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Kneehill County councillor breaches Code of Conduct and Ethics

Copy of Copy of kneehill county new admin building

A Kneehill County council member had their appointments to county committees and boards rescinded following a breach of the Kneehill County Code of Conduct and Ethics Bylaw during the regular Tuesday, June 8 council meeting.
Kneehill County Reeve Jerry Wittstock opened the meeting with an addition to the regular agenda to discuss council roles and responsibilities, and addressed Division 5 Councillor Jim Hugo who was in virtual attendance of the meeting.
“We’ve heard you’ve attended the work site at the Torrington gravel pit, and you had contact with contractors, which breaches your roles and responsibilities as a councillor,” Reeve Wittstock stated.
Councillor Hugo confirmed he had attended the Torrington gravel pit and stated he was “perfectly fine” with any disciplinary actions. He added he did not feel he could represent ratepayers in Kneehill County effectively without obtaining information.
Reeve Wittstock reiterated Councillor Hugo’s actions were “expressly forbidden” under the Municipal Government Act (MGA) and the Kneehill County Code of Conduct and Ethics. He noted private conversations stemming from a previous incident were held with Councillor Hugo.
“We have a great staff, great CAO, and a great council,” Reeve Wittstock told the Mail, lamenting it was an “unfortunate” incident for council to deal with this issue. Reeve Wittstock noted the usual process for council to obtain additional information is to go through Kneehill County CAO Mike Haugen.
Following a lengthy discussion, Deputy Reeve Faye McGhee made three separate motions pertaining to Councillor Hugo’s breach of conduct.
The first motion rescinds Councillor Hugo’s appointments to all Kneehill County committees and boards to which he was previously appointed and revoke permission to attend any conferences.
Second motion directs Councillor Hugo to refrain from attending job sites and facilities within the county, except for regular council or Committee of the Whole meetings, and to have no contact with Kneehill County staff, administration, or contractors other than CAO Haugen or his designate.
The third motion was to send a letter via registered mail to Councillor Hugo confirming the decisions of Kneehill County council.
The three motions were passed with only Councillor Hugo voting in opposition.

Wheatland County approve loan, discuss rural water connection

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Wheatland County council members passed second and third reading of a lending bylaw during the regular Tuesday, June 1 council meeting, which will allow Wheatland Regional Corporation (WRC) to borrow nearly $50,000 to cover cost overruns from the construction of the south truck fill station located south of the Village of Standard.

WRC previously wrote a letter to Wheatland County requesting the loan of $49,367.42 in April 2021 and first reading was given during the regular Tuesday, April 20 council meeting.

The amount of $49,367.42 will be loaned, interest free, to WRC by the county for a period of five years; WRC will use revenue collected from the south truck fill station to repay the loan.

Second and third readings of the bylaw were passed unanimously by council.

Wheatland County also discussed the possibility of connecting a small water distribution line to ratepayers in Redland.

WRC completed construction on Phase Three of the regional water system to Rosebud in December 2020, with a portion of the water line extending through Redland to service the hamlet of Rosebud. An estimate for rural connection to Redland residents was completed during the construction phase, which came to $300,000.

Prior to this estimate, in August 2020, residents in Redland were given the opportunity to respond to a potable water survey.

Of the eight respondents, seven were in favour of being connected to a municipal water system. However, of those respondents in favour, only five were willing to be connected if there was a connection fee.

Council accepted the report as information at this time.

Donation supports Health Foundation

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Premier Auctions, on behalf of Ken Ireland, presented an $800 cheque to the Drumheller Area Health Foundation to purchase equipment for the Drumheller Health Centre of the greatest need. The Drumheller Area Health Foundation is currently fundraising for a new laparoscopic tower for the Operating Room since the current tower needs replacement. They are also raising funds for chairs for Acute Care rooms, Continuing Care rooms, and waiting rooms that can be easily cleaned to meet COVID-19 transmission prevention protocols. At the presentation are (l-r) Drumheller Health Centre site manager Nathan Banda, Drumheller Area Health Foundation treasurer Gary Krabsen, Drumheller Area Health Foundation vice-chair Scott Kuntz and Adam McLane of Premier Auctions.

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