Deputy Mayor Stephanie Price chaired the meeting as Mayor Heather Colberg was absent due to a meeting with Alberta Premier Danielle Smith.
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Council gave second and third reading to revised Proposed Nacmine 8 Street Road Closure Revised Bylaw 04.24.
Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) Darryl Drohomerski explained this road closure underwent first reading in January 2024, followed by a public hearing, as part of the Town’s Flood Mitigation Project, and will close the right of way of 8 Street in Nacmine between the Red Deer River and 2 Avenue to facilitate berm placement at the north end of the right of way.
There was a typographical error in the original Bylaw which council approved a correction in a revised bylaw in October 2024.
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Council gave second and third reading of the Proposed Nacmine Hunter Drive Road Closure Bylaw 05.24.
Similar to the previous item, this proposed road closure is due to the Town’s Flood Mitigation Project and will close the public road right of way of Hunter Drive east of the Nacmine sanitary lift station to facilitate berm placement.
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Council gave first and second reading to Bylaw 39.24 - Revision of Bylaw 21.24, and gave unanimous consent to hold third and final reading.
CAO Darryl Drohomerski explained the Town had converted three lots owned by the Town into a single Environmental Reserve (ER) lot under Bylaw 21.24 in July 2024. However, it was determined a portion of the neighbouring property had been encroached upon and has since been purchased by the Town, and it was determined the ER should be expanded to include this and a portion of land from a Gas Regulator site which is now occupied by the berm.
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Council received an update on the Urban Forest Implementation and Management Report from project engineer Spencer Roberton and Mike Leung of Green Drop Ltd (see story Page 2).
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Council approved writing off a total of $7,109.34 in outstanding property taxes which resulted from the Town’s expropriation of floodway buyout properties.
Flood Resiliency Program project engineer Graham Waugh explained there are a total of eight property tax accounts requiring reconciliation as the ownership has transferred to the Town’s title in recent years due to the floodway buyout process. A portion of these amounts may be recoverable through the Land Tribunal process and includes six properties in Lehigh, and one each in Nacmine and East Coulee.
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Mr. Waugh presented council with a request for the Flood Resiliency Program to pursue funding from the Alberta Drought and Flood Protection Program (DFPP) for adaptive flood protection measures.
Adaptive flood protection will be used at several locations where permanent earth-filled berms cannot be used due to space constraints, access roads, or other issues, and can be deployed ahead of forecast flood events. Grant funding would be pursued for adaptive earthen berms in Midland and Newcastle, as well as a stop-log gate at the Rosedale Star Mine Suspension Bridge.
If successful, funding from DFPP would cover up to 70 per cent of eligible construction and engineering costs, leaving the Town responsible for a 30 per cent matching contribution estimated at $134,000; this would require additional capital funds beyond the original $5 million commitment.
Council approved the additional capital funding contingent on the success of the grant funding application to the DFPP.
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Flood Resiliency Program project director Deighen Blakely presented council with a request for decision to change the alignment of the Nacmine Berm.
She explained there has been some controversy over the natural boundary of private landowners located at the upstream end of the berm, and given these complications and potential for project delays, it was recommended to shorten the Nacmine Berm and use temporary measures for this area rather than building the originally planned 150 metres of the permanent berm.
Council directed administration to take the appropriate steps to reduce the original alignment of the Nacmine Berm to shorten it by the recommended length of 150 metres and use temporary measures for flood mitigation in this area. Council also approved the abandonment and discharge of the Notice of Intention to Expropriate on properties which will no longer be affected by the original berm alignment.