Council Overview
Information from Drumheller Town Council Regular Council Meeting
Monday, January 10, 2022
Drumheller Mayor Heather Colberg opened the first regular council meeting of 2022 and wished everyone a happy new year.
She reminded everyone of the East Coulee Annual General Meeting on Tuesday, January 11 and the Dike D virtual community engagement meeting on Thursday, January 13.
Mayor Colberg also addressed the meeting with Lehigh residents on Thursday, January 6 (see story Page 2). A public community engagement is anticipated in the near future.
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Councillor Patrick Kolafa was sworn in as Deputy Mayor for the months of January and February.
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Director of Infrastructure Services Dave Brett presented council with the Drumheller Bridge briefing for information. There are numerous bridges and bridge size culverts throughout the Drumheller Valley which are owned by either the Town of Drumheller, Alberta Transportation, or CN Rail.
Mr. Brett explained Infrastructure Services have developed a spreadsheet to identify the various bridges and bridge size culverts, and are currently working through compiling the information and records of inspection and maintenance.
Five bridges have been identified in need of repair, including the Star Mine Suspension Bridge and Wayne Bridge 11; repairs for the Star Mine Suspension Bridge are pending land access issues and Wayne Bridge 11 is currently weight restricted pending replacement. The Town has applied for and received funding through the Strategic Transportation Infrastructure Program Local Road Bridge (STIP LRB) grant to replace Bridge 11 along Highway 10X and a tender is expected in the first quarter of 2022.
A separate budget category for bridges will be included in the 2022 Operating Budget which will be presented to council at a future meeting, with bridge expenditures for the next 10 years included in the capital plan.
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Mr. Brett presented council with an update on the Drumheller Lead Management Program. The Town was among the municipalities across the province required to participate in testing the amount of lead in drinking water; measurement was previously at discharge from the water treatment plant but changes by the federal government required testing at point of use at the tap; the acceptable levels were also dropped from 10 parts per billion (ppb) to five ppb.
Based on the size of the Town, 40 locations-36 residential homes and four apartments-were required to be tested and information was relayed privately to Alberta Environment and Alberta Health to maintain homeowner confidentiality. Of the 40 locations tested, two failed initial sampling; these two would have passed under the previous 10 ppb and only just failed under the new 5 ppb limitations. One location was resampled and passed its second test, while the Town has been unable to contact the second resident to retest.
The Town is now waiting for Alberta Health and Alberta Environment to provide more information regarding this program.
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Director of Protective Services Greg Peters presented council with amendments to the draft Police Advisory Committee Terms of Reference. The amendments were brought forward following discussion and review with Drumheller RCMP Staff Sergeant Ed Bourque who joined Mr. Peters during the presentation.
Council unanimously approved the amended Police Advisory Committee Terms of Reference.
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The meeting adjourned to closed session and Mayor Colberg thanked the listening public for attending. She shared council is serious about finding resolutions and trying to help residents in the community of Lehigh and there will be public engagements planned for the near future.
Complete minutes from council meetings can be found on
www.drumheller.ca once they have been adopted