IN THE NEWS

By Marianne Cole

County/Caroline Amalgamation 

The latest meeting of both councils to discuss the proposed amalgamation was held on March 14, 2024. Some key points of interest include:

· Change of voting process. In all previous meetings decision making involved a “consensus model” of voting. As noted in the agenda package that process is “based on the principle that members agree to support the decision even when it’s not everyone’s favorite choice.

Following significant discussion, a decision was made to move forward with a majority rule group based decision making. As such, when a motion is made, individual votes will be counted in two groups, one by county councillors and one by Caroline councillors. If a majority votes in favor in each group, it is recognized as passed motion. A motion is lost when one group votes in opposition, or individual votes in a group are tied.

This allowed each member of each council to vote as they wished or felt was most beneficial rather than having to conform with the group.

· Interim Council and Wards A motion was passed that the Amalgamation Committee (both councils) review the makeup of the Interim Council and the electoral wards. Originally the Interim Council, effective January 1, 2025, would consist of 12 members: 7 Clearwater County Councillors and 5 Village of Caroline Councillors. Concerns have subsequently been expressed that this gave an unequal/unfair representation advantage to the village. (Almost 50% votes for 4.5% of the amalgamated population.) It will be interesting to see what future decisions are made with regards to the number of council members on the Interim Council and the representation from each jurisdiction.

· Public Engagement Meetings In person Public Engagement Meetings will be held on: Wednesday, April 17, 2024 from 4:00PM to 7:00PM at the Caroline Hub and Thursday, April 18, 2024 from 4:00PM to 7:00PM at the Leslieville Community Hall. A virtual on-line meeting will be held on Friday, April 19, 2024 from 11:00AM to 1:00PM. You can go to the county’s website for further information and to join in.

We certainly appreciate the efforts for public engagement but have expressed our distinct concerns with the inconvenient time of the day those meetings are being held. We really hope people will be able to make the necessary arrangements for their participation.

Land Use Bylaw Review 

There is nothing new to report about the review of the current document and PAC (the Public Advisory Committee) has not had any meetings since January 30, 2024 and no further ones are scheduled.

One interesting new proposed Renewable Energy Land Use Bylaw was brought forward at the February 27, 2024 Council meeting. This was a very lengthy article with extremely technical, difficult to understand language. Following discussion the request was made to review/redo the proposed bylaw. With the current LUB under review, as well as provincial guidelines being discussed, it will be interesting to see what develops with this article.

“In the Wind” 

Several items related to Strategic Planning were brought forward at the March 26th Council meeting. Perhaps highlighting the list was a request for a report from administration on Clearwater County Future Facility Needs along a request for the opportunity for future discussion on an Agriculture Recreation Facility.

These were “hot” items back in 2016 after the county had purchased the quarter of land north of Rocky on the airport road and plans were proposed for a new administration building as well as an Ag Rec/Indoor Rodeo facility. It will be interesting to see what discussion and action is “in the wind”.

Up-coming CCTA Meeting 

At our April 10th meeting we will be hosting Ross Watson as a guest speaker. Ross is a long time farmer in both Clearwater and Red Deer counties and has significant experience with land use issues. As he is aware that we are currently reviewing our land use bylaws he offered to share his knowledge and experience with us in order to help address potential concerns with our proposed LUB. We certainly welcome his offer of assistance and look forward to hearing his presentation.

Coming Events: 

Wednesday, April 10, 2024, 7:30PM, Arbutus Community Hall, regular meeting with guest speaker, Ross Watson. 

Wednesday, May 8, 2024, 7:30PM, regular monthly meeting, Arbutus Community Hall

“An optimist is the human personification of spring.” Susan J. Bissonette

“Spring is when you feel like whistling even with a shoe full of slush.” Doug Larson

“Spring shows what God can do with a drab and dirty world.” Virgil A. Kraft

IN THE NEWS

By Marianne Cole

County/Caroline Amalgamation

Two joint meetings of councils of the whole were recently held on January 25th and 26th. There was significant discussion with a variety of opinions expressed on several topics. Of special note were the following:

· Formation date As mentioned before, January 1, 2025 is the proposed date for amalgamation to occur. In order for that to happen a report has to be submitted from our councils to the Minister of Municipal Affairs 6 months in advance. It has been repeatedly said that this is a very tight timeline for gathering information, developing a draft report, and offering public engagement opportunities before the final report is written and submitted to the Minister. Alternate ideas of postponing the formation date were brought forward but in the end a motion was passed to move on with the January 1st date.

· Interim Council An interim council would be formed to deal with the operations of the “new amalgamated” municipality. This temporary council would operate from January 1, 2025 until municipal elections are held in the fall of 2025. Again, significant discussion took place on the possible number of members on that council and how those numbers would be allocated. Suggestions were made that it be an uneven number and perhaps a smaller group than the current 12 members from both councils. Another concern of “equality” of representation was raised, comparing one county councillor representing 1800 residents versus 5 Caroline councillors representing 500 people. After representatives from Municipal Affairs joined the meeting to offer advice and answer questions, a motion passed to proceed with all members of current councils making up the interim council.

· Appointment of Chief Elected Official (Reeve) A motion was passed that an organization meeting of the Interim Council be held on January 7, 2025 and the “Reeve” be chosen at that time.

· Bylaws and Enforcement (Operational) Aside from maintaining the current bylaws this agenda item provided two options of enforcement: 1. No change. Keep things as is. 2. Increase the number of CPO’s (County Police Officers) from the current number of 4 to 5 to offset the additional services required. Again significant discussion took place. First a motion to support Option 2 was defeated. More discussion ensued and finally a decision was made to support Option 1.

Throughout the meetings other items of discussion included maintaining library services in Caroline, accepting current bylaws and resolutions of both jurisdictions and maintaining current emergency services.

Of interest, the minutes of the earlier January 5th and 6th meetings recorded significantly more time spent in camera than in open session--- approximately 1 hour open to 2 hours in closed session for each meeting. Also noted in the minutes was that the councils struck the original idea of holding of a public survey re amalgamation, and proposed public engagement dates are yet to be determined.

PAC 

The Public Advisory Committee formed to assist with the gathering of public opinion during the re-write of the Land Use Bylaw (LUB) held their second meeting on Tuesday, January 30, 2024. While the agenda for that meeting had been originally proposed to review the definition section of the current LUB, the focus changed to reviewing the committee’s roles and responsibilities and focussing on discussing comments on what concerns we have heard to date.

While “Stakeholder Group” meetings were part of the original plan of action in this review process, none have been held to date. The suggested Stakeholder Groups would include agriculture, aggregate groups, oil/gas industry representatives, and various other groups involved with tourism, realtors, and small business.

Round table comments noted the concerns committee members have heard, regularly sharing those comments, restrictive rules, direct controls districts and emergency situations, rules related to seacans, confined feeding operation definition, fencing restrictions, and the need for more meetings.

No date was set for the next meeting. It is very important that people express their opinions/concerns on the Land Use Bylaw. This can be done by contacting your councillor or going on the county’s website, searching the Land Use Bylaw Rewrite or going on the following website: clearwatercounty.ca/p/land-use-bylaw-rewrite.

SPECIAL UP-COMING FUNDRAISER 

The CCTA is planning a St. Patrick’s Day themed fund raiser for Saturday, March 16, 2024. The event will be held at the Leslieville Community Hall, starting with a roast beef supper at 6:30PM and followed by entertainment at 8:00PM, showcasing Ben Crane and his daughter. There will also be a silent auction and 50-50 ticket draw. Tickets for the event cost $30.00 each and may be purchased from any one of the following Board Members: Marianne Cole (403)729-2493; Ron Schultz (403)846-1523; Susan Durand (403)729-2585; Pat Butler (403)729-2455; Jim Foesier (403)844-8088; Debbie Gastonguay (403)845-6922; Tim Plante (403)846-3059; Leah Schultz (403)850-7533; Reg Belyea (780)554-9631. We welcome you and encourage you to bring your friends to this amazing, fun-filled evening.

Coming Events: 

Wednesday, February 14, 2024 and Wednesday, March 13, 2024, 7:30PM, Regular Monthly Meetings at the Arbutus Community Hall

Saturday, March 16, 2024, St. Patrick’s Day themed fund raiser. Doors open at 5:30PM; roast beef supper at 6:30PM; entertainment with Ben Crane and his daughter at 8:00PM; silent auction and 50-50 ticket sales throughout the evening.

 “Love is something sent from heaven to worry the hell out of you.” Dolly Parton 

 “The giving of love is an education in itself.” Eleanor Roosevelt

IN THE NEWS

By Marianne Cole

2024 BUDGET

Clearwater County Council approved the 2024 budget at a special council meeting on December 19,2023.  Items of special note include:

• Operating revenues.  Potential revenue is slated to be $62,163,392, up $1,061,311 from the 2023 budget of $61,102,081.  This would be a 1.7% increase.
• Operating expenses.   These are budgeted to be $49,626,693, an increase of $2,019,592 or 4.2% over the 2023 budget of $47,607,101.
• Capital expenditures for 2024 are budgeted to be $40,366,896.  No figures from 2023 were presented for a comparison.
• Where necessary, short falls in revenue will be covered through restricted surpluses.

During discussion on the budget, questions were raised re a potential new fire hall in Caroline, road maintenance/improvement on the Beaver Flats, Taimi, Rainbow Ford, and Airport roads as well as future funding for seniors' housing.

BROADBAND

This was a separate item of discaussion at the budget meeting.  2024 revenues are anticipated to be $350,000 while expenses are projected to be $2,086,972.  this would be an increase in expenses of $648,371 or 45% over last year's budget of $1,438,602.  A question was raised where the revenue would come from with a reply saying it comes from the ISP's (Internet Service Providers) not the end users.

While not mentioned at the budget meeting it is interesting to note that the county has entered into a contract with Rigstar Industrial Telecom, a company based out of Calgary, to operate as the "Network Operator" for the county's broadband operations.  According to information on the county's website, Rigstar, "together with Arcadis, stands at the forefront of managing Clearwater County's Open Access Network"...  It is unclear what role Arcadis, a company based out of the Netherlands, has in this operation.

COUNTY/CAROLINE AMALGAMATION

Joint meetings of both county and village councils were held on December 4th and 5th, 2023.  Decisions on the following matters were made:

• The "new" municipality would continue with the same boundaries as are currently being used.
• The name would remain as is for Clearwater County but the village of Caroline would be known as the Hamlet of Caroline.
• The municipality's council would continue with 7 councillors, one for each division.
• The divisions would remain basically the same with the north side of Caroiline joining the county's Division 4 and the south side joining Division 6.  Highway 54 would be the dividing line between the two.
• The amalgamated municipality office will remain at the county's current location and Rick Emmons will be the Chief Administrative Officer.

Concerns were again expressed regarding the potentially restrictive timeline, extra staff responsibilities, and maintaining current service levels.

Up-coming public engagement will involve in-person meetings in Leslieville and Caroline as well as a virtual/on-line meeting.  In addition, a survey is being drafted and will be available on the county's website, the county and village offices, and potentially in local papers.

The next amalgamation meetings are scheduled for January 25th and 26th, 2024.

UP-COMING EVENTS

Regular Monthly CCTA Meetings

Wednesday, January 10, 2024

Wednesday, February 14, 2024

All at 7:30PM at the Arbutus Community Hall