Council Notes

Regular Council Meeting Monday, Nov. 28, 2016

A delegation from the Canadian Red Cross attended Council with a project undertaken by their group promoting a partnership to municipal government. Melanie Soler, Associate Vice President, Disaster Management, and Jennifer McManus, Alberta Vice-President spoke to Council about their recent activities in the Ft. McMurray area during the June wildfires. They explained the role the Red Cross has in Canada and the partnerships they have with governments across Canada. They have educated over 332,000 Canadians about disaster preparedness in Canada, in recent years, and how they assist communities during disasters. They deployed 2,489 volunteers for The Fort McMurray Fire Response, and have spent 56% of the funds donated for that disaster so far.

Canadian Red Cross representatives Associate Vice President, Disaster Management, Melanie Soler, left, and Vice President, Alberta and North West Territories, Jennifer McManus attend Town Council to propose a partnership between the Red Cross and Town of Drumheller.  

The Red Cross would like to establish a group of volunteers in this area to coordinate action needed if a disaster were to arise locally, and achieve this by working with the municipality. The Red Cross was helpful in assisting a local family affected by a fire situation this past July.

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Deputy Mayor Jay Garbutt chaired the meeting in the absence of Mayor Terry Yemen. He thanked the FCSS department for their work on the Light Up the Town event held November 25.

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Drumheller Public Library Board Chair Vanessa Page and member Julia Fielding attended Council to present their 2017-2018 budget numbers and had a good news report, as they are asking for less money in the next two years, to which Deputy Mayor Garbutt had to restrain himself from giving them a standing ovation. Ms. Fielding also told Council that membership in the Marigold Library System continues to be a boon to users, mainly due to cost efficiencies, and convenience.

Drumheller Public Library Board Chair Vanessa Page, left, and Board Member Julia Fielding attend Council to deliver the Public Library’s 2017 budget.

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Mike Todor, a longtime Businessman, has been re-appointed to the Economic Development Task Force for a three year term.

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The Lease for the Drumheller Off Road Vehicle Association (DORVA), was renewed for another five year period. The town has had a good relationship with the group in the past, and Councillor Hansen-Zacharuk complimented them on their activities. The lease is for $1.00 per year.

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Council also passed a motion leasing and operating the land occupied by the Drumheller and District Solid Waste Management Association, and owned by the Town of Drumheller. The lease has a cost of $25.00 per year, and is for a period of four years. Subsequent renewals are for five year terms. There are approximately 15-20 years capacity left in the current section of the landfill, and another 25 years capacity in another section, given the current amount of waste collected at this time.

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CAO Ray Romanetz provided Council with a timeline over the next few months for implementing budget and utility rates.

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Council examined bids for the commercial and residential garbage pickup in Drumheller, as the current contract with Huxted Enterprises expires at the end of December. Director of Infrastructure Darryl Drohomerski recommended the bid delivered by GFL Environmental, in the amount of $1,861,321.08. Mr. Drohomerski gave a short history of GFL to Council. This contract will give savings to the town of $300,000 over the four year life of the contract. Residential collection will drop to four days per week. Commercial collection would remain as it is at present.

Motion carried.

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Council passed the 2017 budget for the Drumheller Housing Association’s Sandstone Manor. A copy of the budget is forwarded to the provincial government.

Council Notes

Committee of the Whole Monday, November 21, 2016

During November 21 Committee of the whole meeting Cindie Hughes, new chair for Travel Drumheller, gave an update on Travel Drumheller. Mrs. Hughes said that the board has revamped their ideas moving forward with promoting Drumheller as a year round destination as priority. In 2016, Travel Drumheller developed a full new logo and brand, as well as created a new mission statement and vision. The new vision helps showcase more than just dinosaurs and shows what Drumheller has to offer. Mrs. Hughes said that some key initiatives for 2017 are to create a new visitor guide, that will be magazine size and be digital and social media compatible; implement a digital focused marketing campaign including website, social media advertising, content creation and dissemination; stronger communication with stakeholders; media partnerships with local regional media on weekly tourism tips, Valley events and industry news that will target not only tourists but locals as well; and create clear Benchmarking, analytics and evaluation metrics. Mrs. Hughes said that Travel Drumheller is hoping the town will support them by putting $40,000 toward moving forward.
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Local mom, Nikki Isley, spoke on behalf of the Greentree school council to request in kind donations by the town to help make some additions to the Greentree school playground a reality.
Mrs. Isley said, “with the school’s ever growing student population has made a playground addition a necessity, We wanted to put in more elements that were more attractive to the older grades, as the current playground is more geared toward the younger grades. Along the way accessibility became an important factor thus changing the focus to include several elements that allow inclusive play and accessibility. The playground will be open to the public.”
Mrs. Isley explained to council that it was deemed necessary to do some upgrades by removing the gravel, around the current playground. Also since the current playground did not have adequate drainage, weeping tile is also an important part of the upgrades.
The school council presented the council with plans, picture and an outline of the costs needed to fulfill the upcoming upgrades.
Currently, Friends of Greentree School Society has raised $95,000 and have applied for the Municipal Demonstration Grant for about $22,000 and the Community Facility Enhancement Program (CFEP) which is a program that matches funds raised up to $125,000. Mrs. Isley said that they are looking to the town for in kind work such as labor or excavation of the site. These in kind donations can be added to the amount raised for the matching grant through CFEP.
CAO, Ray Romanetz said that they have already given a letter of support to the Greentree school council and it looks very positive that the town could help with the in-kind donations.
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The Director of Corporate Services, Barbara Miller, proposed that the Town of Drumheller award the contract for banking services to Scotia Bank. Scotia Bank and Chinook Financial were found the top two financial institutions after considering what all six financial institutions had to offer. Council agreed on a five year contract with Scotia Bank.
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Tom Zariski provided council with an update on The Friends of Drumheller. He said that a main priority that the society was facing was to find about ten people to serve on the society for it to be successful. Zariski challenged council to go out and personally recruit the people to be a part of the society. Council agreed that administration and councillors have to come up with two names of people they want to approach to join The Friends of Drumheller Society. This society gives people the opportunity to be able to be involved in fundraising efforts to benefit the town.
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The meeting then turned to legal in-camera matters.