised that his request would be reviewed on an annual basis.

 

The U-12 St. Paul Blue Crush girls soccer team attended the Provincial Tournament from July 6-8 in Beaumont.  They are requesting financial assistance to help offset their costs.

The St. Paul Special Olympics is hosting the 26th Annual Slo Pitch Tournament on August 25 and 26, 2012.  They are expecting close to 400 athletes, coaches and volunteers to participate in this tournament.

 

They are requesting financial assistance to help offset some of the costs hosting this tournament.  The would also like a County representative to attend the banquet on August 25th.

 

For the past three years, Council gave a $500 grant for the tournament.

 

 

The Vilna & District Ag Society will be hosting their Annual Show & Shine during Boomtown Days from August 17-19, 2012.  They are looking for trophy sponsorship ($45 - $55), donation of items for silent auction, or smaller promotional items which can be given to participants.

Please find attached Administration's update for the 2012 Strategic Plan. 

Due to the County of St. Paul submitting an application under the Community Broadband Infrastructure Program, Administration would like to propose an added item under  Goal 5 -  "Examine Enhanced Services" portion of the Strategic Plan.  We would like to add:

"Make application under the Community Broadband Infrastructure Program to ensure high speed internet is available for all residents of the County of St. Paul"

Bylaw No. 1599 was presented to the FCSS Board at their June 25th meeting.  The board approved the Bylaw and made a motion to submit it to Council for approval. 

Bylaw No. 1600 is being presented to Council to Amend the Land Use Bylaw as it relates to rezoning 155 acres in SW 25-57-7-W4 from Agricultural to Industrial/Commercial.  He needs more truck space and he does not want all the traffic through his yard.  He does not want to subdivide the 155 acres.

 

After first reading, the Bylaw must be advertised according to Section 606 of the M.G.A.  and a public hearing held according to Section 230 of the M.G.A.

 

The adjacent landowners will also be notified of the proposed rezoning.

 

Krystle will be in to speak to this proposed rezoning.

 

Bylaw No. 1601 is being presented to Council to Amend the Land Use Bylaw as it relates to rezoning 37.99 acres in PNE 35-58-10-W4 from Agricultural to one lot of Industrial Commercial and 3 lots of Country Residential 2 (see map attached.)  The industrial/commercial lot will be used for a truck repair shop.

 

After first reading, the Bylaw must be advertised according to Section 606 of the M.G.A. and a public hearing held according to Section 606 of he M.G.A. and a public hearing held according to Section 230 of the M.G.A.

 

The adjacent landowners will also be notified of the proposed rezoning.

 

Krystle will be in to speak to this rezoning.

 

Bylaw No. 1602 is being presented to Council to Amend the Land Use Bylaw as it relates to rezoning 144 acres in NW 19-60-9-W4 from Urban Expansion to Industrial/Commercial.  A fertilizer plant is proposed for this parcel.

 

After first reading, the Bylaw must be advertised according to Section 606 of the M.G.A.  and a public hearing held according to Section 230 of the M.G.A.

 

The adjacent landowners will also be notified of the proposed rezoning.

At the June Meeting, Council passed a motion to enter into a Licence of Occupation Agreement for a portion of Range Road 124 between NE 32-62-12-W4 and NW 33-62-12-W4 with ATCO, but not to charge them a lease fee as they are paying the lawyers fees for the agreement.

 

ATCO made some changes to reflect regulatory timelines and clarification on what they are obstructing in regards to the undeveloped road right of way.  The revised relocation agreement is attached.

 

Krystle will be in to discuss the proposed changes to the agreement.

Following their presentation to Council on June 22, 2012, Lakelander's Trailer Club is requesting to enter into another short term access agreement for the 2012 camping season, under the same terms and conditions as last year's agreement .  The agreement would allow access to their leased land for the summer of 2012 while they are constructing their own road.  The group has been informed by Wally Peters, Public Lands, that the Province of Alberta will allow the club to construct the road.  They hope to have the road completed by the end of the summer 2013.

A copy of the Agreement for the 2011 camping season is attached.

At the June meeting, Council approved the resolution for the road cancellation for the undeveloped road Plan 2457EU located near the Frog Lake Historic Site in LSD 11 and LSD 15-10-56-3-W4.  When Crystal submitted the resolution for final approval, Alberta Transportation requested that she amend the legal description and include the whole area when calculating the hectares.   

 

The amended resolution is being submitted for approval.

Listed below are more road cancellations that were presented to Council on May 22nd.  This is the continuation of the process to cancel road plans that are no longer being used for public travel or do not exist.

 

Section 24 of the M.G.A. allows Council to close and cancel any part of a road described in a surveyed road plan if it is no longer required for use by the travelling public owing to the existence of an alternate route.

 

Resolutions and Maps for each road cancellation are attached.  We require a separate motion to cancel each Road Plan. 

Following Council's approval to conduct a Municipal Census, Administration undertook the project which was completed as of June 30, 2012.  The final census numbers are in.  Our last census that we are currently being funded at is 5,925.  The 2011 Federal Census indicated our population was 5,831.  The 2012 Municipal Census is finalized with a reported 6,168.  This represents a 4.1% increase from the 2006 Census (which we are currently funded on for grants) and a 5.8% increase in the 2011 Federal Census.  Administration will be forwarding our final numbers to Municipal affairs so that our grant funding will be calculated on the 2012 Municipal Census.

Linda Meger, Census Coordinator has provided the census information to us broken down by division as well as total County - see attached.

The cost of doing the census is approx. $12,500 - this does not include the internal staff time that was used to coordinate, mail out, and tabulate the census, however this was utilizing staff that we already had.

Municipal Affairs has recently announced invitations for municipalities to participate in the 2013 Municipal Internship Program which falls under the Regional Collaboration Grant Program.  There are two streams - Administrative and Land Use Planning.  The Administrative stream is a one year internship which attracts a grant of $43,000.  The Land Use Planners stream is a two year internship with $43,000 in year one and $19,000 in year two.  Please see attached letter from Municipal Affairs for more details regarding the program.  It is my opinion that the County of St. Paul is at the point that we could effectively provide mentors for individuals interested in pursuing careers in municipal government - in either stream.  Estimated County contribution towards either stream in year one would be $25,000.  The grant received from Municipal Affairs is meant to cover a portion of salary for the Intern as well as attendance at conferences during the year.

In 2011, Council agreed to make an application under the Land Use Planners stream, however the County was denied under that application due to not having a certified planner on staff.  They did however indicate that the County would be eligible to apply under the Administrative stream. 

If successful, the County would get an intern in May of 2013.

At the June 22 Public Works Meeting, Administration presented a proposal by Interactions HR Solutions to be a Partner in their Toolkit development project to create a County Edition of their Organizational Enhancement Toolkit series.  As a partner the County would be required to contribute $20,000 as well as travel expenses and $300/day honorarium for consultant to work with staff, but would have no update costs in the future for any updates to the material over time.   Since Interactions HR Solutions is already working with the Town of St. Paul there is opportunity to save on travel costs for the consultant. The County of St. Paul will be one of the first recipients of the County version of the Toolkit and would be recognized as a contributor to the development and validation of the materials included in the County version.  Being a partner would require input from administration and staff along with the Reeve and Council to validate work completed on the municipal series of the toolkits that have been done for towns and villages.

The Town of St. Paul has been working with Interactions HR Solutions for the last four years and have benefited greatly from the process allowing the knowledge that is held in their staff head to be transferred into guiding documents for staff into the future.  These manuals are kept within the departments and provide staff and Council with responsibilities and expectations within their areas.  It will provide existing and new staff with detailed look at what functions need to be done in their positions.  It is not all inclusive, however for new staff it will provide direction to assist them in completing tasks.  The CAO at the Village of Holden stated "It will provide a structure that is flexible enough to track and adapt to changes as they occur over the year, yet comprehensive and stable enough to maintain continuity for Council and staff."

I have been able to obtain 2 manuals from the Town of St. Paul for Council to review - these can be viewed on Monday or prior to the meeting or during a break should Council want to get a better idea of the layout of the manuals.  The Town has 19 manuals to date and feel that they greatly assist them in orientating staff to new positions or to provide clarification for existing staff on accountability and process in their departments.  Ron Boisvert feels it is a great succession planning tool they are using to ensure that long term staff's knowledge can be retained within the organization when they leave.  Administration feels that this would be a great move to completing Goal 7: Proficient Organization - Succession Planning of the County's Strategic Plan.

Municipal Affairs has requested feedback from municipalities regarding amendments to the Local Authorities Elections Act.  They have developed a survey which has been sent out to Council via email.  Responses to the survey can be either individual or as a  Council.  Administration is looking for direction from Council regarding if they want to submit a consolidated response to the survey or if council members want to submit individually.  Suvey is attached.

The Federal Government has recently announced a new grant program called the Community Infrastructure Improvement Fund (CIIF).  This program is geared mainly for the rehabilitation or  improvement of existing community infrastructure that is non-commercial and accessible by the public. Examples of eligible projects are recreation infrastructure, libraries, and tourism facilities, or other facilities that improve connectivity - broadband or airports.  This program will fund projects to a maximum of $250,000 at 50% - therefore the municipality will need to come up with the balance of the cost.  The deadline for application is August 2, 2012, however there will be a second intake of applications in November if there is funding available.

The feedback I have received from Council for projects to make an application under this program include:

-playgrounds for Floatingstone, Stoney Lake, Lindbergh (that were removed from the 2012 budget)

-Lottie Lake - upgrade of playground, cookhouse at ball diamonds

The parks department will provide updated the quotes for these items for the Council meeting.

In 2011 the County had received a request from a resident in Ashmont who does not have a sewer connection.  His lot and 2 others are not connected to the sewer system.  Last summer Bryan Bespalko received a quote of approx $30,000 to run a sewer line for these three lots complete with a lift station to connect these properties to the sanitary sewer system.  This information was brought to a Public Works meeting, however there was no resolution made at a Council meeting regarding this information.  Since that time Council has adopted a Vision Statement, Core Values, and Guiding Principles as well as Water Policy that indicates that utilities will be based on a user pay principle. 

Bryan Bespalko has researched some different methods of providing these 3 properties access to the sanitary sewer system.  We have updated quotes of $9,400 + GST to connect all three properties or $5,200 + GST to connect one property (should all three properties not be interested in connecting).

 

The Policy Committee has reviewed and is bringing forth a policy regarding Backsloping in the County.  See attached.

The Policy Committee is presenting the Tree Shelterbelt Policy for Council's consideration.  Attached.

The Policy Committee is presenting the Spraying for Prohibited Noxious and/or Noxious Weeds on Private Property Policy for Council's consideration.

The regular scheduled date for the July Public Works meeting conflicts with staff being on vacation.

 

Section 193(3) of the Municipal Government Act allows a council to change the date of a regularly scheduled meeting, providing the municipality gives at least 24 hours notice of the change to any Councillors not present at the meeting and to the public.

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