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Mayor Terry Yemen opened up the meeting by saying congrats for another successful Boogie in the Badlands event held over the weekend.
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A request for the cemetery bylaw amendment was made by Barb Miller. Benefits included one time requests in future council decisions but if not accepted it would fail and restrict council from making those other decisions. The motion was carried to accept the amendment and allow future exemptions to the bylaw.
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An exemption of the cemetery as followed up by a report from last week’s COW meeting was explained. The plan is to store up to 50 urns in a single burial plot after being on site at the Courtney Winters Funeral Home for over 15 years. The Alberta government recently made changes last year to regulations, stating that urns must be dealt with after a year of storage. The funeral home has since asked council about a one time exemption to take care of the urns in a respectable manner. This exemption allows the funeral home to have the urns buried within community, with a single burial. There will be no costs to the town as all costs will be directed to the Courtney Winters Funeral Home like the construction of the concrete vault as well as markers. The exemption was passed.
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Each year Sandstone Manor has specific property taxes that are covered by council to create affordable housing for Drumheller residents. The benefit allows rent to be low and sustainable while creating sustainable building reserves. An agreement was in place to help offset costs. Residents will be notified if council had decided to cancel the levy. A special reserve has been dedicated by the Municipal government for $40,000 towards this. Councillor Jay Garbutt gave a little summary, explaining that revenue is up and the budget is on track for 2017. The idea of solar panels on the roof is currently being mulled over as this eco friendly idea would offset the cost of constant light in the hallways. Garbutt hopes to access some of that reserve to create the project and eventually get the money back through provincial grants.
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An amendment to the Vacation pay policy was addressed. A gap was found in the current policy where the CAO was not included. The new amendment brings the CAO into the same policy of employees where vacation pay cannot be accrued, and to provide council with update. It would fix any potential for ambiguity. The motion carried to amend the vacation pay policy.
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Councillor Pat Kolafa gave a reminder as well as overview about current Canada 150 events in town. The Canada 150 Golfing Community Day did a very good job. The course was basically full from 8 a.m. until 6 p.m. Councillor Tom Zariski said it went very well and everyone had fun. Kolafa reminded council of the Canada 150 picnic and BBQ. They plan to collect 150 food items for The Salvation Army and have 8 teams in the tug of war challenge as to go along with the participACTION 150 playlist. A reminder to also follow the Canada 150 Facebook page and remember to hashtag #DrumCan150
