Drumheller Town Council Meetings | DrumhellerMail

Council Notes from the Regular Council Meeting Monday, July 10, 2023

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Council Overview
Information from Drumheller Town Council Regular Council Meeting
Monday, July 10, 2023

Drumheller Mayor Heather Colberg opened the meeting and made some opening remarks.
Councillor Tom Zariski invited the public to attend the grand opening of the new 500 wing at the Sunshine Lodge on Friday, July 14 between 1 p.m. and 7 p.m.; there is also a block party BBQ in Newcastle on Saturday, July 15 the public are welcome to attend.
Director of Infrastructure Services Dave Brett announced the indoor pool at the Aquaplex will be closed to allow troubleshooting of an issue; the outdoor pool, hot tub, and steam room will remain open during this time.
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Amanda Courtenay, Anti-Violence coordinator for Colton’s Place, and Big Country Anti-Violence Association (BCAVA) President Kristi Murphy provided council with a presentation about Colton’s Place, the local short-term emergency unit which was established in 2020.
The unit provides short-term shelter for individuals and families at risk or currently experiencing interpersonal violence and serves both Drumheller and local, rural clients. It is supported solely on grants, donations,and fundraising, and is the only shelter available within a 100 kilometre radius.
It is anticipated a new Memorandum of Understanding will be coming forward to council for consideration in the near future.
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Flood Resiliency project director Deighen Blakely presented council with a certificate of approval and resolution for a full buyout of a property in East Coulee for construction of the East Coulee berm.
Council approved the Certificate of Approval and Resolution.
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Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) Darryl Drohomerski and Economic Development manager Reg Johnston presented council with a Business License Bylaw. Although Short Term Rentals (STRs) are currently defined and regulated under the current Land Use Bylaw, it has not been effective to regulate and monitor, and there are concerns the process of acquiring a development permit may deter or discourage residents from complying.
Following a review, it was determined amending the Business License Bylaw would provide a great transition for owners of STRs; it is not anticipated enforcement will begin until January 1, 2024.
Council approved first reading of the Business License Bylaw and set a public hearing date for Tuesday, September 5.
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Mr. Johnston presented council with amendments to the Residential Development Incentive Program Bylaw. Council previously gave first and second reading during the June 5 regular council meeting, which removed price caps on residential listings, along with size and price caps on rentals, and added titled RV lots to the incentive program.
Council unanimously gave third reading to the amended Residential Development Incentive Program Bylaw.
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Mr. Johnston also presented council with a request for direction regarding housing construction. Previously, a goal of at least 20 units per year had been set out by the Drumheller Valley Housing Strategy, and the Town has received feedback the lack of new housing creates a barrier to attracting new residents and workers to the community.
Real estate brokers and developers were interviewed and it was determined, while the Residential Incentive Program is helpful it is not enough to incentivize developers despite a recognized demand for housing in the Drumheller Valley.
Council directed administration to evaluate becoming a builder of market residential real estate in order to achieve this goal of 20 units per year, and will include activities such as site location and evaluation, financing, construction, and sale.
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Stephen Siawuta of RC Strategies presented council with the final council presentation on the Parks And Recreation Master Plan. Development of the master plan began in fall 2022 with research and engagement, which led to some strategic direction setting in spring 2023.
Based on engagement and research, some key strategies for both indoor facilities and outdoor infrastructure was established, which include prioritizing replacement of the pool, and looking at long-term and short-term opportunities for outdoor sports development, such as improving ball diamonds at Rosedale and Newcastle.
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Director of Corporate and Community Services Mauricio Reyes and B.D.O. Canada LLP presented council with the 2022 audited financial statements and financial report.
Mitchell Kennedy of B.D.O. explained the accumulated surplus from the consolidated statement of financial position is up from $174,634,613 in 2021 to $188,493,877 in 2022. There is a long-term debt financed through Alberta Capital Finance Authority Debentures; as of 2021 there was a total debt owing of $7,097,617 which was reduced to $6,367,676 in 2022 and it is expected the debt will mature between June 2027 and June 2038.
There is a total of $158,211,646 in equity in tangible capital assets, up from $143,875,736 in 2022.
Council accepted the audited financial statements as presented by B.D.O.
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Community Development and Social Planning manager April Harrison presented council with a request for decision regarding the Recreation Fee Assistance Policy. The program allows eligible residents to access recreation facilities at a subsidized rate, including the Drumheller Municipal Arena, Badlands Community Facility, and Aquaplex. It also provides clients with credit which can be used towards registered classes and programs.
This was created initially at the request of council and has remained as a council policy; however, it is being recommended to revise this as an administrative policy to ensure the policy is reviewed and updated similar to other subsidy policies.
Other changes to the policy will update language around eligibility and add some automatic qualifications for the program, including being a client of the Grace House or Drumheller Housing Administration, and better defines family, economic family, cohabiting adults, and intergenerational families.
Council approved making the Recreation Fee Assistance Program an administrative policy.
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Mr. Brett presented council with a request for decision to approve applications for the Community Assistance Grant - In Kind program. Council previously approved an increase to the grant funding for a total budget of $67,174 to support some larger projects.
The Drumheller Stampede and Agricultural Society has requested support to relocate the stage from the old downtown plaza, totalling $16,655; and Drumheller Rotary Club has also requested a total of $36,843 to support construction of a concrete pad foundation at Rotary Park to install a shade structure as part of its centennial project.
Council approved both requests for In-Kind grant funding.
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Mr. Brett also provided an update on the pathway wayfinding concept and stakeholder engagement. The Town was successful in receiving a grant from Northern and Regional Economic Development for a trail wayfinding project in March 2023. ISL Engineering and Land Services were contracted to undertake the task of developing a wayfinding plan, and next steps are to engage with the public for feedback and gauge their level of support.
The grant will cover 50 percent of the project costs up to a total of $38,000 with the remaining funds being covered through the Downtown Area Revitalization Project (DARP) project for 2023.
The public will be given an opportunity to provide feedback on this project in September.
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Council adjourned the meeting to a closed session to discuss negotiations with CUPE Local 4604 and Local 135. Following closed session, council moved to ratify a three-year agreement with CUPE Local 4604 with increases as of January 1 of each year 2023 to 2025 of three percent (2023) and 2.75 percent (2024 and 2025); council also moved to ratify a three-year agreement with CUPE Local 135 with increase of three percent effective January 1 of each year 2023 to 2025.

Complete minutes from council meetings can be found on www.drumheller.ca once they have been adopted.

Council Notes from the Regular Council Meeting Monday, June 19, 2023

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Council Overview
Information from Drumheller Town Council Regular Council Meeting Monday, June 19, 2023

Drumheller Mayor Heather Colberg opened the meeting and made some opening announcements. Councillor Lisa Hansen-Zacharuck was sworn in as Deputy Mayor for the months of July and August; Councillor Patrick Kolafa acknowledged the raising of the Treaty 7 flag in recognition of National Indigenous Peoples Day on Wednesday, June 21.
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Council approved a request to extend the term of the Rails to Trails fundraising task force until June 2025. This will allow the committee to continue fundraising for the CN Rails to Trails project; to date the task force has raised over $257,000 n cash and in-kind donations to develop the Rails to Trails network using former CN Rail right of ways.
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Council approved the appointment of Dune Sataere to the Drumheller Public Library Board for a three-year term ending June 2026.
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Flood mitigation project director Deighen Blakely presented council with a request to approve scope changes to the downtown berm project. SweetTech Engineering Consultants were previously awarded the contract for design of the downtown berm in January 2021 and have since undertaken preliminary detailed design. Change of scope will include public engagement, on-site engineering inspections, daily reports, along with bird and wildlife sweeps and vibration monitoring. The scope change will involve a budget change of $709,150 excluding GST.
Council approved the scope change.
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Ms. Blakely also presented council with proposed detours and closures for downtown berm construction around the Aquaplex and Drumheller Memorial Arena. Work is anticipated to begin in July which requires necessary temporary closures required.
Riverside Drive will be closed between 4 Avenue East and 3 Street East between mid-August until the end of September for berm construction; there will also be a full closure of the access road to the Badlands Community Facility (BCF), east of the Riverside building, between July and November. A detour will be in place using Railway Avenue, Centre Street, and 6 Street East. Construction will also impact trails throughout Centennial Park and a detour route will be in effect along the south sidewalk on Riverside Drive.
Parking will also be impacted to allow the contractor to bring hauled material to the downtown berm footprint in Centennial Park. The Rotary Spray Park will be closed beginning in September; the Aquaplex will also be closed for a four week period during this time. Parking along the north and west sides of the Visitor Information Centre will be restricted and a haul route will be in effect; alternate parking will be available.
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CAO Drohomerski presented council with second and third reading of the Riverside Drive East Road Closure Bylaw 05.22; he explained this bylaw received first reading in March 2022 and a public hearing regarding the proposed road closure bylaw was held in April 2022. At the time there were several options being considered for Riverside Drive East, including a full, permanent road closure. Following the public hearing, information was sent to Alberta Transportation, and a response was received at the end of May this year.
Since this was initially brought forward to council some changes have been made, including changing the scope of change from the roadway to the road right of way only, which will allow Riverside Drive East to remain open to two lane traffic, though there will be some changes including installation of a retaining wall.
Council gave second and third reading to the amended Road Closure Bylaw 05.22 as presented.
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CAO Drohomerski also presented Rosedale Road Closure Bylaw 06.22; similar to Bylaw 05.22, council gave first reading of this bylaw in April 2022, a public hearing held in May 2022, and response from Alberta Transportation was received at the end of May this year. This is to close an undeveloped portion of a road allowance.
Council gave second and third reading to the Road Closure Bylaw 06.22 as presented.
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Community Development and Social Planning (CDSP) coordinator Heather Carlson presented council with the Welcoming and Inclusive Communities initiative.
Council approved establishing a Welcoming and Inclusive Committee and conduct a Measuring Inclusion Tool of Municipal Governments survey, which will be repeated biannually to guide the progress of the initiative; and also tabled signing the Declaration to Join the Coalition of Inclusive Municipalities in order to receive more information and determine potential staffing implications.
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Director of Emergency and Protective Services Greg Peters presented council with the third reading of Traffic Bylaw 10.22. First and second reading were given in 2022 and there has since been revisions based on public consultation and engagement, and the recently approved Paid Parking program.
Council gave third reading to the amended Traffic Bylaw, with one opposed.
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Director of Infrastructure Services Dave Brett presented council with a request to increase the annual in-kind contribution funding allocation for the Community Assistance Grant. A total of $30,000 was allocated in 2023 for grant funds available for in-kind work. As of June 13 there have been four in-kind requests submitted to the Town totalling $67,174. It is being requested to increase the budget to allow for approval of all four received requests.
Council approved the request to increase the in-kind contribution funding budget.

Complete minutes from council meetings can be found on
www.drumheller.ca once they have been adopted.

Council Notes from Committee of the Whole Meeting Monday, June 12, 2023

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Council Overview
Information from Drumheller Town Council Committee of the Whole Meeting
Monday, June 12, 2023

Drumheller Mayor Heather Colberg opened the meeting and made some opening announcements. She congratulated Celebration of Excellence winners (see Page 3).
Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) Darryl Drohomerski announced there will be a significant detour in place along Highway 575/South Railway Avenue beginning on Thursday, June 15 for water main work over an estimated two-week period. (see Page 7).
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CAO Drohomerski presented the committee with an update on the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) in Alberta. A motion was passed by the provincial government in fall 2022 which will move the onus of the cost and liability of recycling from end users, such as municipalities and taxpayers, onto the producer. This will regulate single-use products, packaging, packaging-like products, paper products, and hazardous and special products.
Producers will need to provide a collection and management plan by April 2024 and systems must be operational by April 2025; producers must be registered with the Alberta Recycling Management Authority (ARMA), which will provide oversight of the new EPR systems, and producers are responsible to comply with regulation.
As a municipality, the Town of Drumheller is a key stakeholder in the system and can negotiate with producers to play service delivery role on a contract basis or stay removed from program operations which are provided by outside service providers.
Councillor Patrick Kolafa explained, by October 2026, the Town will be mandated to provide recycling services to dwellings, which will provide curbside collection every two weeks at minimum to single-family dwellings currently receiving curbside recycling.
The Drumheller and District Solid Waste Association (DDSWA), of which CAO Drohomerski and Councillor Kolafa are members of the board, is in the process of making a motion to become a processor and a potential collector of material in the future.
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Director of Infrastructure Services Dave Brett presented a briefing note on the digital procurement platform implementation. Traditionally, bids have been received by the Town through a hard copy; over COVID modifications were made to allow electronic submissions by email.
Mr. Brett explained neither method aligns with current industry practices, and there have been issues with email size restrictions, firewalls, and internet connectivity problems. He noted there have also been substantial increases in the number of bid opportunities over recent years with a total of 32 bid opportunities in 2020, and an expected 75 bid opportunities in 2023 based on approved budgets and needs.
Research was conducted into the purchase of a digital procurement platform to help alleviate some of the workload associated with future bid opportunities, and it was determined Bids&tenders was the best option due to low cost and ease of use. Bids&tenders has also become the industry standard for municipalities and engineering companies and will help streamline the bidding process. Administration approved the purchase of Bids&tenders in February 2023 and it is anticipated the system will go live on June 20 with public communications taking place prior to and after the launch.
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Mr. Brett presented an update on the CN Rails to Trails project. He noted new trail development for this year is focused between 5th Street East near Liquorland to Highway 9/56 near FastGas. The pathway will be connected to the existing intersection to provide a safe pedestrian crossing, and the Plaza Stop will also be a feature at the west end of this project. This is planned for 2024.
Alberta Transportation has agreed to a cost sharing model for required pedestrian crossing upgrades at the 5th Street East and Highway 9/56 intersections and will see crossings on the north and east side of the intersection.
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Council adjourned to a closed session to discuss advice from officials.

Complete minutes from council meetings can be found on
www.drumheller.ca once they have been adopted.

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