Council Overview
Information from Drumheller
Committee of the Whole Council Meeting
Monday, February 1, 2021

CAO Darryl Drohomerski presented his quarterly report. The Town has been working on access and agreements for a civic solar project. They have completed a communications gap analysis and are working with a consultant to develop a work plan to address this. Intermunicipal Collaboration Frameworks were completed and submitted to Municipal Affairs. They are continuing to work on the issue of derelict buildings. COVID-19 was again on the forefront of the Town’s work during Quarter 4. There were 55 residential development permits in 2020 up from 47 in 2019.
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Community Development coordinator Heather Carlson presented the Community Development and Social Planning Department annual report. A new website has been launched for the Community response programs. They are developing a living wage strategy. The Good Food Box program is ongoing and they are developing a poverty reduction coordinator job description. The Adulting 101 program was awarded the FCSS Association of Alberta Award of Excellence. They are working on a partnership with Travel Drumheller, Chamber, and Community Futures on a community and customer service program tentatively named “DrumLIFE.”
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Finance manager Elin Gwinner delivered the Corporate Services year-end report. They have completed the audit and have completed many software updates. Community Development and Social Planning has received 13 grant approvals totalling about $483,000. Infrastructure Services has made two applications for capital grants for asset management training and execution. A STIP grant application has been submitted for airport runway repairs.
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Infrastructure Services director David Brett presented the annual report for his department. The cemetery bylaw and site plan are complete and almost ready to be sent out for tenders. The snow removal policy has been reviewed and updated. Strategic priorities include the town app, and the Rotary Fountain. The 2020 Street Improvement program and the East Coulee lift station projects were completed. Water and wastewater consumption was down compared to the previous year.
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Director of Protective Services Greg Peters presented his annual report. Council approved the continuation of the Hoodoo parking programs. Assessment of options for fire code compliances is ongoing to see how best to adapt to the changing fire codes in regards to inspections. A report will be made to Council in March 2021. The department has entered an agreement with five NAIT students to assist in writing, reviewing, and streamlining the Emergency response plans. They are working on a new traffic bylaw expected to come before council in June 2021. The Health & Safety Manual was completed in 2020 and is a living document.
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Mr. Peters presented an amended fireworks bylaw updated after receiving feedback from stakeholders and the community. Council still had many issues with the draft and wish for more work to be completed.
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Mr. Peters gave a COVID-19 update. Provincial numbers are dropping and last week the Alberta government mapped a strategy to ease restrictions. He said medical professionals are concerned about new variants of the virus.
Manager of Recreation, Art, and Culture Darren Goldthorpe presented his year-end report. Due to COVID -19 and competing priories the Community Recreation Service Level / Facility Utilization Review was not completed in 2020. This has since moved up on the 2021 priority list. They are working with Infrastructure Services on facility condition assessment. Work has begun on a Heritage Art and Culture Strategy. It has been a tough year for recreation facilities and they are awaiting guidance from AHS for reopening.
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Nicole Skiftun presented the human resources quarterly report. They will continue to work on the Customer Service Initiatives Proposal. The Service Innovation Incentive Program has been completed and is being rolled out. The Wellness policy review was completed, they have begun an HR policy review and updating job descriptions.
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Communications Officer Erica Crocker provided the fourth-quarter report for her department. They are completing their Communication action plan, a rebranding was launched earlier in the year, and on February 1 a new www.drumheller.ca website was launched. See story on Page 5.

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

Council Overview
Information from Drumheller
Regular Council Meeting
Monday, January 25, 2021

Mayor Heather Colberg opened the meeting expressing her appreciation that some personal services restrictions were lifted by the Provincial Government.
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Council accepted the minutes from the January 11 regular council meeting.
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Council accepted a motion to extend the leave of absence with pay for Councillor Lisa Hansen-Zacharuk for eight weeks for health reasons.
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Council approved the reappointments of Catherine Bonneville for a three-year term and appointed Robert Graham for a three-year term to the Airport Commission.
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Council agreed to revoke the State of Local Emergency as of January 25. CAO Darryl Drohomerski noted the number of new cases, hospitalizations, and positivity rate across the province have been dropping. Drumheller will continue to abide by the provincial restrictions.
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Council approved a Request for Decision to endorse the use of municipal reserves and environmental reserves lands for the construction and maintenance of flood mitigation berms. Council also adopted a resolution declaring the public will not be adversely affected by the use of municipal and environmental reserves for the construction and maintenance of flood mitigation berms.
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Council passed a resolution to authorize the Chief Resiliency and Flood Mitigation Officer to enter into contracts for the following engineering firms for Projects 1 to 11, (dike design budget and recommend the award of engineering contracts) up to the maximum amounts specified:
Wood PLC - $700,000; Klohn Crippen Berger - $650,000; Kerr Wood Leidal - $400,000; and, the Council of the Town of Drumheller approve a Construction Monitoring Budget for Projects 1 to 11 in the amount of $1,630,000, to be awarded when the design work is complete.
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Council held a Public Hearing for Bylaw 01.21 to change the land designation on a portion of the former public works site from environmental reserve to residential. There is a proposed senior living facility planned for the site. CAO Drohomerski says they don’t expect the hills on the site to be removed. Tracy Morse spoke against the bylaw. She says since the town blocked access on nearby 10 Avenue SW, the alleyway adjacent to the proposed parcel has attracted speeders and criminal activity. As a resident, she enjoys the hills in the area, the wildlife and it is a noise break. John Bruins had questions about the bylaw, but had many of his concerns addressed by learning more about the plans. Mayor Colberg closed the Public Hearing.
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Director of Infrastructure Services Dave Brett presented the 2020 snow removal strategy and maps. He has updated the plan and identified areas where they will be removing service from the strategy immediately or at the end of the season. They have also changed the tolerance of snow from 0 tolerance of accumulations of 2.5 centimetres. Council approved the strategy.
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Council approved Section 3, Policy #3.02.10.11 the Pay and Performance Innovation Incentive Plan. This plan is to engage and reward employees and volunteers to drive continuous changes and innovation in the community and workplace.
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Council went into a closed session to discuss land planning.

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