Patrick Kolafa

    The Royal Tyrrell Museum is a finalist for the 2018 Alberta Business Awards of Distinction.
    The Tyrrell is a finalist in the category of Marketing Award of Distinction.  Executive Director of the Museum, Andrew Neuman, is proud of the efforts of the marketing department of the museum.
    “It is a great award and I think it speaks very highly of the marketing team here and the work they have been doing,” said Neuman.                     “The best way to sum that up is we are having record visitation for three years in a row.  It speaks very highly of the team and the work they are doing.”
    The Drumheller and District Chamber of Commerce nominated the Museum.
    Carrie Ann Lunde head of marketing and public relations, said a big push for the marketing department this year and the focus of the nomination was the discovery and unveiling of the Nodosaur, its partnership with National Geographic and the opening of the new exhibit Grounds for Discovery. This exhibit explores the partnership of the museum and industry.
    “It has been extremely well received and we are getting people coming here specifically to see that,” said Neuman.
     Lunde says the goal of the campaign was to position the museum as the go-to paleontological resource in Canada, to raise awareness of the museum and focus on the research that happens at the Tyrrell. It was an opportunity to use content-driven strategy on social media.
    “The bottom line is this is a research institute and what makes us tick is the palaeontology and the science,” said Neuman. “When there is a big story about the scientific work that is going on here, that is what really drives the exhibits, the marketing, the social media and the educational programs, and the economic development.         They don’t exist without the science.”
     According to its website, the Alberta Business Awards of Distinction recognizes businesses/organizations that have demonstrated outstanding achievement and contribution to their community while having developed business acumen & management practices to ensure long-term sustainability.
    The award will be presented at a gala in Edmonton on March 2.

    There was quick reaction on social media to Drumheller Town Council setting the Utility Rate bylaw last week.
     Each year Town Council passes a bylaw to set the rates for water and wastewater.         Based on 15 cubic metes of water use, bills are set to rise by about $2.70 per month.         Despite this modest increase, some were still concerned they are too high and that council would address this.
    Town Councillor Tony Lacher said council spent a significant amount of time studying the issues.
   “People asked us to look into that, we heard that loud and clear on the campaign trail,” said Lacher. “It was more than making a motion to approve the rates. It was two council discussions and an independent presenter that we went through. We were still not satisfied and that is when we took the next step and got the rates off of the government website and I went to work crunching numbers.”
    In his work doing comparisons to other municipalities, council learned their rates were reasonable compared to other jurisdictions.
    He also notes that the utility has its own budget and that no funds from the property taxes go into it. The utility is self-sustaining.
    “Unless someone wants to subsidize it, the rates are what they are,” he said. “Property taxes are the only other source of revenue. It is a separate utility, it is a separate account, it is a separate project, and it doesn’t draw anything from taxes.”
    One point that commenters felt concerned about was that in the summer months, much of the water used for gardens or lawns does not enter the sewage facility and therefore should not be charged as wastewater.
    Lacher points out that because of the age of the infrastructure, the storm sewer system and wastewater systems are connected.
    “There is only one line,” said Lacher. “It’s an old town, there is only one line and even the rainwater goes out to the plant and gets treated.”
    He also notes that when comparing with other jurisdictions, Drumheller is the only one that charges 80 per cent of consumption. This means that residents are only charged wastewater rates for 80 percent of the water they consume.”