Council Overview
Information from Drumheller Town Regular Council Meeting
Monday, January 24, 2022

Mayor Heather Colberg opened the meeting and thanked the public for providing input with the Downtown Dike D engagement.
She noted council has been receiving letters from concerned citizens about Alberta Health Services ambulance shortages and shared there is a local standing committee involved who are working to address this issue; those interested in writing a letter can contact Bob Sheddy.
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Director of Corporate Financial Services Mauricio Reyes presented 2022 Capital Budget and 10-year Capital Plan; this was previously presented during the Committee of the Whole meeting on Monday, January 17 and is being brought forward for consideration and approval.
There is a total of 43 capital projects proposed in the 2022 Capital Budget totalling $10.7 million to maintain or enhance current service levels. Some of these projects will be completed in coordination with Flood Mitigation projects, though are not part of the Flood Mitigation program.
Council adopted the 2022 Capital Budget and 10-year Capital Plan as presented.
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Mr. Reyes presented the Provincial Education Requisition Credit (PERC); this is a provincial tax credit the Town applied for on January 13 due to uncollected taxes on which the Education Requisition was already paid to the province. Along with the PERC, the Town has also applied to claim the uncollected tax amounts as a separate application. These required approval from council.
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Flood Mitigation project director Deighen Blakely presented an updated Land Acquisition Policy to council and requested direction as the Flood Mitigation Office is still pending correspondence from the province on the proposed changes.
This was originally brought before council for approval in January 2020 and encompasses the buyout of properties for flood mitigation works or properties in the flood plain. The policy was originally two separate documents-policy and procedure-and has been reduced to one document to provide additional clarity.
Some job titles within the original document, such as the Chief Resiliency and Flood Mitigation Officer, required updating to reflect the recent change in the Flood Mitigation Office’s management team.
To date, some $5.4 million has been spent of the allotted $20 million grant for land acquisitions to the end of October 2021-this includes some $4.7 million in purchasing a total of 11 properties and an additional $668,000 on administrative fees for legal, appraisal, and land agent fees.
Council noted within this policy both the Government of Canada and the Alberta Government have made contingencies regarding how properties acquired under the flood mitigation program can be used-as Environmental Reserve or as natural infrastructure such as dikes; lands acquired cannot be used to build other residential buildings, campgrounds, or unnatural infrastructure like walls, bridges, or concrete barriers.
It was also noted properties acquired by the flood mitigation program are bought out at the most recent appraisal year at the higher of the appraised or assessed value; landowners can also hire their own appraiser.
Ms. Blakely will bring forward a Request for Decision before council in February.
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Director of Protective Services Greg Peters presented council with the Remedial Properties and Derelict Buildings policy. This policy works in conjunction with the Community Standards Bylaw and outlines the steps the Town can undertake to address derelict buildings and remedial properties in the valley.
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Council was presented with the fourth-quarter strategic priorities from the various departments including CAO Darryl Drohomerski, Director of Infrastructure Services Dave Brett, manager of Recreation, Arts, and Culture Darren Goldthorpe, and Drumheller RCMP Staff Sergeant Ed Bourque.
Communications officer Erica Crocker was unavailable and will present her Q4 reports to council at the next council meeting.
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Council moved to a closed session to receive advice from officials regarding Flood Mitigation activities and adjourned the meeting.

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

Council Overview
Information from Drumheller Town Council Committee of the Whole Meeting
Monday, January 17, 2022

Mayor Heather Colberg opened the meeting and announced there will be a virtual Flood Mitigation meeting regarding the community of Lehigh on February 3, and registration is open for the event.
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Chief Administrative Officer Darryl Drohomerski presented the Strategic Priorities. It is a multi-year document and council were asked to review the document to ensure no information is missing. This will be attached to council agendas going forward and will be updated at the March Committee of the Whole meeting.
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Director of Protective Services Greg Peters presented council with a COVID-19 update. With the Omicron variant, cases have risen across the province and there is a positivity rate of over 37 per cent in the province with over 820 people in the hospital, 81 in ICU, and ICU capacity is at 80 per cent. While Omicron seems to have less severe symptoms and outcomes than the previous Delta variant, Mr. Peters noted it poses new challenges. As of the morning of Monday, January 17 there were 90 active cases in the Town of Drumheller.
Mr. Peters shared the Town is taking part in the wastewater monitoring program through the University of Calgary. The wastewater system is being monitored and data is being collected and interpreted by the University of Calgary to get a better idea of possible infections within the community. Between January 6 and January 12 the analysis showed an increasing concentration of COVID-19 in wastewater.
Wastewater gives up to a week lead time on identifying rising case counts and outbreaks according to Director of Infrastructure Services Dave Brett, which can help the Town and Alberta Health Services (AHS) prepare for outbreaks and rising case numbers.
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Director of Financial Services Mauricio Reyes presented council with the proposed 2022 capital budget and 10-year capital plan. It is anticipated the 2022 Capital Budget will be brought before council for consideration at the January 24 council meeting. The operating budget will be brought to council for consideration at the end of February.
The capital budget includes a total of 43 projects which total some $10.74 million. This amount does not include any expenses directly related to flood mitigation projects, though some planned projects will be completed in conjunction with flood mitigation work. Among these projects include rebuilding Michichi Creek sanitary crossing due to dike work that will be carried out in the area estimated at $1.5 million, upgrades to Centennial Park as part of the Downtown Area Revitalization Plan for $500,000, improvements to the Newcastle Recreation area for $100,000, and the relocation of the northwest exit door at the Aquaplex due to flood mitigation work in the area estimated at $45,000.
The Department of Infrastructure will also begin carrying out the Bridge Culvert program as discussed during the Monday, January 10 council meeting.
Mr. Reyes also presented council with the 10-year capital plan, which shows proposed capital projects and projected costs up to 2031.
Mr. Brett noted the grant for the Drumheller Institution water booster station, which also supplies water to the Churchill water system among others, was declined as it was deemed ineligible by the province. This was identified as an essential infrastructure project, though the Town has not yet looked into whether this project is eligible for federal funding as it feeds the federal penitentiary.
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Council moved to a closed session and adjourned the meeting.

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