Council Overview
Information from Drumheller Town Council Regular Council Meeting
Monday, October 24, 2022

Mayor Heather Colberg opened the organizational and regular meeting.
Councillor Crystal Sereda announced Travel Drumheller is holding a Destination Development Plan at the Badlands Ampitheatre on Wednesday, November 2 at 6 p.m. to help guide the development and management of tourism for the next two decades.
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CAO Drohomerski presented council with two requests for decision to amend the Municipal Development Plan (MDP) bylaw and Land Use Bylaw (LUB). There are sections in both documents where design figures for the flood mitigation project no longer apply due to design changes the program underwent in June 2022. This amendment will update these figures.
Amendments to the LUB will also add or amend regulations for various uses. This includes adding a new Neighbourhood District for Manufactured Home Parks; CAO Drohomerski noted, while there are three mobile home parks already, there was no specific Neighbourhood District.
Council gave first reading and set a public hearing date for December 5; an Open House will be held at the BCF on November 17 in alignment with the Drumheller Resiliency and Flood Mitigation Office (DRFMO) berm open house.
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CAO Drohomerski presented council with a request to add a portion of two parcels of land in Nacmine, previously purchased for the flood mitigation project, to the existing Environmental Reserves. The two properties were acquired by the Town in 2020 for berm construction. There are two small portions which are considered too close to the berm footprint, and it was recommended these be added to existing Environmental Reserves.
Council passed all three readings with consent.
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DRFMO project director Deighen Blakely gave an update on the Downtown Dike, which will run from the Gordon Taylor Bridge to Schumacher’s Corner at 5 Street East and Riverside Drive. The tender was cancelled earlier this year due to high bid costs and, since then, potential cost saving measures have been examined. Engineering teams are now starting work on the berm’s redesign and will take further cost savings and public feedback into consideration during this process.
Two alignment options have been identified for further consideration-the first option would see the full closure of Riverside Drive and 5 Street East, from 3 Street to 4 Avenue, while the second option would see no changes to Riverside Drive and use of a large retaining wall to fit the berm into restricted space beside the roadway.
The updated design will be presented at the November 17 public information session; design options will be brought forward at the December 5 council meeting for final decision to allow DRFMO to move forward in preparation for tender, and construction.
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Director of Infrastructure Services Dave Brett presented council with a request to replace one of its four wheel drive backhoe loaders.
Council awarded the supply and delivery to Brandt Tractor Ltd. for a total of $285,363 less the trade in value of $20,000 for a total cost of $265,363 excluding GST.
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Economic Development manager Reg Johnston and Director of Corporate and Community Services Mauricio Reyes presented council with quarterly updates on their respective departments.
Mr. Johnston shared an update on the Triangle Plaza-significant construction has been completed over the last quarter; a soft opening is anticipated for the Festival of Lights; washroom and stage canopy are in development. He also provided an update on the Housing Strategy, which was presented at the October 17 Committee of the Whole meeting (see story Page 2).
Mr. Reyes shared updates on the Parks and Recreation Master Plan, and Poverty Reduction Strategy. The master plan is currently in the engagement phase and is anticipated to be completed by spring 2023; a Request for Proposal for the Poverty Reduction Strategy received two submissions which were both above the approved budget-these are currently being evaluated and next steps will be undertaken prior to being brought back to council for approval consideration.
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Council adjourned the meeting to a closed session.

Complete minutes from council meetings can be found on www.drumheller.ca once they have been adopted.

Council Overview
Information from Drumheller Town Council Committee of the Whole Meeting
Monday, October 17, 2022

Drumheller Mayor Heather Colberg opened the meeting and made some opening announcements.
She noted some areas have been closed for berm construction and asked the public to stay away from these areas and off heavy equipment due to public safety concerns.
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Members of the Drumheller and Region Transition Society (DARTS) Meteorites made a presentation to the committee to introduce themselves and the group to council. The Meteorites are a self-advocacy group for individuals with disabilities in the community. Their Annual General Meeting (AGM) will be held on Wednesday, October 26.
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Travel Drumheller executive director Julia Fielding presented the committee with an update on the I Love Drumheller Valley campaign. An inaugural I Love Drumheller Valley Day was held on Thursday, October 13 at the Visitors Information Centre to celebrate community pride and spirit.
The campaign looks to help build on this spirit and pride, and help residents become ambassadors for the community and residents are encouraged to use hashtag ILoveDrumhellerValley on social media to enter a photo contest for a chance to win a “stay-cation” package.
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Drumheller Public Library board representative Cheryl McNeil and Director of Library Services Emily Hollingshead presented the committee with the proposed Drumheller Library bylaws. The library board has passed all three readings of the bylaws and now is pending approval by council as, under the Library Act, a municipality may disallow bylaws by its municipal boards.
Some suggestions and feedback were given by council, and Ms. McNeil said she will bring this back to the board for further discussion prior to the bylaws being brought back for consideration and approval at an upcoming council meeting.
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Economic Development manager Reg Johnston and ISL Engineering community planner Courtney Lawrence presented the committee with an update on the Drumheller Housing Strategy.
ISL has compiled data from the 2021 Census and the 2020 Housing Needs Assessment for this strategy. According to Census data, the population of Drumheller was 7,909 and declining, with a median age of 44 years; the fastest growing population segment those 65 and older.
The Housing Needs Assessment shows a majority, some 76.5 per cent of housing stock, are single-detached homes with three to four bedrooms, and which are more than 30 years old.
Feedback from two drop-in sessions held between July and August show affordable housing options for individuals and families, increased rental availability, short-term rentals, and worker’s housing are priorities for the community.
A community open house and survey are expected in late November to help further identify housing needs, and more current and up-to-date data from the 2021 Housing Needs Assessment is also pending prior to being the strategy being brought back to council for discussion.
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Recreation, Arts, and Culture manager Darren Goldthorpe and RC Strategies project manager Steve Siawuta provided an update on the Parks and Recreation Master Plan.
Community engagements, including an open house and a resident survey are planned to help identify recreation needs in the community.
It is anticipated the master plan will be ready by early 2023, and will be shared with the public prior to coming before council for consideration and approval.
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Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) Darryl Drohomerski and InterGroup Consultants Ltd presented the committee with the utility rate model analysis. InterGroup were retained to develop a utility rate model for water and wastewater utility rates for the next five years.
There is full cost recovery of water utility based on 2022 rates, however, the reserve fund is projected to decrease to fund a share of planned capital project costs, which Director of Infrastructure Services Dave Brett says this work has been in the works for quite some time.
Wastewater utility is projected to have significant revenue shortfalls based on the existing rates, and reserve funds are anticipated to reduce to $1.6 million by 2027 without amendments.
It is recommended to implement a phased approach to target full cost recovery by the end of 2027, increasing average annual rates by three per cent for water and six per cent for wastewater rates-which would equate to about an additional $5 per month, per year.
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Director of Emergency and Protective Services Greg Peters, Mr. Brett, and Drumheller Resiliency and Flood Mitigation project director Deighen Blakely presented their respective quarterly reports.
Ms. Blakely noted a total of 10 properties identified for buyouts in west and central Rosedale and Nacmine have all been purchased; one house has been demolished, three sold for relocation, and one is scheduled for demolition later in the fall. It is expected the first two packages for 2023 tenders will be issued in the spring, with remaining tenders issued later in the summer 2023.
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The committee adjourned to a closed session to discuss land planning and transaction and advice from officials.

Complete minutes from council meetings can be found on www.drumheller.ca once they have been adopted.