Council Notes
Drumheller Town Council
Regular Council Meeting
Monday, July 9, 2018
Council heard delegations from Russ Watts of Alberta Transportation regarding provincial infrastructure projects in the valley, in a question and answer format. Mayor Heather Colberg asked about whether the median north of the Gordon Taylor Bridge can be removed. Watts said the median is there for pedestrians crossing the highway and to make them more visible to drivers. They said when there is a median, it breaks up the distance pedestrians spend in traffic lanes by giving them a refuge in the middle of the highway. They said there was enough pedestrian traffic as they had studied it in preparation of installing a lit pedestrian crossing there. Councillor Lisa Hansen-Zacharuk said she has heard concern from the community about traffic turning left on Highway 576 causing congestion in the summer. Councillor Jay Garbutt asked what the justification was to place the median there. Alberta Transportation said there was a study done in the late 90s which recommended it for safety concerns and implemented in the mid 2000s. Councillor Garbutt asked if it was done for safety reasons, why would it take so long to implement? Watts said it is not unusual for infrastructure projects to take a number of years between studies and implementation. Councillor Tom Zariski asked whether it was possible to add a double turn lane symbol to the provincial signage on the intersection of Highway 56 and Highway 10 and the delegates acknowledged it was possible. Mayor Heather Colberg asked whether the island on Highway 9 South could have a crossing lane to allow southbound traffic to reach Drumheller Chrysler. Watts said that would be challenging to make work for all intersections on that portion of road, but after some clarification of what council was asking the delegates said they would look into it. Councillor Zariski raised concerns over the condition of Highway 838 near the Royal Tyrrell Museum. Watts said it is not on Alberta Transportations project list but it is ‘getting there.’
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Council held second and third reading of Bylaw 08.18 regarding the Council’s Code of Conduct. The bylaw sets standards and expectations for the conduct of council in public and are required by the Municipal Government Act at the end of July. Councillor Garbutt raised concerns over the definition ‘investigator’ in the case there was a violation of the code, asking council to discuss who would be designated an investigator and suggested their legal counsel. In the past it was council itself who acted as investigator. Councillor Hansen-Zacharuk suggested municipal affairs may be an option. CAO Darryl Drohomerski said the code allows for different options depending on the seriousness of an issue. Council moved unanimously to approve second and third reading of the bylaw.
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Council passed first reading for Bylaw 8.1.2 being a motion to close a portion of 6th Street West. The road has not been used or will not be used in the foreseeable future. Residents near the road had built a deck on town property and this was the ideal solution to the problem for both parties.
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Council made a motion to amend the Community Standards Bylaw in relation to the smoking of tobacco and cannabis products in public. The amendments would prohibit the public consumption of cannabis and also created definitions and prohibition of vaping tobacco in public buildings. Council passed first reading of the bylaw amendment.
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Council made a motion to accept the Public Participation Policy, which outlines the ways council should communicate and participate with the public on issues. The policy was discussed at previous council and committee of the whole meetings. It was passed unanimously.
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Council went in camera to discuss a request from administration to reduce the amount of taxes owed on arrears owing on Roll No. 01032048. Once returned they made a motion unanimously approve the request.
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Council heard third reading of Bylaw 06.18 of the Land Use Bylaw in regards to cannabis legalization. They removed the definition for cannabis cafe as the federal government is unsure how this will look at this time and other municipalities are not including it in their definition. They added designated land use districts which would prohibit cannabis retail stores. They accepted recommendations from the previous public hearing to accept provincial standards of distance of cannabis retail stores from schools and also removed the 300 metre distance required between two cannabis retail stores. Council unanimously passed third and final reading of the bylaw.
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Council made a motion to accept their summer schedule and has reduced the number of meetings in the month of August. The schedule is available on the town’s website, www.dinosaurvalley.com.