Drumheller Town Council Meetings | DrumhellerMail - Page #19
12062023Wed
Last updateWed, 06 Dec 2023 10am

Council Notes from Committee of the Whole Meeting Monday, February 14, 2022

TownofDrumhellerCrest

Council Overview
Information from Drumheller Town Council Committee of the Whole Meeting
Monday, February 14 (continued)

The Committee was presented with a Strategic Priorities briefing update by the various Town departments.
***
CAO Darryl Drohomerski shared the Drumheller and District Solid Waste Association (DDSWA) board discovered an unfair imbalance with commercial garbage collection in Drumheller. Each of the 15 member municipalities pays a requisition based on population, however, Drumheller’s commercial garbage collection equates to about 50 per cent of total garbage tonnage and was being subsidized by residential customers.
DDSWA passed a motion in December 2021 to begin charging fees missed on commercial garbage and has been working with a collector to implement a fee system for these customers. Letters went out to commercial customers, and this change will take effect April 1.
***
Director of Corporate Finance Maurico Reyes provided an update on the Utility Rate Model terms of reference. This has been drafted, and a Request for Proposal is expected in April; it helps calculate utility revenues between 2023 and 2027 and will assist with reserve planning and budgeting purposes.
***
Human Resources manager Val Lefin provided an update on the Salary Survey. The department is focusing on developing 30 unique jobs and are looking at rural municipalities closer to a larger centre, similar to Drumheller. The survey will provide information about current recruitment challenges and help with negotiations later in the year.
***
Manager of Recreation, Arts and Culture Darren Goldthorpe provided an update on the Recreation Membership Program and marketing. The new membership model was brought before council in December 2021 and was rolled out in January 2022; it has been promoted through social media, print and radio releases, staff engagement, utility bill inserts, and some 2,700 postcards will be mailed out soon.
Mr. Goldthorpe also gave an update on the Badlands Community Facility (BCF) banquet hall. With COVID restrictions easing, they are looking at how to bring events back to the facility; promotional packages have been revamped and promotional material are in the process of being printed.
***
Director of Protective Services Greg Peters noted the Remedial Properties Policy is completed and was passed at the February 7 regular council meeting.
Mr. Peters also provided a COVID update for the Town. The Town is participating in a wastewater COVID analysis by the Universities of Calgary and Alberta, which tests wastewater for COVID-19 mRNA. This data provides insight into the potential for an increase in community cases up to a week in advance.
***
Director of Infrastructure Dave Brett asked the Committee for direction on the next steps of the Beautification program. Beautification work along the Highway 9 corridor has been ongoing for several years; work previously identified is ongoing. Funds for the 2022 program are being carried forward from the 2021 Capital Budget, and no additional funds are being requested. However, Mr. Brett shared he would like to ask council’s direction about the Beautification project becoming an annual program. Feedback would help plan the 10-year Capital budget.
***
Communications officer Erica Crocker shared a staff portal was developed throughout 2021 to have a singular area for policies, procedures, and internal correspondence. There are still some areas under construction, though the portal is operational. An Internal Communications Policy has been drafted and submitted to CAO Drohomerski and Human Resources for review.
***
Community Development and Social Planning (CDSP) manager Tiffany Scarlett presented the Social Needs Assessment. An assessment was conducted in 2017, which helped influence programming choices for the following years, with the intention to conduct the assessment every five years. Due to recent challenges, needs could potentially change, and a new assessment is ready to be distributed.
Ms. Scarlett also presented council with the Wellness Education plan, a new project to support other departments with cross-training and information to advocate for residents where needs are; this can range from delivering difficult information and understanding emotional responses, to advocating for mobility needs during infrastructure construction or upgrades.
***
Economic Development manager Reg Johnston shared the Housing Strategy terms of reference is complete and expected to be released by March 1. This will allow the Town to hire a consultant to assess and position the valley’s residential real estate based on four main focus areas-inventory mix, rental unit availability, affordability, and short-term rentals. A letter of inquiry has been submitted to the Alberta Real Estate Foundations Investment Grant for a $25,000 grant.
Mr. Johnston also presented an update to the Downtown Plaza design review and budget. See story on Page 2.
***
The Committee adjourned to a closed session to discuss Drumheller & District Seniors Foundation and advice from officials for the Drumheller Resiliency and Flood Mitigation activities.

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, February 14, 2022

TownofDrumhellerCrest

Council Overview
Information from Drumheller Town Council
Committee of the Whole Meeting
Monday, February 14, 2022

Mayor Heather Colberg opened the Committee of the Whole meeting.
***
Council members presented the minutes from their various committee and board meetings for approval, including the Drumheller Public Library Board and Drumheller Housing Administration.
***
STARS senior municipal liaison Glenda Farnden provided the Committee of the Whole with an update on the foundation’s efforts. The foundation has identified operational and funding deficiencies throughout the pandemic. To help support fundraising efforts, the foundation continued to hold the STARS Lottery in 2021, which sold out, and the 2022 STARS Lottery is underway.
The mission rate continues to increase year over year, and STARS carries out an average of 21 missions per year in the Drumheller area, representing over $150,000 in annual service value. In 2021, there were a total of 31 missions for critical transfers and scene calls for the Drumheller area.
***
Drumheller and District Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Heather Bitz and President Martina Morrison provided the Committee with an update. The Chamber is governed by a volunteer board of directors; currently, there are 11 board members from various local businesses, along with Town appointed member, Councillor Lisa Hansen-Zacharuk. The Chamber registered 23 new members in 2021 and ended the year with 243 members; in 2020 they finished the year with 242 members.
The Chamber was responsible for administering the Building Enhancement Grant program, previously the Storefront Enhancement Grant and a total of $35,000 in funds were made available through the Chamber, Town, and Community Futures Big Country to support businesses enhancing and modernizing building exteriors or interiors. 10 business projects were supported in 2021; applications for the 2022 program, which has some $40,000 in funding available, closed February 15.
***
Drumheller and District Seniors Foundation (DDSF) Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) Glenda Youngberg provided an update on the foundation. DDSF serves the Town of Drumheller, and Starland County in the villages of Morrin, Munson, and Delia. Drumheller and the cooperative municipalities fund DDSF through requisitions, and some 50 per cent of these requisitions primarily help with debt repayment for the remodelling of Sunshine Lodge in 2003 and construction of Hillview Lodge in 2008; the Sunshine Lodge renovation loan was paid off in August 2021 and the Hillview loan is expected to be paid off by August 2023. The foundation will use part of the requisitions towards the new Sunshine Lodge remodel loan to complete upgrades at Sunshine Lodge to accommodate higher levels of supportive living. This project is still in the pre-construction stage.
***
The Committee was presented with a Strategic Priorities briefing update by the various departments.
***
Strategic Priorities reports will be printed in the Wednesday, February 23 edition of The Drumheller Mail.

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

Council Notes from Committee of the Regular Meeting Monday, February 7, 2022

TownofDrumhellerCrest

Council Overview
Information from Drumheller Town Council Regular Council Meeting
Monday, February 7, 2022

Mayor Heather Colberg opened the regular council meeting and announced there are several upcoming events.
There is a donation drive to support poverty reduction on February 14 between 3 p.m. and 5 p.m. at Canadian Tire; donations will support the Humane Society, Colton’s Place, Salvation Army, among others.
The Community Development and Social Planning department are hosting Family day Unplugged on February 21. Mayor Colberg also thanked those sponsoring the Dry February in support of cancer awareness.
***
Councillor Patrick Kolafa acknowledged February is Black History Month; there will be a Facebook Live event to celebrate Black History Month on February 17 at 5 p.m. with performances and tributes. More information is available on the Town of Drumheller’s social media pages
***
The Flood Mitigation Community Advisory Committee (CAC) presented council with an update to the committee’s activity since it was developed September 30, 2021. CAC’s purpose is to work with the Drumheller Resiliency and Flood Mitigation Office (DRFMO) to learn and understand the Flood Mitigation program and the scope of the project to help guide and enhance engagement between the Town, DRFMO, and the public.
CAC is completely supportive of the Flood Mitigation program. They hold weekly meetings to review input from residents and communication responses, and submit questions to the Alchemy Communications team or DRFMO; members have also listened to community concerns and focused questions directly to the DRMFO, helped direct input from various community engagement sessions, prepared questions and answers for these sessions, and conducted research while working with the community.
***
Director of Protective Services Greg Peters brought the amended Remedial Properties and Derelict Properties policy which was originally presented at the January 24 council meeting. Amendments address redundant wording in the original policy and enhance clarity.
Council adopted the policy as presented.
***
Council adjourned to closed session to discuss roadways information Flood Mitigation local public confidence.

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


The Drumheller Mail encourages commenting on our stories but due to our harassment policy we must remove any comments that are offensive, or don’t meet the guidelines of our commenting policy.