Drumheller Town Council Meetings | DrumhellerMail - Page #78
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Council notes from Committee of the Whole Meeting, Monday, May 8, 2017

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Mayor Terry Yemen opened the meeting with an announcement of ‘Plan, Prepare, Be Aware’ Emergency Preparedness Week from May 7 to May 13.
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The Drumheller’s Farmers Market Vice President James Bagwell presented at the Committee of the Whole Meeting. The local farmers market has been searching for a new venue as the Co-op Mall is hesitant to say how long they will be able to stay. The Farmer’s Market has reached out to Town Council for help on a new location. The Badlands Community Facility (BCF) was mentioned but council will come up with a possible solution in the future.
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Glenda Farman from STARS gave a speech on important new technology introduced in the aircrafts including the 12 Lead ECG, and a Video Laryngoscope which was an “Absolute game changer” for medical personnel in the air.
She mentioned that Universal Blood on Board is now in every aircraft STARS has across western Canada including Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba and “is impacting and saving lives.”
2016 Paralympic athlete Jenn Oakes was named a STARS VIP as she had an accident where stars was able to save her life. She participated in the Rio 2016 Sitting Volleyball Paralympics.
For the first time in 25 years, this was the first year that STARS Home Lottery was threatened to not sell out. Farman said that Albertans really stepped up to the plate when they were in need, selling a bulk of their sales in the last day before the closing date.
Farman mentioned that for that they have been in the air for 32 years with emphasis on the no-service cost to Albertans. A formal letter will be sent in the fall, requesting help from the Town Council. Each year, Town Council has provided $5,000 per capita grant to STARS for their local and provincial help to residents.
Farman explained they continue to wait to hear from the provincial government with possible lobbying for funding from them. She also explained why STARS is not under Alberta Health Services as it is not an insurable service and started out with only fundraising.
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Last Tuesday, the Drumheller Valley Bus Society appointed a new president Connie Funk and Bill Wulff as treasurer. New office manager was appointed as well.
Tara McMillan gave the eight seniors who attended the meeting ‘kudos for coming out.
The board is in the process of making a survey about efficiency and expectations.
The Town pondered possible uses for the bus system but agreed that the town simply doesn’t have the numbers to go public and must have an emphasis on the disabled and elderly.
Councillor Jay Garbutt said that the Valley Bus service is the “most beloved but least efficient.”
There seems to be enough buses but not enough drivers for buses and none so far are willing to work on evenings and weekends.
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Councillor Garbutt brought the Economic Development Budget Amendments to the council’s attention as its last item of the day. The two main points included business attraction and dinosaur theming.
For business attraction, Garbutt wished to ‘leave new business owners saying that was easy’ when leaving to fill out a new business license at the town office.
Manager Ray Romanetz mentioned there was lots of ideas to be reviewed on Wednesday where they will see if everyone is on the same page.
Garbutt mentioned having an addition to Julia for a half-time position. A sales-minded person to cold call but they must figure out what they are selling. Garbutt highlighted the service gaps in town like a lack of lawyers and more attention on seniors. “If you are marketing to everyone you are selling to no one,” said Garbutt. He wants to pinpoint individual businesses that have potential to come to the valley and cater to their unique service.
As for theming, Garbutt emphasised on the ‘Dinosaur Capital of the World’ brand, hoping the concept can be strengthened through signage like garbage and recycling containers with dinosaurs and hoodoo’s. The Town vehicle’s could also be themed. “It costs money but if we have a brand why are we pretending we don’t,” said Garbutt.
Councillor Tom Zariski thought that Coal mining should play a larger role like a possible downtown theme to pay homage to the interesting heritage. 33,000 people visited the coal mine last year compared to 500,000 people visiting the Royal Tyrrell Museum.
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Council Notes from the Regular Council Meeting of Monday, May 3, 2017

 

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Council Notes 

Drumheller Town Council

Regular Council Meeting

Monday, May 1, 2017

 

Councillor Tara McMillan was sworn in as Deputy Mayor for May and June of this year by Mayor Terry Yemen.
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Delegations included presentations from the Drumheller District Senior Foundation (DDSF) and the local Police Committee.
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DDSF CAO Jennifer Krystoff and Board member Tom Zariski presented the housing needs assessment with notable results.
The assessment took Operations, Maintenance, Debt Repayment, and other delegations into account to make up the overall 2017 budget. They surveyed several people within the community. There appears to be a higher and steeper bell curve when looking at the gap between low and high income living.
With the housing market filled with empty homes, rental units are now used for tourist accommodations.
The DDSF is facing many challenges like adequacy, suitability, vacancies and aging facilities with a new vision and goal set in mind to help benefit the residents in Sunshine Lodge and Hillview Manor as well as Continuing Care.
They plan to look at any way to create more efficiency in order to cut costs which was similar to last year. With the minimum wage increase soon to rise to $15 an hour, the current union wages range from $15.83/hour to $20.75/hour and are expected to feel pressure to increase shortly afterwards.
The provincial government no longer offers grants as they turn to co-ownership and urged the DDSF to explore more energy efficient operations. They will have new lighting retrofitted but other than that, no explanation or support from the government on the issue.
Residents are now bypassing the lodge to go straight into continuing care and it takes time to get residents into the proper housing situation.
CAO Krystoff highlighted the small room sizes and half bath situation in the number four and five wing of the Sunshine Lodge, after collecting comments from the survey. She believes the vacancies are linked to the insufficient room sizes. They were built in the 1960’s.
Overall the survey set the bar and allocated responsibilities for the DDSF to work towards in the interest of its tenants.
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As for the attending members of the Police Committee consisting of Chairman Fred Makowecki, Board Member Tom Zariski, and Director of Protective Services Greg Peters; Makowecki presented the 2016 Policing Survey results as well as the new Policy Manual. More than 500 people took part in the survey. He noted a trend of an increase in concerns in property related crime. Makowecki noted that despite the age range the answers were extremely similar.
The community is very unique in the sense they have a say in what the police do.
Makowecki believes everyone should know their neighbour so you know what is considered normal and what isn’t. It can help the police get to the bottom of a situation in a quick time frame.
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Councillor Tara McMillan mentioned the Annual Meeting for the Valley Bus Society will be on Thursday, May 4, 2017 with ‘lots of changes’ like a new office manager.
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Council Notes from the Regular Council Meeting of Tuesday, April 18, 2017

 

 

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Drumheller Town Council
Regular Council Meeting
Tuesday, April 18, 2017

Council passed a motion to change the April 24 Committee of the Whole Meeting to a Special Council Meeting. The purpose of the meeting is to approve the town’s Audited Financial Statements.
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Council was audience to a delegation by Dr. Rithesh Ram. He presented a survey he commissioned on health care in Drumheller and introduced his project of the Riverside Clinic. Construction is underway and he has a long-term goal of bringing 5 to 9 new physicians to the valley over time. His goal is to create a “Patient’s Medical Home” and the clinic will have a pharmacy operated by Ray Ainscough of Riverside Value Drug Mart. The clinic is also looking at offering evening hours.
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Director of Infrastructure Services Darryl Drohomerski provided Council an update on the Aquaplex renovations. He says to expect crews to be on site at the beginning of May. The plan is to open the outdoor pool by May 15, depending on weather, to prepare for the bulk of the shutdown, allowing residents to swim over the summer. A temporary men’s locker room will be opened during the construction.
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Council agreed to a motion to allow Dino Donuts to place their trailer on the South East corner of Rotary Park to operate this season. This comes after the site the vendor occupied last season is no longer available due to the construction for the Aquaplex.
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