Council Notes
Drumheller Town Council
Committee of the Whole Meeting
Monday, February 11, 2019
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Council heard results from communications officer Julia Fielding regarding online survey results for recycling options. Regarding curbside recycling, 72 per cent of 855 online respondents were in favour, with 54 per cent in favour of alternate week pick up and 40 per cent in favour of weekly collection. Respondents were nearly split 50/50 on whether there should be commingled collection or sorted collections. Organic waste collection was a split issue, with 35 per cent in favour, 28 not in favour, and 32 per cent saying it would depend on the cost. Most people were in favour of paying between $8-11 per month for the service. Councillor Jay Garbutt asked if there was an estimate for operational costs of a program. CAO Darryl Drohomerski said there was variability whether it was weekly or biweekly pickup, and comingled or sorted, and said the $8-11 was close to what they were looking at. Councillor Garbutt asked what the capital investment costs would be, with Mr. Drohomerski saying it would depend on the system used, but cited additional costs for purchasing bins and increased staff for sorting. Councillor Tom Zariski said the results were good but council would need more statistical and cost estimate information from administration to move forward with a decision, with Mr. Drohomerski agreeing. Mayor Heather Colberg said she spoke to a mayor of another town which recently switched and they saw an increase in recycling having to go to the landfill because it was contaminated, as well as additional staff to educate and enforce proper recycling, and said the town should look carefully at options going forward.
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Director of Protective Services Greg Peters brought ideas for paid parking at the Hoodoo tourist site. He said at least two staff would be required to collect funds at the site if council wanted to collect from paid parking that way. He said a traffic plan would be needed to ensure traffic isn’t backed up onto the highway. He estimated a cost of $15,000 - $18,000 for staff and to purchase digital fund collection machines. Councillor Fred Makowecki asked if there would be issue to blocking access to a provincial site, with Councillor Garbutt saying individuals are legally allowed to refuse to pay but most people would willingly pay a nominal fee to a valuable service. CAO Drohomerski said the paid parking would be introduced at the Hoodoo site as a pilot test. Councillor Garbutt said if the potential revenue is not at least double to operating costs then he wondered why they would pursue the project. CAO Drohomerski said the site gets about 200,000 visitors and estimated 500-1,000 on a Saturday, and with an estimate of $2 per car with a ballpark of four people in each car, would generate much more than the startup costs over the summer. An estimate of $200,000 was provided by CAO Drohomerski to refurbish both the washrooms and the parking lot there, with a plan in place to increase the size of the parking lot. Council gave approval to move forward with the pilot project.
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Mr. Peters presented a draft of a Public Behaviour Bylaw which included prohibitions not included in the existing Community Standard Bylaw, which includes bullying, cannabis and tobacco consumption, bullying, fighting, loitering, and public defecation offences. Councillor Garbutt asked to see fines for public consumption of cannabis and tobacco increased to be similar to other rates included in the bylaw (they were drafted at $50 for first offences and $100 subsequently).
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CAO Drohomerski presented a draft of the Tourism Corridor Property Standards bylaw, which would set higher appearance and upkeep standards for properties along busy tourist routes in Drumheller. Areas in Drumheller would be divided into either ‘Priority 1 or 2 areas,’ which were not included in the draft bylaw provided but included areas like downtown and major highways coming into town. Highlights include a shortened time period for property owners to correct unsightly premises, property owners to ensure waste is properly contained and regularly collected, and increased standards for maintaining grass and weeds. CAO Drohomerski said affected property owners will be notified and communicated with. Councillor Hansen-Zacharuk voiced concern over the drafted fine of $500 for first time offences on business’ who were victim of graffiti, saying often removing graffiti can be costly for property owners, with CAO Drohomerski taking note.
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Councillor Makowecki brought two items for discussions from his role with the Drumheller and District Solid Waste Management Committee: SAEWA (Southern Alberta Energy from Waste Association) membership and Extended Producer Responsibility. He suggested the town express their non-interest in encouraging DDSWM’s membership to SAEWA due to increased costs, questionable evidence the program is more environmentally friendly, and that the Drumheller landfill still has 50 years of life left. He presented a letter from the mayor of Acme and encouraged council send a letter of support to the initiative. The EPR framework incentivizes producers to create more recyclable materials.
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Mayor Heather Colberg brought a discussion forward over the accounts receivable policy on delinquent accounts, over concerns that funds were not being collected or that the policy was not being followed. After a discussion in open council, a motion was made to move in camera.
