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Council Notes from the Regular Council meeting of Monday, August 19, 2019

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Council Notes
Drumheller Town Council
Regular Council Meeting
Monday, August 19, 2019

Mayor Heather Colberg opened council by thanking the recent movie and TV productions which have filmed in Drumheller this summer.
Councillors Fred Makowecki and Lisa Hansen-Zacharuk were not present at this meeting.
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Council accepted a policy #C-02-19 from the CAO on Relief of Municipal Property Tax on Destructed Improvements, which would allow the town to consider municipal tax relief on properties or improvements that have been destroyed and rendered uninhabitable or unuseable.
Council discussed adding a time limit from the date of the incident to include the entire remaining tax year, plus 90 days. Council also discussed adding a maximum amount or percentage of tax relief, as in its current form it would leave discretion to council to either cancel or refund all or part of a tax. It was noted council discussed this at a previous meeting that the decision up to discretion because municipal tax values can differ widely.
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Council heard a request for decision from Barb Miller, deputy CAO of Drumheller, to develop an intermunicipal development plan which would involve the four surrounding counties (Wheatland, Starland, Kneehill, and Special Areas #2) as a requirement of the Municipal Government Act. It was recommended councillors Tony Lacher and Tom Zariski be appointed to the IDP committee since they already serve on the Municipal Planning Commission.
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Council approved an amended drone policy to say recreational drone use is not permitted on municipal property, where it originally prohibited all recreational use within the entire municipality, which was originally approved last month. Councillor Garbutt recommended a consequence such as a fine be added, with economic development manager Sean Wallace saying this could be added to the Community Standards Bylaw.
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Council heard an update from communications officer Julia Fielding regarding the town’s smart phone app, she said potential developers will be narrowed down this month, and after that a proposal will be brought to council.
Ms. Fielding updated council on work being done on assessing the town’s branding. She said data from surveys and in person interviews has been compiled and will be discussed with those working on the project.
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Council heard an update from Dave Brett, infrastructure director, on work identifying trail and walking path gaps which could be filled. They are creating a map and working with communications to decide how to present a trail system map to the public. Council discussed improving signage on the paths so users can easily find their way throughout the valley.
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Council Notes from the Regular Council meeting of Monday, July 22, 2019

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Council Notes
Drumheller Town Council
Regular Council Meeting
Monday, July 22, 2019

Councillor Fred Makowecki requested an in camera personnel matter be added to the end of the agenda.
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Mayor Heather Colberg opened council by proclaiming the week of July 21 to 27 National Drowning Prevention Week.
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Council heard a request for decision from Director of Corporate Services Barb Miller regarding a Habitat for Humanity land donation of lot at 102 and 104 Poplar Street. Council moved to accept the transfer of the lots at no cost to the town and to add them into the land inventory. A spokesperson from Wildrose Assessments spoke regarding a question.
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Council approved a policy which would provide a municipal property tax relief on ‘destructed improvements’ which are buildings or other material that has been destroyed or rendered uninhabitable or unuseable due to extenuating circumstances such as fire. Council heard from a representative from Wildrose Assessments to field questions regarding dates of assessment on the property. Council members noted there was some missing gaps in the policy and recommended it be brought back with further additions.
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Council approved a request for decision to award a contract for construction on the East Coulee Lift Station, awarding the project to Knibb Development Ltd. for $1,064,024 which was over $73,000 lower than the pre-tender estimate. In total three proposals were received. The work would replace existing infrastructure to connect with the water treatment infrastructure there, and the work will complete major water infrastructure projects in East Coulee.
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Council heard a request for decision from Economic Development Manager Sean Wallace to obtain authority to use real estate brokerages for the sale of properties valued less than $250,000. The request says the use of real estate brokers for their expertise and “to list and market properties allows staff to manage the sale of a large portfolio of properties simultaneously.” It would require negotiating a commission fee and entering into listing agreements with selected brokerages, which would be chosen from a roster of authorized real estate brokers. The policy also allows the town to enact land transactions more quickly.
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Council reviewed a Drone Use policy presented by Economic Development Manager Sean Wallace. Wallace said the town has received many requests to fly drones, but saying only licensed operators can currently fly in Drumheller because of the airport. He said the policy protects the public’s privacy by restricting drone use to commercial drone flying which would require a permit from the town, while also providing citizens recourse for privacy violations caused by drones. The policy was approved by council.
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Council heard a review of strategic priorities from members of administration. Infrastructure director Dave Brett said work is being done to collect data on and identify walking trail gaps in the municipality. Protective service director Greg Peters gave an update on the dog park and said the opening is this Friday. Communications officer Julia Fielding said they are sending out a survey to gather information on dino brand standards to get stories and ideas from people about branding the town for marketing. Economic development manager Sean Wallace said they’ve received proposals from a number of companies to create a downtown development strategy, with plans to start work in September this year.
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Council heard quarterly reports from administration, including reports from CAO Drohomerski, corporate services director Barb Miller, infrastructure director Dave Brett, protective services director Greg Peters, economic development manager Sean Wallace, and recreation, arts, and culture manager Darren Goldthorpe. Councillors also provided their quarterly reports, all of which are available at the town’s website, dinosaurvalley.com.
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Council moved in camera to discuss a personnel issue and an economic development report.

Council Notes from the Regular Council meeting of Monday, July 8, 2019

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Council Notes
Drumheller Town Council
Regular Council Meeting
Monday, July 8, 2019

Council heard a delegation from Palliser Regional Municipal Services’ Jeff Laurien requesting an extension regarding a property subdivision which requires council’s approval. They wish to receive an extension of one year from June 18, 2019 to June 18, 2020 to register a subdivision which was approved by council. An application sent earlier this year was incomplete and information is still required by the applicant’s agent. Council approved the extension.

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Council heard a summary of the Roger Brooks presentation at the end of June, when the town had the tourism and downtown development specialist speak in Drumheller. Roger Brooks’ team conducted a secret shopper-like program which survey tourism aspects of the area. Recommendations include improving signage, increasing the number of leisure activities for tourists to do in order to keep them in Drumheller longer, and improving Drumheller’s web presence.

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Council unanimously approved the second and third reading of Bylaw 09.19 to amend Land Use Bylaw 10.08 to redesignated part of L.S. 7, S-19-T28-R19-W4 from an Agricultural district to Country Residential District. A public hearing was held at the previous council meeting.

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Council heard a request for decision from Director of Corporate Service’s Barb Miller on Council Policy C#-02-19 regarding the relief of municipal tax on destructed improvements, which would provide relief from municipal taxes to buildings or improvements which were destroyed by extenuating circumstances, such as fire. The request had previously been heard by council but was tabled because of additional information requested by councillor Lisa Hansen-Zacharuk. The information was not present in this new item so it was tabled for the next council meeting.

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Council heard an update regarding the fountain and outdoor pool from Director of Infrastructure Dave Brett. He made a recommendation to only run the fountain on the remaining two long weekends due to significant water loss. The projected water loss for 2019 is $37,378. Water seepage has caused the ground to start shifting and could damage nearby infrastructure. Councillor’s Jay Garbutt, Tom Zariski, and Lisa Hansen-Zacharuk voiced support of stopping operations of the fountain, except for long weekends. A brief discussion was held over what the town’s next steps would be, including generating a request for proposal for a replacement or modification to the fountain, ideally for next summer, and placing proper signage alerting the public that a new replacement is coming. The town is also looking to hire local contractors to repair cracked pipe issues with the outdoor pool.

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Council approved a request for decision from Greg Peters, Director of Protective Services, regarding medical first responder training for Drumheller fire department members so they are able to provide some medical support when responding to calls. The fire department has seen an increase in medical related calls.

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