County of St. Paul No 19

Council Meeting

AGENDA

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

In Camera Items to be presented at the meeting.

5.1
In Camera

Morrey Heathcote, Division 1 resident, will be in to speak with Council about getting access into their SW quarter at 4-56-4 W4 for a permanent residence.  Before purchasing it they had a brief conversation with a county rep about county road access to that quarter and went ahead and purchased it.  They would like to get a road into there as soon as possible and wondering what steps are needed. With CNRL’S accesses situated off and on county road allowance and the ATCO line at the highway 646 and Township road 560 intersection it may need to be surveyed and they would like to see the remaining road allowance built for access into their quarter. They would like to see county road reach their quarter and extend another 20-30m.  

 

Don Schults, with the Elk Point Golf and Country Club Board of Directors will be in to discuss the County testing the Golf Course property for gravel.  They have full support of the landowners, the Town of Elk Point and the Golf Club board of directors.  

Bylaw No. 2018-13, the Council Code of Conduct Bylaw, is being introduced to establish a code of conduct for councillors. 

A Council Code of Conduct Bylaw is now a requirement of the new Municipal Government Act.

Policy HR-4 is being presented to Council to amend the County's Benefits processes.  This Policy was brought before the Policy Committee on June 27th, 2018.

Policy HR-15, the Service Awards Policy, is being presented to Council to amend the County's long service award and retirement gift processes. This Policy was brought before the Policy Committee on June 26th, 2018.

Policy ADM-46, the Rodeo Supper Funds Policy, is being presented to Council, as amended, to alter the County's Rodeo Supper Funding practices. The Policy was brought before the Policy Committee on June 26th, 2018.

Policy ADM-51, the County Grant Funding for Sports Policy, is being presented to Council, as amended, to update the County's funding practices. The Policy was brought before the Policy Committee on June 26th, 2018.

Policy REC-124, the Municipal Playground Inspection Policy, is being presented to Council to establish inspections for County-owned playgrounds. This Policy was brought before the Policy Committee on June 26th, 2018. 

Policy REC-125, the Municipal Parks Inspection Policy, is being presented to Council to establish a process for inspecting County-owned parks. This Policy was brought before the Policy Committee on June 26th, 2018. 

Policy WM-126, the Take-It-Or-Leave-It Area Policy, is being presented to Council to establish processes for the use of a Take-It-Or-Leave-It area at Class III Landfills and Waste Transfer Stations. This Policy was brought before the Policy Committee on June 26th, 2018.

Policy ADM-127, the Public Participation Policy is being presented to Council to formalize public participation processes for the County. This Policy is required by the new Municipal Government Act and was presented to the Policy Committee on June 26th, 2018. 

The 18th Annual Alberta CARE Conference will be held September 5-7, 2018 in Fort McMurray.  Registration for the Conference is $425.

 

Tim Mahdiuk will be attending the conference as per policy HR-8.  

The Boscombe Community Centre Association has applied to connect to the Ashmont/Mallaig Water System and are requesting if the County would consider sharing the cost of the installation.  Their cistern has already been installed and is functioning.  

 

The cost to hook up to the property line is $11,000, which covers the cost from Beretta plus the County connection fee.  The cost to get it to the cistern is $2500 plus approximately $1,000 in pipe.  Total cost - $14,500.

 

The Boscombe Community Centre is situated on County land.

The Northeast Alberta Track & Field Club (NEAT) is organizing their 17th Annual St. Paul Rodeo Road Race to take place on September 1, 2018.  The St. Paul Rodeo Mile race is an Athletics Alberta sanctioned race that draws competitors from across the province.  They are requesting sponsorship for their race.  All Platinum, Silver and Corporate sponsors will be acknowledged on the race t-shirt and will also be announced at the race finish line and mentioned in various media.  They levels of sponsorship are as follows:

-  $1,000 - Platinum Sponsor

-  $500 - Silver Sponsor

-  $400 - Corporate Sponsor

-  $100 - Bronze Sponsor

The Mallaig and District Museum will be applying for a CFEP Grant to paint and repair the outside of the Church building and to purchase rubberized matts to put under their large artifacts on the north side of their facility so they don't have to move them to cut the grass.  The Mallaig Museum is requesting a letter of support to accompany their grant application.  They do not require financial assistance for this project.  

We have received a request from Lee Worobec to name TWP Road 590 off of Secondary Highway 881 as Worobec Road, which has been approved by three residents living along that road.  Attached is a letter from an area resident supporting the request to name the road Worobec Road.

 

We have also recieved a letter from Kyle and Natasha and Len and Christine Krankowsky in opposition to naming TWP RD 560 as Worobec Road.

 

Section B3 of Policy ADM-99 states that the applicant is responsible for acquiring all the necessary easements from the adjacent landowners residing along the particular stretch of road in question.  

The Utilities Department is continually dealing with accounts that are 3 months in arrears, many of which are the same customers over and over again.  The customers receive their second invoice which is stamped "Past Due".  The third month their invoice is hand delivered to their door along with a disconnection letter stating that if they do not pay their bill in full, their water will be disconnected.  In some instances the water bill is paid, however in other circumstances the bill is not paid but we are unable to disconnect their water because the cc valves are difficult to get at or cannot be turned off as they are seized and do not work.

 

We have contacted legal Counsel regarding this situation and have been advised that Council can pass a resolution delegating administration to transfer the outstanding balance of any utility arrears over ninety (90) days, to the tax roll, as per section 553(1)(b) of the MGA.  

 

The process will remain much the same - we will continue to send the customer their bill for the second month which will be stamped "Past Due".  The third month they will receive a disconnection letter with their bill.  However the disconnection letter will state that they have two weeks to pay any amount 90 days in arrears or that amount will be added to the tax roll.  Disconnection letters will no longer be hand delivered - they will be mailed.

 

In the case of renters, the landowner will receive the same notification as the renters. 

Public Works is requesting to sell 10,100 tonne of sand screening from the CN pit to Carillion.  Public Works has negotiated a price of $4.50 per tonne and Carillion will load and haul the screenings. 

We currently have 30,000 tonnes of this sand that was produced when crushing gravel last year.

We have enough sand for the winter already stored in the County yard.  

With the adoption of Land Use Bylaw 2013-50, the regulations regarding accessory buildings changed. Prior to adoption of this bylaw, accessory buildings were permitted to be constructed in absence of a dwelling. Now that the bylaw has changed, the structures built prior to 2014 must comply with the current bylaw.

 

The fee schedule has also changed. Prior to 2014, a development permit for an accessory building in absence of a dwelling was $100. Under the current bylaw and fee schedule, that development permit fee for an accessory building in absence of a dwelling is $200.

 

With the enforcement letters sent to residents we have approximately 50 structures that this change has affected.  

 

MCSNet is in the process of doing major upgrades to its existing infrastructure network to provide the best possible Internet service.  As part of the Federal Connect to Innovate Grant, the tower on County property, Lot 1U, Block 6, Plan 7920741, has been selected as part of the project to be connected by fiber.  The infrastructure upgrade requires new equipment to be installed on the tower.  Therefore, MCSNet would like to upgrade the existing 100' tower to a new 150' tower in order to handle the replacement of equipment - the 100' tower is a 5 foot triangle, 150' tower is a 6 foot triangle. 

MCSNet would need to erect a new tower adjacent to the existing tower and remove the old tower once all customers have been switched over to the new equipment.  MCSNet currently has a 10 year lease for this property, which was signed in January, 2017. 

 

MCSNet is proposing the following changes to the existing lease:

3.1  area of land to include - add "and/or fiber optic cable"

3.2 In lieu of monthly rent - high speed internet services valued up to $80 per month $150 per month 

8.1  Remove Any utility easements that are rquired by MCSNet and replace with "Electrical utility and/or fiber optics is required by MCSNet. 

 

In order for MCSNet to apply for a Development permit, they require prior authorization from the County. 

Some information regarding the Federal Government's Investing in Canada Program was released in late June. 

While the full guidelines of the Program are not yet released, RMA held a webinar on June 27th and provided some information on the Program, which if accurate, would preclude the County from making an application in 2018.

Communications with the Federal Government indicate that any application from an Albertan municipality requires that 33.3% of the project is funded through provincial government grants. It is also unclear at this time if the Federal Government would accept Municipal Sustainability Funding (MSI) to reach the 33.3% threshold. Early indications are that the Federal Government will not accept MSI for the purpose of applying to the Investing in Canada Program

At this time, many of the County's possible projects do not have corresponding provincial government grants that can be obtained to meet the Federal Government's 33.3% threshold. For example, there are currently no provincial grants for recreational facilities. Thus, it is unclear how many Albertan municipalities will be able to apply for the Investing in Canada Program for projects related to recreation, waste management, broadband internet, and other project areas eligible for Investing in Canada funding. 

At this time, it is unclear why the Government of Alberta structured their Bilateral Agreement with the Government of Canada in this way. The Investing in Canada Program is being facilitated through the Ministry of Infrastructure. 

RMA is currently drafting a letter to be sent to various ministers in the Government of Alberta. 

The 2018 Strategic Plan which has been updated for the 2nd quarter and will be forwarded under seperate cover.

The County has been using the same Strategic Planning Document for 8 years.  The last time a consultant assisted Council with the plan was in 2012.  We also have not revisited the County's Mission, Vision, and Value statements in those years.  Since we have a new council, Administration is proposing that we utilize a consultant to assist us with the development of a new Strategic Planning Document that is more high level.  The estimated cost of this plan is $9,800.  We have budget dollars for this expense in Administration's consulting fees.  We plan to keep the more detailed document format as our operational plan that will continue to be reported on quarterly at the Administrative level. 

Haily Gish has been researching many municipalities plans and companies they are working with.  We feel that eSolutions will provide the County with the quality product we are looking for. We have money allocated in the budget to cover the cost of this consultant.  Other municipalities they have been working with in the province include:  Parkland, Lloydminster, and various others.

Administration would like to work with the Management team and Council in August to set the Strategic direction and plan so that departments can begin work on their operational plans and budgets in September/October. 

The County was recently notified that we were successful in obtaining Strategic Transportation Infrastructure Program funds for the Moosehills road repair project.  As such the estimated $2,050,700 project is funded 50% by the province, 25% by our Industry partners (Pengrowth & CNRL).  The County now has to fund it's portion (25%) of the Moosehills Road repair estimated at $512,675.  The 2018 budget contemplates a short term debenture as the method to fund this obligation.  However, we also received notice with the provincial budget that they would provide an increase in MSI funding which could be used towards this road.  Keep in mind that we planned to defer that revenue until 2019 as we anticipate less MSI funding then.

With the County's four year term with Synergy Chartered Professional Accountants coming to a close, Administration sent out an RFP with a deadline of June 22nd, 2018. Administration sent the RFP to three firms: JMD Group LLP, Synergy Chartered Professional Accountants, and Wilde and Company Chartered Accountants. JMD Group indicated in correspondence that they could not bid due to a lack of staffing capacity.

Administration received only one reply from Synergy Chartered Professional Accountants. Adminstration confirms that the proposal is compliant with the County's requirements. 

Synergy Chartered Professional Accountants' maximum audit fees for the term of the contract are as follows:

2018 -19   - $36,025.00

2019 -20   - $37,775.00

2020 - 21  - $39,600.00

2021 - 22  - $41,550.00

Total Cost - $154,950.00 excluding GST

8.24

8.25

8.26

8.27

A copy of the budget to actual will be presented to Council for review.

A listing of Accounts Payable will be provided for Council's review.

Council fees for the past month will be circulated for review.