Council Notes
Drumheller Town Council
Regular Council Meeting
Monday, July 8, 2019

Council heard a delegation from Palliser Regional Municipal Services’ Jeff Laurien requesting an extension regarding a property subdivision which requires council’s approval. They wish to receive an extension of one year from June 18, 2019 to June 18, 2020 to register a subdivision which was approved by council. An application sent earlier this year was incomplete and information is still required by the applicant’s agent. Council approved the extension.

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Council heard a summary of the Roger Brooks presentation at the end of June, when the town had the tourism and downtown development specialist speak in Drumheller. Roger Brooks’ team conducted a secret shopper-like program which survey tourism aspects of the area. Recommendations include improving signage, increasing the number of leisure activities for tourists to do in order to keep them in Drumheller longer, and improving Drumheller’s web presence.

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Council unanimously approved the second and third reading of Bylaw 09.19 to amend Land Use Bylaw 10.08 to redesignated part of L.S. 7, S-19-T28-R19-W4 from an Agricultural district to Country Residential District. A public hearing was held at the previous council meeting.

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Council heard a request for decision from Director of Corporate Service’s Barb Miller on Council Policy C#-02-19 regarding the relief of municipal tax on destructed improvements, which would provide relief from municipal taxes to buildings or improvements which were destroyed by extenuating circumstances, such as fire. The request had previously been heard by council but was tabled because of additional information requested by councillor Lisa Hansen-Zacharuk. The information was not present in this new item so it was tabled for the next council meeting.

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Council heard an update regarding the fountain and outdoor pool from Director of Infrastructure Dave Brett. He made a recommendation to only run the fountain on the remaining two long weekends due to significant water loss. The projected water loss for 2019 is $37,378. Water seepage has caused the ground to start shifting and could damage nearby infrastructure. Councillor’s Jay Garbutt, Tom Zariski, and Lisa Hansen-Zacharuk voiced support of stopping operations of the fountain, except for long weekends. A brief discussion was held over what the town’s next steps would be, including generating a request for proposal for a replacement or modification to the fountain, ideally for next summer, and placing proper signage alerting the public that a new replacement is coming. The town is also looking to hire local contractors to repair cracked pipe issues with the outdoor pool.

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Council approved a request for decision from Greg Peters, Director of Protective Services, regarding medical first responder training for Drumheller fire department members so they are able to provide some medical support when responding to calls. The fire department has seen an increase in medical related calls.

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Council Notes

Drumheller Town Council
Regular Council Meeting
Monday, June 24, 2019

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Councillor Jay Garbutt was sworn in as Deputy Mayor for the months of July and August.
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Council heard from Drumheller RCMP Staff Sergeant Edmond Bourque and Corporal Gerald Sherk. SSgt. Bourque provided council with a brief history of his police service, staffing at the detachment, and priorities for policing which included property crime and crime reduction. Both officers answered questions from council regarding
Drumheller’s busy tourist months, staffing, and detachment jurisdiction.
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Council heard an update on the 2019 Spring Cleaning Program from the Drumheller and District Solid Waste Association’s Tammy Nygaard. The overall amount collected this year was less than last year. Associated costs including labour were just over $42,000. She said crews were again slowed down this year due to improper material or sorting of demolition materials. She said the association will write a letter notifying the town there will be a charge associated with the Town of Drumheller’s spring clean up demolition material, based on weight. She said the last three years the association has had a deficit and said they need to have a “hard look” at their services. Councillor Garbutt said the issue of crews collecting demolition material is an internal issue of not following policy which should be addressed. Councillor Tom Zariski said he would rather see the waste collected and in the landfill rather than dumped elsewhere. Mayor Heather Colberg said she wishes the cleanup was in the fall rather than spring to allow crews to prioritize landscaping and beautification work in the spring.
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Council heard a request for decision to approve sponsorship for the Alberta Approved Drumheller Farmers Market for new tents, tables, a storage shed, and discounted rate to rent space at the Badlands Community Facility. It was noted the request for decision presented was different and missing information from the previous request by the Farmers Market made at a prior council meeting. It was previously discussed that funds might not be available through the community assistance program. Councillor Tony Lacher said it would make sense at this point that costs for the vendors should be covered by the vendors, but would be interested in supporting them if it was a town-led project in the future. The motion was defeated unanimously.
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A public hearing was held over proposed changes to redesignate part of L.S. 7, S19-T28-R19-W4 from an agricultural district to country residential, a request made by the landowner. A representative from Palliser said the change would not cause any issues and the property is a good candidate for redesignation and recommended the change.
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Council heard a request for decision to provide relief of municipal property tax on destructed building improvements due to unforeseen damages such as fire or flood where taxes would not be charged on improvements, only on the property, at the discretion of council and to a maximum of $2,000. Councillor Hansen-Zacharuk asked to table the motion to hear legal input on what precedent is set, to see examples from similar communities. Council voted in favour of tabeling the request.
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Council approved a request for decision to extend assessment services with Wild Rose Assessment Services by one year to March 31, 2020.
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Council held a review of strategic priorities. CAO Darryl Drohomerski said a spot has been picked for a town toboggan hill near the Greentree water tower and administration hopes to have it open this coming winter. Mr. Drohomerski said work on the downtown plaza will be finished this Friday with the first musical act scheduled for this Saturday. Director of Protective Services Greg Peters said an emergency scenario practice session will be held in October. He also said two staff have been hired for the parking pilot project at the Hoodoo site and a fee of $2.00 to park there was decided.
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