Council Overview
Information from Drumheller Town Council
Regular Council Meeting
Monday, May 1, 2023

Drumheller Mayor Heather Colberg opened the meeting and made some opening remarks regarding the East Coulee Springfest, May 6 and 7.
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Drumheller Resiliency and Flood Mitigation Office (DRFMO) technical advisor Mark Steffler presented council with a construction services scope change for the Newcastle berm project for Klohn Crippen Berger. Council previously approved a budget of $245,126.50 in August 2022 which would cover 14 weeks of construction inspection and administration for the project. There were some delays in receiving regulatory approvals and access which has caused delays of approximately 13 weeks, resulting in an additional $179,684.50 excluding GST, which includes additional design scope, construction inspection, and vibration monitoring and property inspections.
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Mr. Steffler also presented a construction services scope change for the Midland berm project. Council approved $275,741.50 in August 2022 for the project, which was estimated to cover 16 weeks of construction inspection and administration. Delays have resulted in an estimated 11 weeks of additional work and an additional request of $146,628.50 excluding GST. Similar to the Newcastle berm scope change, this includes additional design scope, construction inspection, vibration monitoring and property inspections, as well as a water main break.
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Director of Corporate and Community Services Mauricio Reyes presented council with the 2023 Property Taxation bylaw. He explained this bylaw is based on the 2023 budget, which council passed in December 2022, and the 2022 assessment roll based on market value established on July 1, 2022 and the physical condition of the property as of December 31, 2022.
Residential assessment values increased by $33.1 million in 2023, representing about a five per cent increase over the previous year; non-residential properties increased by $5.5 million, about 2.5 per cent. Both assessment values increased mostly due to market value changes.
Mr. Reyes noted residential ratepayers will seen an average increase of 2.9 per cent in 2023 and non-residential ratepayers will see an increase of about 3.8 per cent.
The combined residential mill rate of 11.86862 is actually down from the previous year of 12.10984; the combined non-residential mill rate is up slightly from 19.15279 to 19.41480.
Council gave unanimous consent to hold all three readings and passed the 2023 Property Taxation Bylaw.
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Manager of Recreation, Arts, and Culture Darren Goldthorpe presented council with an update to the Community Assistance Policy. The current policy was adopted in 2018 and has not been reviewed since then, and several updates were recommended including defining eligibility and adding groups may only submit one application per year, and what items are and are not eligible for funding, along with simplifying the application and the requirements.
Council approved the revised Community Assistance Grant policy.
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Council adjourned the meeting to a closed session to discuss third-party contracts.

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

Council Overview
Information from Drumheller Town Council Regular Council Meeting
Monday, April 3, 2023

Drumheller Mayor Heather Colberg opened the meeting and announced the 20-20 Challenge has begun; this is to challenge residents to take 20 minutes each day to help clean up the community in the 20 days leading up to Earth Day on Saturday, April 22.
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Drumheller Resiliency and Flood Mitigation Office project director Deighen Blakely presented amendments on expropriation documents which were previously approved by council. When these documents were submitted to the Land Titles office there were some concerns around wording for legal land descriptions for two parcels in Newcastle.
Ms. Blakely also brought forward amendments for another document for expropriation of a parcel in East Coulee; although this document has not been rejected by the Land Titles Office this is being done preemptively as a housekeeping item.
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Manager of Economic Development Reg Johnston presented council with the Drumheller Housing Strategy final report. This is a 10-year plan which is a living document, and aims to deliver increased housing choice, supply, diversity, and affordability.
Based on community engagement sessions previously held, the Town’s population is anticipated to grow to between 8,846 and 9,032 people by 2031, with about 25 per cent of the population being seniors.
Mr. Johnston shared there are some actionable items which have been prioritized. This includes diversifying the type of housing available, regulating short term vacation rentals, and prioritizing Town-owned land for residential development. Some of these actionable items are already in progress, and the goal is to have the high priority action items completed by 2025.
There are some funding streams the Town could utilize from both federal and provincial governments, including a portion of the $4 billion federal Housing Accelerator Fund which will open in June 2023 and allow municipal governments to fast track the creation of 100,000 new homes across the country.
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Capital project manager Kelcie Wilson presented council with a request to defer the Water, Wastewater Treatment Plant Master Plan, which was scheduled to be conducted this year, until 2025.
It was also recommended to, in its place, conduct the Water Master Plan and reallocate $25,000 of funding from the North Drumheller River Crossing - Water Main capital project, which was approved in 2022 and completed under budget, in order to bridge funding gaps.
Council unanimously approved the project change and reallocation of funding.
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The meeting was adjourned to a closed session.

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