Council gave first reading to Bylaw 09.25 - Downtown Berm Riverside East Removal of Land Designation, and set the public hearing date for Monday, May 5.
Part of the east end of the Downtown Berm, along Riverside Drive East near 3 Street East, is currently located on a Municipal Reserve and, in order to comply with the requirements of the flood mitigation funding agreement, this designation must be removed and redesignated as a Public Utility Lot (PUL) at a future date.
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Council gave all three readings to Bylaw 10.25 Downtown Berm Riverside West Land Designation to designate a portion of land occupied by the Downtown Berm located east of the Badlands Community Facility as a PUL.
Council also gave all three readings to Bylaw 11.25 Michichi Creek East Berm Land Designation to create three PULs on land occupied by the Michichi East Berm located along the Red Deer River.
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Council gave first and second reading to Bylaw 17.25 Amending Bylaw 04.21 Council and Committee Procedure.
Due to amendments to the Local Authorities Elections Act and the Municipal Government Act (MGA) in October 2024, requiring that Council hold public hearings pertaining to planning and development electronically, it is required this change be enacted by no later than April 30, 2025. The amending bylaw is necessary to facilitate this change.
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Council approved the appointment of Councillor Tony Lacher to sit on the Red Deer River Municipal Users Group (RDRMUG) and Mayor Heather Colberg to sit on the Drumheller and District Chamber of Commerce (DDCC) boards until the 2025 Organizational Meeting or until Councillor Lisa Hansen-Zacharuk is able to return.
Councillor Hansen-Zacharuk was granted a leave of absence in January 2025, which was extended in March 2025 due to medical reasons.
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Council directed administration to seek approval from the Ministry of Public Safety and Emergency Services to form its own Municipal Policing Committee for the Town.
Administration will write a letter to the Minister requesting the Town create its own committee. The Town will begin drafting an updated terms of reference in anticipation of approval from the Minister, with an anticipated deadline of August 1, 2025.
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Council awarded the construction portion of the 2025 Street Improvement Program (SIP) to Grindstone Paving and Excavating Ltd for a total of $529,720.43 excluding GST. Council approved the reallocation of the remaining $355,414.59 in the budget to the 6 Avenue Extension project to ensure completion without drawing from reserves.
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Council awarded the 6 Avenue Road Connection project to East Butte Contracting Ltd as the lone compliant bidder for a total budget of $1,688,014.59 excluding GST.
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Council approved the procurement of a hook truck from Haul-All Equipment for the sum of $290,698.53 excluding GST.
The total budget was initially $315,000 and cost savings of $24,301.47 will remain in the Light Fleet Program due to some uncertainty with vehicle prices due to the ongoing trade war with the U.S.
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Council gave all three readings to Bylaw 18.25 Supplementary Property Tax.
The general tax levy is levied in the spring and is based on annual assessments prepared as of December 31 of the previous year. It does not consider the portion of properties constructed and completed after December 31 of the previous year and accounts for improvements completed after December 31.

Council gave third and final reading to Bylaw 13.25 2025 Municipal Election Bylaw. This will establish modifications to the election process during the upcoming 2025 Municipal Election on October 20, as determined by Council and as permitted under the Local Authorities Election Act (LAEA).
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Council gave second and third reading to Bylaw 33.24 Lehigh Road Closure. First reading was held in October 2024 with a public hearing in November 2024, after which it was sent to Alberta Transportation for review. Approval was returned on February 25, 2025.
This will close all roadways in the Lehigh community as per the Drumheller Flood Mitigation Project; the Town is currently restoring land in the neighbourhood to its natural state and transforming it into an Environmental Reserve, including the removal of utilities and old roadways.
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Council approved an eight-week extension to Councillor Lisa Hansen-Zacharuk’s leave of absence due to medical reasons. This will extend Councillor Hansen-Zacharuk’s leave of absence to May 5, 2025.
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Council awarded the Managed IT Services contract to Reality Bytes Incorporated for a five-year term with the potential of two one-year extensions.
Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) Darryl Drohomerski explained the previous contract with Reality Bytes Inc. expired on January 31, 2025, and the Town has since renewed the agreement month-to-month. A Request for Proposal was issued in February, and 74 suppliers expressed interest with 17 formal submissions received. Following evaluation, it was determined based on technical and cost assessments the top three providers were Reality Bytes Inc, iTopia Corporation, and The iTeam Ltd, with Reality Bytes receiving the highest score among these.
The IT Managed Services contract has an annual cost of $177,600, with an expected two per cent annual increase for the life of the contract.
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Council gave all three readings to Bylaw 14.25 Line of Credit Borrowing Bylaw, repealing Bylaw 01.23 Authorization for Borrowing Bylaw.
Director of Corporate and Community Services and Chief Financial Officer Victoria Chan explained the Nacmine and Rosedale-Scarlett berms require authorization from Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO), which requires a financial guarantee by the Town of $213,803.60 for work that will be completed. This guarantee is considered a form of financial security, much like a performance bond. The total borrowing requirement includes two letters of credit totaling $310,000 per the DFO request.
This financial guarantee may need to be in place for up to five years; however, Ms. Chan noted funds are typically released in a two to three-year period provided habitat offsetting work has been successful. A similar letter of credit was required by DFO in 2023 for work near Willow Estates and the Flood Mitigation Office is expected to request a release in spring 2025.
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Council gave all three readings to Bylaw 16.25 Supplementary Assessment, repealing Bylaw 13.24 Supplementary Assessment. Ms. Chan explained the Town levies taxes twice a year for properties that have been destructed or constructed and completed within the first six months of a given year. To ensure fairness and equity amongst all properties, a supplementary tax levy is issued each year to account for improvements completed after December 31 and only applies to the period from completion to the end of the year.
In 2024, the Town reassessed additional taxes of $2,209.30 for residential and $122,364.69 for commercial properties; administration estimates an additional $5,000 to $6,000 in property taxes due to reassessment for 2025.
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Council approved the extension of the contract with Wild Rose Assessment Services for five years ending March 31, 2030 and appointed Riley Kloss as the designated assessor for the Town.
The contract includes a rate of $20.25 per parcel.