HIGHLIGHTS OF COUNTY’S AREA STRUCTURE PLAN OPEN HOUSE
By Marianne Cole
Clearwater County held an open house/meeting at the Christensen Wellness Centre on Thursday, February 16, 2017. The purpose of this meeting was to introduce and gather resident input into the proposed Area Structure Plan that would guide development to the north of Rocky Mtn. House. There were about 80 people present with standing room only in the Subway Room. Noticeably absent were the Reeve, Deputy Reeve and two other councillors. The only councillors present were Theresa Laing, John Vandermeer, and Kyle Greenwood.
Prior to the start of the meeting attendees could look at the various maps and stands of information that had been set up by Bill Shaw of BPS Consulting, the consultant doing the work on drafting the plan. He, along with Rick Emmons and Keith McCrae from the county’s planning department, were available to answer questions/discuss concerns.
Rick Emmons opened the meeting and welcomed everyone before turning the meeting over to Bill Shaw. Bill presented information on planning discussions that had taken place with the county and the need for future development along with giving detailed descriptions of the various types of commercial/industrial development that could take place on the lands to be governed by the Area Structure Plan.
Then the floor was opened for questions. The questions/concerns focussed on:
* Whether there is a need
* What would be the infrastructure cost
* Should taxpayers be on the hook for development
* Concerns with Rocky’s waste water system
* When could there be financial return on investment
* That maybe a plebiscite should take place to gather info on actual public support
When the issues with Rocky’s sewage lagoon were brought up Ron Leaf stepped forward and indicated that he had contacted the town’s administration Thursday morning and there aren’t any issues. In speaking to a town councillor, however, the town has initiated a $30,000 study to evaluate the functioning of the sewage lagoon and this study hasn’t been finalized yet.
In conclusion, there were a few people that expressed support for future development but it seemed that the majority were opposed due to questionable need and financial return in this economic environment. There will be another open house as well as a public hearing before the document is finally approved.
Saturday, February 18, 2017
Tuesday, February 14, 2017
Clearwater County Council Meeting Notes
by Helge Nome
All councillors except Kurt Maki were present at the February 14 County Council meeting where a major decision regarding Nordegg development was made: Based on a presentation and recommendation from West Country Manager Rick Emmons, Council gave the green light to the development of a 29 lot mobile home park in the vicinity of the municipal building in Nordegg at a cost of $2.55 million.
Council also approved 5.2 km grading and other work to the Northfork Road. A bid from Netook Construction Ltd. for a total of $1.354 million was accepted.
Councillor Theresa Laing brought a concern over Town of Rocky Mountain House lagoon use to the attention of Council. It has been suggested that county based sewage trucks may have exceeded the capacity of the sewage treatment plant when dumping their loads resulting in raw sewage being discharged into the North Saskatchewan River. CAO Leaf was asked to look into the matter by Council.
A decision by the Clearwater County Council on December 13, 2016 to amend an agreement with the Sundre Fire Department to provide fire suppression and rescue services to the southern part of Clearwater County has generated a negative response from the Sundre area: Based on a rationale of cost savings, it was decided that the Caroline Fire Station should be the first responder in this area, rather than Sundre.
Clearwater Regional Fire Rescue Services Chief Jesse Kurtz made a presentation to Council in response to this unexpected development. CAO Leaf is scheduled to meet with the Town of Sundre CAO to deal with the matter. For the time being, the Sundre Fire Department will continue to be the fire service provider for the area south of Highway 587 and west of Sundre.
An "In Camera" session at the end of the meeting was labelled "Third Party Interest" in the agenda. Judging by the group present in the council chamber at that time it is assumed that the "third party" is the Clearwater Broadband Foundation as represented by its board.
Monday, February 6, 2017
IN THE NEWS
1. Leslieville-Condor Fire Hall It has been eight months since the May 4, 2016 public meeting was held to discuss the future of the Leslieville-Condor Fire Halls. Recently it came to light that the County has approved the process to purchase land for a new facility. This is rather interesting as potentially suitable land had been generously offered for free when this issue was discussed last spring.
2. Municipal Inspection A letter from the Minister of Municipal Affairs was discussed at the January 10, 2017 council meeting. While the letter acknowledged some concerns that had been brought forward during the preliminary review in October, it stated that they were “not of sufficient concern to warrant a municipal inspection.” The letter did, however, go on to state, “I encourage you to consider initiating a legal review of recent land decisions as well as governance or organizational review. I also encourage you to make the results of each review available to the public.”
In discussing the letter council decided not to proceed with further legal review.
3. Joint Development Agreement/Joint Service Agreement These are joint Town of Rocky/Clearwater County development agreements. The Joint Development Area Agreement identifies areas north and south of Rocky that would be potential long term annexation areas that would “help in furthering its growth in urban residential and highway commercial development.” It further states that “The County or the Town, either jointly or separately, may consider undertaking the development of lands in the Joint Development Area themselves…”
To support the JDA, a Joint Service Agreement is currently being worked on and was discussed at a joint meeting of town and county councils on January 24, 2017. This document deals with the provision of water and waste water services to the areas mentioned in the JDA. Following “in camera” discussion at the meeting, motions were passed publicly that more information was needed before a decision on the JSA could be made.
Interesting information presented in these documents states:
* “The Town currently has a supply of 32 hectares” (@79 acres) “for industrial land within its boundaries, none of which is serviced.”
* “Industrial and commercial land ready for development has been identified as a priority of both the town and county…”
* “The proposed JDA meets this goal with the addition of over 600 hectares” (@1480 acres) “of serviced commercial and industrial land…”
(Note: All quotes are from the Draft Joint Development Area Agreement and Intermunicipal Development Plan update found on the County’s website under the ”Council” tab.)
The town is currently doing an economic feasibility study related to the JSA but no economic plan has been/or is being done by the county.
ROSES: With Valentine’s Day coming up shortly, we’d like to send huge bouquets of roses out to all the home care workers as well as facility nurses and care attendants that lovingly care for our residents either in their own homes or in care facilities. We certainly admire your compassionate attitudes. As well, we appreciate and commend you on your efforts to make these peoples’ lives as comfortable and enjoyable as possible.
RANT: First of all, it is a beneficial goal to have available commercial/industrial land for development in order to stimulate business, provide jobs, and assist with tax revenues. How much is necessary and at what cost remain questionable. The JDA and JSA currently being worked on by the town and county raise huge red flags as far as need, cost recovery, and financial sustainability are concerned. Let’s look at some related figures:
* Industrial/commercial lots available in town: Falcon Ridge (east side of town on south side of SH 598): 23 light industrial and 8 general industrial, along with large highway commercial area; East side of town, north side of SH 598: 3 highway commercial lots, serviced, building ready. Total lots currently available: 34
(Note: Other lands in town are zoned for commercial/industrial development but no calculation of lots was given. The information here was taken from the town’s economic brochure found on their web-site.)
* Industrial/commercial lots available in county: Metaldog Industrial Park (north of Rocky on Airport Road) 12 lots available (info from the town’s economic brochure); Caroline: 10 industrial lots of 3 acres each; 12 smaller highway commercial lots. (Info from The Mountaineer, April 26, 2016.) Total lots available in the county: 34
* Even though most of these lots are unserviced the majority are close to services and would be much cheaper to service than those in the JDA.
* At a rate of 2 or 3 commercial/industrial lot sales per year it would take 20-30 years to sell all 68 lots currently available in the town and county.
* Are additional lots necessary?
* If servicing of the JDA proceeds, what will it cost and how many lots will need to be sold to recoup those costs and in what timeline???
* Will this be just another “White Elephant” that the taxpayer will be “on the hook” for???
In conclusion, I leave you with these final questions: Should taxpayer dollars be cast into the wind of highly risky development ventures??? AND/OR Are these development proposals simply a ruse/scheme to get services to the county’s new land and proposed Taj Mahal???
Coming Events: February 9, 2017 and March 9, 2017 Regular monthly meetings. 7:00PM Leslieville Elks Hall.
1. Leslieville-Condor Fire Hall It has been eight months since the May 4, 2016 public meeting was held to discuss the future of the Leslieville-Condor Fire Halls. Recently it came to light that the County has approved the process to purchase land for a new facility. This is rather interesting as potentially suitable land had been generously offered for free when this issue was discussed last spring.
2. Municipal Inspection A letter from the Minister of Municipal Affairs was discussed at the January 10, 2017 council meeting. While the letter acknowledged some concerns that had been brought forward during the preliminary review in October, it stated that they were “not of sufficient concern to warrant a municipal inspection.” The letter did, however, go on to state, “I encourage you to consider initiating a legal review of recent land decisions as well as governance or organizational review. I also encourage you to make the results of each review available to the public.”
In discussing the letter council decided not to proceed with further legal review.
3. Joint Development Agreement/Joint Service Agreement These are joint Town of Rocky/Clearwater County development agreements. The Joint Development Area Agreement identifies areas north and south of Rocky that would be potential long term annexation areas that would “help in furthering its growth in urban residential and highway commercial development.” It further states that “The County or the Town, either jointly or separately, may consider undertaking the development of lands in the Joint Development Area themselves…”
To support the JDA, a Joint Service Agreement is currently being worked on and was discussed at a joint meeting of town and county councils on January 24, 2017. This document deals with the provision of water and waste water services to the areas mentioned in the JDA. Following “in camera” discussion at the meeting, motions were passed publicly that more information was needed before a decision on the JSA could be made.
Interesting information presented in these documents states:
* “The Town currently has a supply of 32 hectares” (@79 acres) “for industrial land within its boundaries, none of which is serviced.”
* “Industrial and commercial land ready for development has been identified as a priority of both the town and county…”
* “The proposed JDA meets this goal with the addition of over 600 hectares” (@1480 acres) “of serviced commercial and industrial land…”
(Note: All quotes are from the Draft Joint Development Area Agreement and Intermunicipal Development Plan update found on the County’s website under the ”Council” tab.)
The town is currently doing an economic feasibility study related to the JSA but no economic plan has been/or is being done by the county.
ROSES: With Valentine’s Day coming up shortly, we’d like to send huge bouquets of roses out to all the home care workers as well as facility nurses and care attendants that lovingly care for our residents either in their own homes or in care facilities. We certainly admire your compassionate attitudes. As well, we appreciate and commend you on your efforts to make these peoples’ lives as comfortable and enjoyable as possible.
RANT: First of all, it is a beneficial goal to have available commercial/industrial land for development in order to stimulate business, provide jobs, and assist with tax revenues. How much is necessary and at what cost remain questionable. The JDA and JSA currently being worked on by the town and county raise huge red flags as far as need, cost recovery, and financial sustainability are concerned. Let’s look at some related figures:
* Industrial/commercial lots available in town: Falcon Ridge (east side of town on south side of SH 598): 23 light industrial and 8 general industrial, along with large highway commercial area; East side of town, north side of SH 598: 3 highway commercial lots, serviced, building ready. Total lots currently available: 34
(Note: Other lands in town are zoned for commercial/industrial development but no calculation of lots was given. The information here was taken from the town’s economic brochure found on their web-site.)
* Industrial/commercial lots available in county: Metaldog Industrial Park (north of Rocky on Airport Road) 12 lots available (info from the town’s economic brochure); Caroline: 10 industrial lots of 3 acres each; 12 smaller highway commercial lots. (Info from The Mountaineer, April 26, 2016.) Total lots available in the county: 34
* Even though most of these lots are unserviced the majority are close to services and would be much cheaper to service than those in the JDA.
* At a rate of 2 or 3 commercial/industrial lot sales per year it would take 20-30 years to sell all 68 lots currently available in the town and county.
* Are additional lots necessary?
* If servicing of the JDA proceeds, what will it cost and how many lots will need to be sold to recoup those costs and in what timeline???
* Will this be just another “White Elephant” that the taxpayer will be “on the hook” for???
In conclusion, I leave you with these final questions: Should taxpayer dollars be cast into the wind of highly risky development ventures??? AND/OR Are these development proposals simply a ruse/scheme to get services to the county’s new land and proposed Taj Mahal???
Coming Events: February 9, 2017 and March 9, 2017 Regular monthly meetings. 7:00PM Leslieville Elks Hall.
Wednesday, January 25, 2017
CLEARWATER COUNTY COUNCIL MEETING HIGHLIGHTS, January 24, 2017
The main highlights of the council meeting were as follows:
Request from Confluence Heritage Society for assistance with snow clearing for the Canada 150 celebrations to be held at the Rocky Historic Park on February 18 & 19 was supported.
2. Cartier Creek Subdivision. The matter of resident encroachment on the Municipal Reserve (discussed at the December 13 council meeting) was brought forward again for clarification. It was noted that on two of the lots in question, the decks of the dwellings are intruding onto municipal reserve land. On one of the lots their satellite dish is also located on reserve land. There was excellent discussion on resolving this issue and Councillor Greenwood brought forward a notable question, wondering how this could have been allowed on a building permit. The response was that there had been no building permit. Other comments focussed on the need to make the rules fair and apply to everyone. In the end Councillor Maki made a motion to uphold the original motion that guidelines set out in the MGA must be followed. County staff will notify the residents about the need to rectify the situation by July 31.
3. Presentation by/discussion with the Rocky Mountain Chuckwagon Association and the Rocky Stampede Board. Brad Smith, Milton Elliott, Shane Closs, and Ernie Closs presented information on the work that had been done at the rodeo grounds at the North Saskatchewan River Park and what the significant benefit the events held there are to the community. They then posed questions focussed on the plans that the county has for their land and a potential timeline for development. The questions were returned with suggestions that these groups work with the Rocky Agricultural Society and other stakeholders to formulate a plan of action. Reeve Alexander suggested that this needs to be a community vision and that all groups need to work together as it should be a community driven issue. In the end Councillor Lang made a motion that county administration work together with these groups in developing a plan of action.
4. Clearwater County Highway Patrol Annual Report. Sgt. Terri Miller presented information on the year’s activities of the CPO’s in our county. Figures were given to suggest that there is still lots of commercial movement in the county even though numbers are down. She also presented information showing that there has been a steady increase in the number of traffic safety violations in the last three years. Questions were raised as to the amount of time used in prepping for court cases when necessary. Sgt. Miller indicated that the prep time is rather minimal (1- 1 1/2 hours), but the time in court is frustrating as an officer might wait a lengthy time for the case he is involved in to be heard, sometimes to no avail as the witness doesn’t show up. Discussions are taking place with the province to try to deal with the shortage of commissionaires and crown prosecutors.
A very successful, positive program initiated by our CPO’s is the “Positive Ride Program” where the CPO’s will hand out a “Positive Ride” ticket to people who are following all the proper guidelines/rules of riding OHV’s and these people are eligible to win a prize. It can also have an interesting “peer pressure” impact if one person in a group is not following the rules and this consequently disallows members in that group from getting a “Positive Ride” ticket.
5. Audit Planning. Hawkings Epp will once again be doing the financial audit for the county for the 2016 year. They will be working in the county on March 27th and the year end report should be available at the end of April.
SPECIAL JOINT COUNTY/TOWN COUNCIL MEETING
A special joint Town of Rocky/Clearwater County Council meeting was held in county council chambers in the afternoon of January 24, 2017. The purpose of this meeting was to:
Review the activities that have taken place to date in relation to the Intermunicipal Development Plan and the Joint Development Area which target specific industrial and commercial growth for this region. The IDP and the JDP focus on land which the town could annex to the north of Rocky and the County’s newly purchased land on the Airport Road.
AND
Work on drafting the Joint Servicing Agreement. The JSA would focus largely on the method of providing and financing the provision of water/waste water services in the area mentioned above.
Meghan Jenkins, Planning Manager, Parkland Community Planning Services gave a brief presentation on what had taken place with developing the IDP and JDP, and then the meeting went “in camera” to discuss the Joint Service Agreement. After an hour and ten minutes we were allowed back into the meeting only to find out that more “administration information” is needed before final decisions can be made. It is anticipated that this might be available late in February or early March.
Following the meeting it was learned that the town is waiting for the results of an “Economic Feasability Study” in relation to the development in this area and they are to be commended for going through that process. No “Economic Plan” for the development of the county’s land has been undertaken.
The main highlights of the council meeting were as follows:
Request from Confluence Heritage Society for assistance with snow clearing for the Canada 150 celebrations to be held at the Rocky Historic Park on February 18 & 19 was supported.
2. Cartier Creek Subdivision. The matter of resident encroachment on the Municipal Reserve (discussed at the December 13 council meeting) was brought forward again for clarification. It was noted that on two of the lots in question, the decks of the dwellings are intruding onto municipal reserve land. On one of the lots their satellite dish is also located on reserve land. There was excellent discussion on resolving this issue and Councillor Greenwood brought forward a notable question, wondering how this could have been allowed on a building permit. The response was that there had been no building permit. Other comments focussed on the need to make the rules fair and apply to everyone. In the end Councillor Maki made a motion to uphold the original motion that guidelines set out in the MGA must be followed. County staff will notify the residents about the need to rectify the situation by July 31.
3. Presentation by/discussion with the Rocky Mountain Chuckwagon Association and the Rocky Stampede Board. Brad Smith, Milton Elliott, Shane Closs, and Ernie Closs presented information on the work that had been done at the rodeo grounds at the North Saskatchewan River Park and what the significant benefit the events held there are to the community. They then posed questions focussed on the plans that the county has for their land and a potential timeline for development. The questions were returned with suggestions that these groups work with the Rocky Agricultural Society and other stakeholders to formulate a plan of action. Reeve Alexander suggested that this needs to be a community vision and that all groups need to work together as it should be a community driven issue. In the end Councillor Lang made a motion that county administration work together with these groups in developing a plan of action.
4. Clearwater County Highway Patrol Annual Report. Sgt. Terri Miller presented information on the year’s activities of the CPO’s in our county. Figures were given to suggest that there is still lots of commercial movement in the county even though numbers are down. She also presented information showing that there has been a steady increase in the number of traffic safety violations in the last three years. Questions were raised as to the amount of time used in prepping for court cases when necessary. Sgt. Miller indicated that the prep time is rather minimal (1- 1 1/2 hours), but the time in court is frustrating as an officer might wait a lengthy time for the case he is involved in to be heard, sometimes to no avail as the witness doesn’t show up. Discussions are taking place with the province to try to deal with the shortage of commissionaires and crown prosecutors.
A very successful, positive program initiated by our CPO’s is the “Positive Ride Program” where the CPO’s will hand out a “Positive Ride” ticket to people who are following all the proper guidelines/rules of riding OHV’s and these people are eligible to win a prize. It can also have an interesting “peer pressure” impact if one person in a group is not following the rules and this consequently disallows members in that group from getting a “Positive Ride” ticket.
5. Audit Planning. Hawkings Epp will once again be doing the financial audit for the county for the 2016 year. They will be working in the county on March 27th and the year end report should be available at the end of April.
SPECIAL JOINT COUNTY/TOWN COUNCIL MEETING
A special joint Town of Rocky/Clearwater County Council meeting was held in county council chambers in the afternoon of January 24, 2017. The purpose of this meeting was to:
Review the activities that have taken place to date in relation to the Intermunicipal Development Plan and the Joint Development Area which target specific industrial and commercial growth for this region. The IDP and the JDP focus on land which the town could annex to the north of Rocky and the County’s newly purchased land on the Airport Road.
AND
Work on drafting the Joint Servicing Agreement. The JSA would focus largely on the method of providing and financing the provision of water/waste water services in the area mentioned above.
Meghan Jenkins, Planning Manager, Parkland Community Planning Services gave a brief presentation on what had taken place with developing the IDP and JDP, and then the meeting went “in camera” to discuss the Joint Service Agreement. After an hour and ten minutes we were allowed back into the meeting only to find out that more “administration information” is needed before final decisions can be made. It is anticipated that this might be available late in February or early March.
Following the meeting it was learned that the town is waiting for the results of an “Economic Feasability Study” in relation to the development in this area and they are to be commended for going through that process. No “Economic Plan” for the development of the county’s land has been undertaken.
Tuesday, January 10, 2017
Clearwater County Council Meeting Notes
by Helge Nome
There was discussion right from the outset at the first regular meeting in 2017 on Tuesday, January 10: Councillor Vandermeer pointed to a discrepancy in the minutes from the December 13 regular meeting pertaining to a motion from Vandermeer for the county to go ahead with a broadband demonstration program in 2017. The minutes, as presented to council for ratification, did not reflect this intent and the minutes, as amended by Vandermeer, were adopted by council.
Detailed information on the 2017 winter gravel program was presented by Public Works, where it was noted that the amount of graveling done would depend on weather conditions.
Alberta Municipal Affairs’ recommendation for Council to hire a consultant to carry out a review of county operations was turned down unanimously on a motion from Councillor Duncan. The sentiment was that Council already had a good idea of where there are shortcomings, notably in its communications with the public strategy, as identified in the municipal inspection of the Town of Rocky Mountain House where improvements were recommended. Also, Councillor Vandermeer believed that $75,000 could be better spent elsewhere.
Based on a recommendation from Regional Fire/Rescue, Council decided to go ahead with the purchase of a replacement fire engine for the one that was written off following a rollover in October. The cost to the County will be $163,851, the remainder of the total purchase price of $588,851 being covered by insurance.
A delegation from the “Clearwater Regional Tourism Working Group” presented the newly designed logo to be used to promote the region. The logo depicts voyageurs in a canoe and asks the visitor to David Thompson Country to ”challenge your inner explorer”.
by Helge Nome
There was discussion right from the outset at the first regular meeting in 2017 on Tuesday, January 10: Councillor Vandermeer pointed to a discrepancy in the minutes from the December 13 regular meeting pertaining to a motion from Vandermeer for the county to go ahead with a broadband demonstration program in 2017. The minutes, as presented to council for ratification, did not reflect this intent and the minutes, as amended by Vandermeer, were adopted by council.
Detailed information on the 2017 winter gravel program was presented by Public Works, where it was noted that the amount of graveling done would depend on weather conditions.
Alberta Municipal Affairs’ recommendation for Council to hire a consultant to carry out a review of county operations was turned down unanimously on a motion from Councillor Duncan. The sentiment was that Council already had a good idea of where there are shortcomings, notably in its communications with the public strategy, as identified in the municipal inspection of the Town of Rocky Mountain House where improvements were recommended. Also, Councillor Vandermeer believed that $75,000 could be better spent elsewhere.
Based on a recommendation from Regional Fire/Rescue, Council decided to go ahead with the purchase of a replacement fire engine for the one that was written off following a rollover in October. The cost to the County will be $163,851, the remainder of the total purchase price of $588,851 being covered by insurance.
A delegation from the “Clearwater Regional Tourism Working Group” presented the newly designed logo to be used to promote the region. The logo depicts voyageurs in a canoe and asks the visitor to David Thompson Country to ”challenge your inner explorer”.
Sunday, December 18, 2016
Clearwater County Council 2017 Budget Sessions Notes
by Helge Nome
I attended two full day 2017 Budget presentation sessions to Council held on December 14 and 16. The public was invited to attend but no printed or electronic information was made available, including a agenda. The only visual information observed were spreadsheets presented on projector screens.
So, apart from listening to what was said by staff and councillors, rough notes could only be taken on the fly.
No motions of any kind were advanced or voted on during the two days, however, Councillor Maki in particular expressed concern over proposed increases in spending in most departments. Late on Friday afternoon, it was decided to call another meeting this Monday, December 19 in order to come to some kind of resolution. CAO Leaf suggested that Council might choose to run with an interim budget based on 2016 numbers, as important decisions over 2017 spending need to be made by Council in the first quarter of that year.
I will not quote any numbers in this article for the simple reason that no printed information was made available and any numbers in this article could easily be disputed without information to back them up.
Thursday, December 15, 2016
Clearwater County Council Meeting Notes
by Helge Nome
Delegations make attendance at County Council meetings interesting for observers.
That was the case on December 13 when three people from the Cartier Creek subdivision along the Red Deer River south west of Sundre brought their concerns over encroachments by neighbours onto Municipal Reserve land adjacent to the subdivision to the attention of Council.
Jo and Glenn Allen and Stephen Kenny, using a photo and map presentation format showed how several river front lot owners have placed permanent structures between their properties and the river bank, effectively preventing the public from walking along the bank. The group appealed to Council to take decisive action on this issue.
Michelle Swanson and Bob Haagsma from the Clearwater Broadband Foundation, which is now a registered not for profit Society, presented a case for municipal support for their project which seeks to provide affordable broadband internet service to all residents in Clearwater County. Council was told that some 200 memberships at $20 each had been sold to local people in the last few days indicating a latent demand for this service.
Council decided to direct staff to work with the Clearwater Broadband Foundation to initiate a broadband project in 2017.
Clearwater County now has an interim Fire Chief who was presented to Council. He is Jesse Kurtz, a retired Deputy Fire Chief with many years of service from Southern Alberta, who has now taken on the duties of Cammie Laird who resigned from her post a short while ago.
Bob Winship, Pembina Timberlands Forest Resources Manager for Weyerhaeuser gave an update on company activities in the area. He noted that a new approach will be used in consulting with the general public, moving away from standing committees towards individuals.
Council accepted as information a closeout report on the planned new administration building and operations facility north of Rocky. Preliminary earth work has now been completed and further work will depend on Council approval for the next stage. Meanwhile, decisions in regards to the use, or otherwise, of services, like water and sewer, etc. from the Town of Rocky Mountain House, will have to be made.
A discussion on West Country Management took place where concerns were aired over the possibility of a Provincial Park being created, replacing the current PLUZ
(Public Land Use Zone) designations, potentially causing problems for people who make their living in the west country and so possibly limiting County revenues as well.
For a number of years, the Sundre Fire Dept. has been the first responder to calls from the James River area of Clearwater County. Based on a recommendation from Clearwater Fire and Rescue, this responsibility was transferred to the Caroline Fire Station
by Helge Nome
Delegations make attendance at County Council meetings interesting for observers.
That was the case on December 13 when three people from the Cartier Creek subdivision along the Red Deer River south west of Sundre brought their concerns over encroachments by neighbours onto Municipal Reserve land adjacent to the subdivision to the attention of Council.
Jo and Glenn Allen and Stephen Kenny, using a photo and map presentation format showed how several river front lot owners have placed permanent structures between their properties and the river bank, effectively preventing the public from walking along the bank. The group appealed to Council to take decisive action on this issue.
Michelle Swanson and Bob Haagsma from the Clearwater Broadband Foundation, which is now a registered not for profit Society, presented a case for municipal support for their project which seeks to provide affordable broadband internet service to all residents in Clearwater County. Council was told that some 200 memberships at $20 each had been sold to local people in the last few days indicating a latent demand for this service.
Council decided to direct staff to work with the Clearwater Broadband Foundation to initiate a broadband project in 2017.
Clearwater County now has an interim Fire Chief who was presented to Council. He is Jesse Kurtz, a retired Deputy Fire Chief with many years of service from Southern Alberta, who has now taken on the duties of Cammie Laird who resigned from her post a short while ago.
Bob Winship, Pembina Timberlands Forest Resources Manager for Weyerhaeuser gave an update on company activities in the area. He noted that a new approach will be used in consulting with the general public, moving away from standing committees towards individuals.
Council accepted as information a closeout report on the planned new administration building and operations facility north of Rocky. Preliminary earth work has now been completed and further work will depend on Council approval for the next stage. Meanwhile, decisions in regards to the use, or otherwise, of services, like water and sewer, etc. from the Town of Rocky Mountain House, will have to be made.
A discussion on West Country Management took place where concerns were aired over the possibility of a Provincial Park being created, replacing the current PLUZ
(Public Land Use Zone) designations, potentially causing problems for people who make their living in the west country and so possibly limiting County revenues as well.
For a number of years, the Sundre Fire Dept. has been the first responder to calls from the James River area of Clearwater County. Based on a recommendation from Clearwater Fire and Rescue, this responsibility was transferred to the Caroline Fire Station
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