Council Notes

Drumheller Town Council
Committee of the Whole Meeting
Tuesday, October 9, 2018

Council opened their meeting by congratulating Bill Wulff on receiving the Alberta Seniors and Housing Minister’s Senior Service Award on October 1 in Edmonton. Mr. Wulff has spent years volunteering his time to support seniors, including filing tax returns for individuals at no cost.
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Council heard a delegation from Donna Tessier of the Drumheller and District Humane Society. The humane society shelter currently has 41 cats there, close to their all time high of 48. Improvements to their facilities include a new washing machine. Workers volunteered at community events such as barbecues and by working for catering and other events in town. Their expenses for 2017-2018 was over $121,000 with just over half of that covered by donations, as $60,000 was donated. They are asking for help with the shelter by asking for additional funding or support from the town. Councillor Fred Makowecki says council recognize the organization’s value to the community. Their presentation referenced a potential agreement years ago of the town donating land to the society for a new shelter. CAO Darryl Drohomerski said there was a potential lot in Rosedale but said there had not been work moving the project forward.
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Council heard a report from director of protective services Greg Peters on feedback gathered at a recent open house regarding a dog park in Drumheller. They heard a variety of feedback on the three proposed locations but also heard some new location ideas from the public. One location of interest was the plot of land north of the Drumheller Valley Secondary School fields, which is convenient because it can already access water services. Mr. Peters said he wishes to conduct more research into two potential locations before recommending one location to council for their decision. Councillor Lisa Hansen-Zacharuk said since the town doesn’t plan to begin work until spring then it would be advisable to take time in the decision. Councillor Jay Garbutt asked how far the park would need to be distanced from residences and Mr. Peters said he is not aware there is a distance, but the park would have reasonable hours of access. Councillor Tom Zariski said he’s noticed the needs of dog owners depends on each person and their dogs and Drumheller’s first park will not meet every need but in the future the town has the ability to create differently suited
parks in the future. Council will schedule an update on the research in the coming weeks.
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Council held a roundtable discussion. Councillor Zariski said he has heard discussion regarding people placing fall leaves and, in the winter, putting leaves or snow onto town property or into the street. He asked if council look at part of the existing bylaw could be looked at and if the town can potentially sweep or remove debris from public property. CAO Drohomerski said its possible to begin a fall sweeping program but it would be in addition to work already done in preparation for winter. He also said residents often blow leaves from their property into the streets, which can block
gutters and sewer drainage systems. Councillor Makowecki said there are also safety issues for drivers around high volume of leaves in the street.

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Council Notes

Drumheller Town Council
Regular Council Meeting
Monday, October 15, 2018

Council opened their meeting by announcing the Annual Operational meeting to be held on October 29.
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Councillor Jay Garbutt asked to comment about the number of cannabis retail applicants located in the downtown core. He said the move may not have aligned with the vision of council for downtown, saying the businesses are not family friendly. He asked to have council revisit the bylaws at a future meeting to see if they the town should have stricter selection of what kind of businesses are approved downtown. CAO Darryl Drohomerski said there was one other retail cannabis applicant who was looking to operate outside of downtown and that the town had worked to persuade the three downtown operations to choose a different location.
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Council heard a delegation from Economic Advisory Committee member Summer Manca. She provided an update on current actionables, including maybe refreshing the town’s logo, reviewing the town colour scheme, and improving downtown signage with blade signs. Manca said they would be getting input from Royal Tyrrell Museum executive director Andy Neuman on the town logo. Councillor Fred Makowecki said the Heritage, Art, and Culture committee has expressed interest in being involvement with the downtown revitalization project.
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Council heard a request for decision to establish the reserve bid values for the 2018 public auction as a result of tax recovery. The motion was approved to establish a reserve bid price on properties with a tax caveat registered against them. There are seven properties on the list with various assessment values. Councillor Garbutt noted the list of property is shorter than last year. These properties will go up to auction on January 25 and have until then to pay taxes owed, unless they enter into an agreement with the town to pay their arrears over 36 months.
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Councillor Garbutt provided information from the Red Deer Municipal Users Group as he is the council representative. The group has presented council with a charter agreement to show their support for source water protection. Councillors Makowecki and Hansen-Zacharuk voiced their support of signing the charter.

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