Council Overview
Information from Drumheller
Drumheller Council Meeting
Monday, March 22, 2021

Mayor Heather Colberg announced the March 29 Committee of the Whole Meeting is cancelled.
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Council adopted the minutes from the March 8 Regular Council Meeting.
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Council rescinded Motion M2021.53, its operational budget from last week due to a procedural error. Council then adopted the 2021 Tax Supported Operating Budget having a municipal requisition of $9,008,330, along with the 2022-2024 Tax Supported Financial Plan. This is a zero percent increase in the tax requisition.
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CAO Darryl Drohomerski introduced Mauricio Reyes as the new Director of Corporate Services for the Town of Drumheller.
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Council approved of a motion to extend a leave of absence with pay for eight weeks for Councillor Lisa Hansen-Zacharuk due to medical reasons.
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Council approved the appointment of Arthur Erickson to the Municipal Planning Commission for a three-year term expiring March 2024. He has served on the Village of Wabamun Municipal Council from 2006-2009 and 2013-2017 as well as many boards, committees, and commissions during those terms.
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Chief Resiliency and Flood Mitigation Officer Darwin Durnie provided an update to the project. They are continuing to meet with the federal government to discuss the project, and continue to lobby the provincial government on changes to the Disaster Recovery Program. They are in discussion with utility providers to identify their emergency response plans. They are continuing with their tree program and working with the Drumheller Institution with the tree farm. They are grubbing roots and stumps along the river. He said these have to be removed because dikes cannot be built or reinforced on top of organic material. Property owner discussions are continuing with affected landowners. An assessment has begun on the CN Rail right of way, to see whether they are stable enough to be used as flood embankments.
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CAO Darryl Drohomerski updated council on the COVID-19 situation. On Monday, the province announced it was not moving forward with Step 3 of their reopening, because of rising COVID-19 rates. Drumheller is number 3 in the province in cases per 100,000, and clarified numbers the Drumheller Institution are indeed included in the community numbers. He reminded residents to remain vigilant and respect the fact that COVID-19 is not going away any time soon.
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Council held a Public Hearing for Bylaw 03.21. This is to change the boundary of the Environmental Reserve. This will allow a home at 149 10th Ave SE to meet yard setbacks without significant variances. There were no submissions from the public on the bylaw, and the hearing was closed.

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

Council Overview
Information from
Drumheller Council Meeting
Monday, March 15, 2021

March 15 Special council meeting

Council passed first and second reading of the 2021 tax-supported Operating Budget, having a municipal requisition of $9,008,330.00, along with the draft 2022 -2024 tax-supported financial plan, amended to balance the 2022-2024 financial statement using amortization. The budget is proposing a zero percent tax increase. The COVID-19 pandemic had an impact on operations revenue and expense with many facilities closed for a portion of 2020 and 2021.

March 15 committee of the whole meeting

CAO Darryl Drohomerski presented a draft of a 2021 election package. The town has created a candidate package to guide people who are interested in running for council. It explains what the position entails. This includes rules and responsibilities, time commitments, and committee appointments. When complete town intends to post it to the Town of Drumheller website.
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Mr. Drohomerski presented a request for direction. They plan to introduce a Meeting Procedures Bylaw, to repeal the former Council Procedure Bylaw. The draft removes a large portion of Council conduct content intending to include it in an updated Council Code of Conduct. Councillor Jay Garbutt was concerned with the removal of meeting procedure elements and suggested a committee be struck to address the changes.
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Chief resiliency and Flood Mitigation Officer Darwin Durnie provided an update on the project. Consultation with landowners continues, and they are in the process of completing design work. The office met with realtors to keep them updated on the project. This week a substantial amount of tree work was undertaken along the river.
Durnie explained the province is enacting changes to the Disaster Recovery Program. Going forward the cost borne through a disaster will be split 90-10 with the province. The province is also implementing a $500,000 limit per homeowner application and a limit of a one-time application. This means if your home is damaged and you apply to the program for any amount, you are not able to apply ever again, even in another disaster situation. Durnie says this is a big concern for landowners and the community. Mayor Colberg has drafted a letter to the Minister of Municipal Affairs to express the town’s concerns. Durnie addressed concerns council was “under a gag order.” He explained the office has to work with individuals affected with integrity, but not in a public forum. This allows individual landowners to work directly with the office through themselves or their legal representation to make their own decisions. This is a thoughtful engagement in consideration of the landowners.
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Director of Protective Services Greg Peters provided an update on COVID-19. On Monday, March 15, Phase 2A of the province’s vaccine rollout began. There have been some delays for residents booking appointments and they are asked to be patient. Provincially there were 364 new cases on Monday. There are 57 cases among inmates at the Drumheller Institution and 74 in the community on the AHS website. He explained these numbers are independent of each other.

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