Council Notes of Regular Meeting of Tuesday, September 3
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Mayor Heather Colberg was not present and deputy mayor Jay Garbutt assumed Mayor Colberg’s role.
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Council unanimously approved a request for decision to approve the purchase of chemical for the Aquaplex and water/ wastewater treatment plants. Two companies submitted eligible quotes and infrastructure services director Dave Brett said awarding three separate purchase orders, for three years would be the most cost efficient and provide protection market changes. Klearwater would provide four products for $485,583 and ClearTech would provide a total of 13 products for the water treatment plants and 3 products for the Aquaplex for a total of $310,061, for a total of $795,644 (estimated annual value of $265,214). Brett said the items will be ordered on a per needed basis by facility employees. Director Brett said he estimated $140,000 would be saved by ordering the chemical on a three year term, compared to on an annual basis as had been done in the past.
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Director of Protective and Emergency Services Greg Peters presented council with information regarding intrusion alarm policy changes by the Alberta RCMP. Police said early last year they would no longer dispatch members to unverified or single-zone alarm warnings because of a drain on working hours and costs. He said so far this year Drumheller RCMP responded to 58 alarm calls, but only three alarms eventually led to a police investigation. In 2018, there were only 8 genuine alarm calls out of 192 total calls. Councillor Fred Makowecki said he believed council should write a letter to the RCMP saying they were disappointed to not have been consulted, and the town should communicate the change to the public. Director Peters said the RCMP had not consulted with municipalities province wide. Chief Administrative Officer Darryl Drohomerski said the intention of this report was to communicate the change to the public. Councillor Tom Zariski said his involvement with community enforcement showed an ongoing issue of officer overtime for the Drumheller RCMP detachment, and said it is an unfortunate but logical step for the RCMP. Councillor Kristyne DeMott said she worries this may make people more likely to take police matters into their own hands. Councillor Garbutt said this is an RCMP decision so he believes the RCMP should be responsible to communicate this. Communications Officer Julia Fielding said an article is ready to be posted online and on the The Drumheller Mail’s town page.

Council Notes
Drumheller Town Council
Regular Council Meeting
Monday, August 19, 2019

Mayor Heather Colberg opened council by thanking the recent movie and TV productions which have filmed in Drumheller this summer.
Councillors Fred Makowecki and Lisa Hansen-Zacharuk were not present at this meeting.
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Council accepted a policy #C-02-19 from the CAO on Relief of Municipal Property Tax on Destructed Improvements, which would allow the town to consider municipal tax relief on properties or improvements that have been destroyed and rendered uninhabitable or unuseable.
Council discussed adding a time limit from the date of the incident to include the entire remaining tax year, plus 90 days. Council also discussed adding a maximum amount or percentage of tax relief, as in its current form it would leave discretion to council to either cancel or refund all or part of a tax. It was noted council discussed this at a previous meeting that the decision up to discretion because municipal tax values can differ widely.
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Council heard a request for decision from Barb Miller, deputy CAO of Drumheller, to develop an intermunicipal development plan which would involve the four surrounding counties (Wheatland, Starland, Kneehill, and Special Areas #2) as a requirement of the Municipal Government Act. It was recommended councillors Tony Lacher and Tom Zariski be appointed to the IDP committee since they already serve on the Municipal Planning Commission.
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Council approved an amended drone policy to say recreational drone use is not permitted on municipal property, where it originally prohibited all recreational use within the entire municipality, which was originally approved last month. Councillor Garbutt recommended a consequence such as a fine be added, with economic development manager Sean Wallace saying this could be added to the Community Standards Bylaw.
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Council heard an update from communications officer Julia Fielding regarding the town’s smart phone app, she said potential developers will be narrowed down this month, and after that a proposal will be brought to council.
Ms. Fielding updated council on work being done on assessing the town’s branding. She said data from surveys and in person interviews has been compiled and will be discussed with those working on the project.
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Council heard an update from Dave Brett, infrastructure director, on work identifying trail and walking path gaps which could be filled. They are creating a map and working with communications to decide how to present a trail system map to the public. Council discussed improving signage on the paths so users can easily find their way throughout the valley.
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