Council Overview
Information from Drumheller Town Council Regular Council Meeting
Monday, August 28, 2023
Drumheller Mayor Heather Colberg opened the meeting and made some opening remarks.
Councillor Crystal Sereda reminded residents of The Salvation Army Stuff the Bus event on Thursday, August 31 (see story Page 6).
Mayor Colberg informed listeners the scheduled council meeting on Monday, September 11 will be held in closed session to discuss Parks and Recreation department planning.
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Council gave consent to hold all three readings to convert land in the Rosedale floodway area, which were purchased by the Town through the flood mitigation program, to Environmental Reserve.
Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) Darryl Drohomerski explained these lands will remain free and clear of any structures, and by making this land conversion it will prevent any future councils or administrations from changing the land use or selling the lands for development purposes, such as campgrounds.
Council passed all three readings for both the Rosedale District and West Rosedale land conversion to Environmental Reserve.
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Council gave second and third reading to the Midland Road Closure Bylaw.
CAO Drohomerski explained this is to close the road right of way, from the edge of the Red Deer River to the edge of the berm along North River Drive in Midland. This will not impact the paved surfaces of North River Drive and is similar to other right of way closures, including Riverside Drive.
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Council passed a motion to provide tax relief for destructed improvements at 200 Railway Avenue East, the former Active Glass building.
CAO Drohomerski explained the building was destroyed in a fire on April 30 of this year, and the property owner has requested a reduction in the improvement portion of the property tax bill from May 1 to December 31 due to this. It was noted a similar process has been done in the past for other destructed improvements. This will result in a reduction of approximately $1,090 for the 2023 property tax year; the property owner will still be responsible for an estimated $2,635 of the remaining municipal portion of the tax notice.
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Council approved removal of 23 poplar trees in the Centennial Park area which were identified as a potential safety risk by a third-party arborist following an inspection.
This will result in an estimated cost of $18,000 for removal, plus additional costs for replanting; the replanting costs are not known at this time.
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Drumheller RCMP Detachment Commander Staff Sergeant Rob Harms presented council with the April 1 to June 30, 2023 quarterly RCMP update.
He shared the RCMP will be holding a barbecue on Thursday, August 31 to commemorate its 150th anniversary (see story Page 3).
S/Sgt Harms introduced two new officers who have joined the Drumheller detachment--Corporal Isaac Chung, who has served in several Indigenous communities in Manitoba, as well as the Ponoka region, and will serve in a supervisory capacity; and Constable Andrew Clark who joined the detachment from northern Alberta earlier in August with a background in traffic enforcement.
S/Sgt Harms also provided information to council about the detachment’s 2023-2024 fiscal year priorities and some of the various initiatives the detachment is undertaking, which includes holding a total of 13 checkstop operations year to date.
Complete minutes from council meetings can be found onwww.drumheller.ca once they have been adopted.
