Council Notes
Drumheller Town Council
Regular Council Meeting
Monday, July 9, 2018

Council heard delegations from Russ Watts of Alberta Transportation regarding provincial infrastructure projects in the valley, in a question and answer format. Mayor Heather Colberg asked about whether the median north of the Gordon Taylor Bridge can be removed. Watts said the median is there for pedestrians crossing the highway and to make them more visible to drivers. They said when there is a median, it breaks up the distance pedestrians spend in traffic lanes by giving them a refuge in the middle of the highway. They said there was enough pedestrian traffic as they had studied it in preparation of installing a lit pedestrian crossing there. Councillor Lisa Hansen-Zacharuk said she has heard concern from the community about traffic turning left on Highway 576 causing congestion in the summer. Councillor Jay Garbutt asked what the justification was to place the median there. Alberta Transportation said there was a study done in the late 90s which recommended it for safety concerns and implemented in the mid 2000s. Councillor Garbutt asked if it was done for safety reasons, why would it take so long to implement? Watts said it is not unusual for infrastructure projects to take a number of years between studies and implementation. Councillor Tom Zariski asked whether it was possible to add a double turn lane symbol to the provincial signage on the intersection of Highway 56 and Highway 10 and the delegates acknowledged it was possible. Mayor Heather Colberg asked whether the island on Highway 9 South could have a crossing lane to allow southbound traffic to reach Drumheller Chrysler. Watts said that would be challenging to make work for all intersections on that portion of road, but after some clarification of what council was asking the delegates said they would look into it. Councillor Zariski raised concerns over the condition of Highway 838 near the Royal Tyrrell Museum. Watts said it is not on Alberta Transportations project list but it is ‘getting there.’
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Council held second and third reading of Bylaw 08.18 regarding the Council’s Code of Conduct. The bylaw sets standards and expectations for the conduct of council in public and are required by the Municipal Government Act at the end of July. Councillor Garbutt raised concerns over the definition ‘investigator’ in the case there was a violation of the code, asking council to discuss who would be designated an investigator and suggested their legal counsel. In the past it was council itself who acted as investigator. Councillor Hansen-Zacharuk suggested municipal affairs may be an option. CAO Darryl Drohomerski said the code allows for different options depending on the seriousness of an issue. Council moved unanimously to approve second and third reading of the bylaw.
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Council passed first reading for Bylaw 8.1.2 being a motion to close a portion of 6th Street West. The road has not been used or will not be used in the foreseeable future. Residents near the road had built a deck on town property and this was the ideal solution to the problem for both parties.
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Council made a motion to amend the Community Standards Bylaw in relation to the smoking of tobacco and cannabis products in public. The amendments would prohibit the public consumption of cannabis and also created definitions and prohibition of vaping tobacco in public buildings. Council passed first reading of the bylaw amendment.
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Council made a motion to accept the Public Participation Policy, which outlines the ways council should communicate and participate with the public on issues. The policy was discussed at previous council and committee of the whole meetings. It was passed unanimously.
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Council went in camera to discuss a request from administration to reduce the amount of taxes owed on arrears owing on Roll No. 01032048. Once returned they made a motion unanimously approve the request.
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Council heard third reading of Bylaw 06.18 of the Land Use Bylaw in regards to cannabis legalization. They removed the definition for cannabis cafe as the federal government is unsure how this will look at this time and other municipalities are not including it in their definition. They added designated land use districts which would prohibit cannabis retail stores. They accepted recommendations from the previous public hearing to accept provincial standards of distance of cannabis retail stores from schools and also removed the 300 metre distance required between two cannabis retail stores. Council unanimously passed third and final reading of the bylaw.
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Council made a motion to accept their summer schedule and has reduced the number of meetings in the month of August. The schedule is available on the town’s website, www.dinosaurvalley.com.

Council Notes
Drumheller Town Council
Committee of the Whole Meeting
Tuesday, July 3, 2018

Councillor Kristyne De Mott was sworn in as Deputy Mayor for the months of July and August. She will assume responsibilities of the mayor in the case Heather Colberg is unavailable.
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Council assessed the results from the public participation policy survey which was conducted online and in person last week. The town is preparing to implement this policy at the end of July in accordance with Municipal Government Act requirements. There were over 200 responses. Most respondents wanted to hear feedback online, digitally, and over social media, but there was also significant interest in open houses, radio, and face-to-face interactions.
Councillor Fred Makowecki asked if there was potential to create a Town of Drumheller phone application to communicate with the public. CAO Darryl Drohomerski said this is a possibility, especially in light of the survey results.
Since the survey suggested people preferred open-house and public consultation times to be from 6:30-7:30 p.m., councillor Jay Garbutt said council should consider hosting public hearings at this time rather than at 4:30 at the start of council meetings, as has been traditionally done.
Councillor Tom Zariski suggested there are individuals in this town who have strong networks of communication and they may be a resource to be used by the town to distribute information. CAO Drohomerski voiced concern over individuals skewing or inaccurately relaying information. Councillor Garbutt said council has considered creating ambassadors in the community who attend council meetings and are informed.
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Council heard an update from CAO Drohomerski regarding the stop signs at 7 Avenue SW and 1st Street SW. Last week the stop signs were switched from facing east-west to north-south due to concerns of speeding drivers and council has heard concerns from the community. It was reported by immediate neighbours they were never consulted with by the town. There was also concern that drivers were using different residential streets in the area. CAO Drohomerski said they are considering turning the stop sign into a four-way. The intention is to reduce traffic through residential areas while promoting traffic on main roads. He said studies were conducted which showed 600 vehicles travelled the road daily.
Councillor Makowecki suggested there should be two additional speed bumps on 10 Avenue SW to reduce speeding drivers.
Councillor Garbutt said the decision has not been given enough time to test the change’s effectiveness and suggested the town should monitor traffic flow.
Mayor Colberg said she has heard dozens of concerns from residents and urged administration and council find a solution which was most welcomed by the residents nearby.
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CAO Drohomerski updated council on the water fountain by the World’s Largest Dinosaur. He said the pipes under the fountain are corroding and even starting to disappear due to the corrosive nature of soil there. They have found a company in Alberta to do the specialized work. Administration is creating a tender out to have the work completed as soon as possible, with the hopes to have it fixed by the end of July. Prices are estimated to be in the range of $65,000.
Councillor Zariski suggested a fountain replacement should be placed on a long term capital budget for the town.
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CAO Drohomerski updated council on the Highway 575 culvert, saying work will be started by the province around the end of the July with an estimated timeline of approximately six weeks.