Council Overview
Information from Drumheller Town Council Committee of the Whole Meeting
Monday, September 21, 2020

Vance Neudorf of the Badlands Amphitheatre presented to council. Also in attendance were Badlands Amphitheatre president John Bruins and treasurer David Walling. Neudorf said the 2020 Blues and Barbecue sold out all 200 tickets on September 12. It was a tough year for the Badlands Amphitheatre like most in the age of COVID-19. He presented a video on the Badlands Art Centre being created. They are looking to host three seasons including the Passion Play, an events season, and shoulder season with the new art centre. He said he was not here to ask for money but to build partnerships.
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CAO Darryl Drohomerski updated council on a draft of a bylaw to deal with derelict buildings. They began the process of drafting a bylaw, however under the advice of legal counsel, they found they would be able to incorporate regulations into the existing Community Standards Bylaw.
Mr. Drohomerski also discussed marketing Dino merchandise. With the new branding initiative, the town has created merchandise and are going to local retailers in the valley to market these products, and also planning on selling it through the coming new Town of Drumheller website
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Chief Resiliency and Flood Mitigation officer Darwin Durnie updated council on flood mitigation. Design has kicked into high gear and they are working through regulations and approvals as well as geotechnical work. They are also looking at updating its stormwater system including storm ponds. Inspection and assessment of the existing dikes are continuing, and many may see brush cutting over the next few weeks to facilitate inspection. They are also assessing the former rail line from the Clark Hill to the hoodoos, as well as a portion to Rosedale to see if they are suitable for diking. One of its goals is to protect the values of property in the valley and have been in talks with the banking and insurance industry to recognize that if protective measures being put in place by municipalities, those industries may look more favorably at allowing coverage to take place. Securing land acquisition and access agreements continue and Indigenous consultation is underway. Its climate adaptation and greenhouse gas assessments are complete and is in its final review to be submitted to the federal government.
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Council went into closed session to discuss the Badlands Amphitheatre and the flood mitigation project.
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Complete minutes from council meetings can be found at www.drumheller.ca once they have been adopted.

Council Overview
Information from Drumheller
Town Council Regular Meeting
Monday, September 14, 2020

Mayor Colberg announced that the annual clean up began on Monday.
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Council adopted the August 2020 regular council minutes.
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Council approved first reading of Bylaw 17.20, the Municipal Development Plan, and Bylaw 16.20 the Land Use Bylaw. These documents capture modern and innovative approaches to planning. This document places the Red Deer River at the heart of the plan and supplants decades of reactive policies with bold proactive measures that protect the valley, and creates a place to grow and discover. The document places disaster response and the changing climate at the core of its logic and long-term vision. Chief Resiliency and Flood Mitigation Officer Darwin Durnie and Andrew Palmiere of 02 Design led the discussion on the proposed bylaws. The Land Use Bylaw reduces the number of land use districts from 21 to eight, and establishes a flood hazard overlay and the development opportunity overlay. An extensive public consultation program is being planned and Public Hearings have been scheduled for October 26 before the second readings of the bylaws.
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Durnie updated Council on flood mitigation. Last week they met with seven of their consultants to discuss an overview of its original plan to get to the design phase, and this week they are updating fieldwork. They are contacting landowners to gain access to do preliminary information gathering. This will continue over the next few weeks. Property acquisition has been ongoing and this week they will be making offers on some parcels, and others are being assessed. They have sought 56 access agreements and 17 have been secured. They have done some work with banks and insurance agencies to work through a write up to be added to the campaign. “It is extremely important for people to understand that whether it is on the old mapping or the new mapping, we are trying to create protected zones for the entire neighborhoods and it isn’t just necessarily the homes along the river,” he said.
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Manager of recreation Darren Goldthorpe presented a revised Request for Decision for the Drumheller Dragons Abatement and Free Restructuring. He explained when council originally approved the Request for Decision, all the financial reports had not been reviewed and the dollar figures in the request were not correct. The program proposed this season the Dragons would receive a 100 per cent reduction in fees. In year two, there would be a 75 per cent reduction, year three would see a 50 per cent reduction, year four would see a 25 per cent reduction, and the fifth year there would be no reduction. The original estimated cost over four years was about $66,000. By using the figure of up to $50,000 per season, the cost would be up to $125,000 over four years. Council approved the revised Request for Decision.