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A Free Weekly Publication Serving All of Beaver County Wednesday, February 9, 2022, Volume 15, Issue 6
County council deals with information sharing and establishing new committees Patricia Harcourt With Beaver County Council hiring a new Interim CAO, council dealt with the sharing of information during closed sessions at the Feb. 2 regular meeting. Deputy Reeve Gene Hrabec (Division 3) brought the issue of the interim CAO having access to documents and discussions classified as unavailable to the public under the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FOIP). Other issues discussed in closed session involving land, legal, or personnel would also fall under that category. New Interim CAO Rick McDonald would be part of these discussions going forward, but Hrabec wanted him to be able to access FOIP and closed session material from meetings held previous to his tenure. Hrabec’s motion Feb. 2 was “that council authorize the interim CAO and new council members access to all closed data and closed sessions,” was carried by council. The only new councillor for this term is Division 2’s Lionel Williams. Council then dealt with the establishment of an Agendas Committee, with McDonald explaining that this recom-
mendation was brought forward as part of the recent governance review. The review was done last year when McDonald acted as a consultant for the county. An Agendas Committee would make it “clearly understood that council meetings are controlled by council,” said McDonald. This would mean a process where administration would lay out a draft agenda which would be reviewed by the committee, for council input. He said it was “not the intent for administration to drive the agenda,” adding: “It’s your meeting…You drive the agenda.” When Williams asked how changes to the agenda would be decided, McDonald replied it was up to council to make that determination. “You’re not there to make decisions on the data,” he said, instead, “you are looking for guidance on the agenda document.” McDonald said those decisions would be made “by consensus,” with the CAO giving his opinion. Reeve Kevin Smook (Division 1) added that “council relies on what’s happened in the past,” “If council gives direction on that [agenda],” he added, “we don’t want
things falling through the cracks (so) council appreciates the CAO also keeps track.” “I think that works very well,” said Williams. A motion by Hrabec was made to follow administration’s recommendation: “That council establish, by resolution, an Agendas Committee consisting of the Reeve and Deputy Reeve (or alternate councillor if either is not available) that will review potential agenda items and ensure that these are appropriate for inclusion on a council and/or the Governance and Priorities Committee agenda.” The Agendas Committee is mandated to ensure that the business of council is being dealt with fairly and expeditiously; to review potential agenda items and ensure that these are appropriate for inclusion on a council and/or the Governance and Priorities Committee agenda; and, to advise council as to why any particular matter should not be brought forward for council review at the present time. Council’s third motion gave first reading to a bylaw establishing a Governance and Priorities Committee, more commonly known as a Committee of the Whole (CoW). CoW meetings “provide a forum for
council to obtain and discuss information about various strategic objectives,” stated the report to council. “The committee will enable council to dedicate time outside of formal council meetings to discuss matters that require additional time for consideration and do not require an immediate decision. “The committee format will also streamline council meetings so that only matters that require a council decision are considered,” the report stated. At the previous meeting in January, council asked administration to prepare a bylaw to establish such a committee. McDonald explained this kind of committee allows discussion “of matters requiring additional time that don’t have an immediate decision needed,” recommending council give only first reading at this sitting of council and “give time for the public to hear (about) it,” before proceeding further. Williams made the motion for first reading on the bylaw which was passed by council. It was noted that second and third (final) reading would be considered at the next regular meeting of council.
County councillors pleasantly surprised by overall positivity of survey results Patricia Harcourt The number of respondents and nature of their replies to a survey on county operations were a pleasant surprise for Beaver County councillors. The survey was conducted by the county’s agriculture and public works departments under Aimee Boese and Dan Blackie respectively. The Public Participation Plan asked county residents for their opinions on water and road management programs, including road construction
priorities. The county received 370 responses through the online survey, as well as 24 paper copies. A summary of survey results from the multiple choice part of the survey were attached in the report to council, as well as “a large number of additional comments that were added to the survey,” which was about 60 pages in length. “Administration is working on a summary document that will be presented to council at a later late,” said
Boese. “to capture consistent themes and messaging about program areas.” “We want it reviewed and accepted as information at this time,” she said. Division 2 Councillor Lionel Williams asked if there were “any big surprises” in the report. “I was pleasantly surprised,” said Blackie. “I was expecting a tornado (of comments),” but instead heard that “we’re doing a good job” and it is basically status quo for the county’s programs. “People were happy,” said Deputy
Reeve Gene Hrabec (Division 3), with the survey, but “want it more refined in future.” He noted that “almost 400 responses is good,” adding: “Council is only as good as the worst grader man,” referring to perceptions based on personal experience on how good the roads are in the county. But Hrabec said he is “excited there is information we can use to bring back some policies.” “I think it’s definitely a start,” said See SURVEY BCC3
2 - Beaver County Chronicle, February 9, 2022
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
Former Division 4 councillor wants county dissolved and divided between neighbouring municipalities The following is the reply received from Alberta Municipal Affairs when inquiring about options for restructuring Beaver County. It is the information Dale Collison refers to in his letter which follows this information included in his writeup: Good afternoon Mr. Collision, Thank you for visiting the Alberta Municipal Affairs website and asking about municipal restructuring options for Beaver County. A viability review, undertaken by the minister, could result in the dissolution of a municipality. The dissolving municipality would become part of a neighbouring municipality. The viability review would include recommendations regarding the ongoing viability of the municipality and which municipality it could become part of. A viability review for Beaver County could be requested by (resolution of the council) asking the minister to undertake a viability review or by a sufficient petition to the minister signed by 30 per cent of the eligible electors in the county. Before dissolution of a municipality may occur, a viability review must be completed and the minister must conduct a vote of the electors on the question of dissolution. I hope this information is of assistance, further information about viability reviews is published on the ministry website at https://www.alberta.ca/viability-reviewsfor-municipalities.aspx. If you have any further questions regarding municipal restructuring, please contact the
Municipal Capacity and Sustainability Branch of Municipal Affairs at 780-4272225 toll free in Alberta 310-3100 first. Thank you for writing, Linda A. Reynolds, CLGM, Municipal Viability Advisor, Municipal Services Division, Municipal Affairs. Dear Editor: Our councillors have in the past year passed an interim budget of around $27 million. Our taxes amount to about $13 million. Our past CAO cost us $364,800 for 2021. Beaver County for the last 10 or so years has not had three councillors agree to keep road building equipment (a county without road building ability). School buses and off farm workers on the east side of Beaver County spend up to hours a day getting to and from school and work on rough, noisy, tire eating, over and under gravelled and rutted roads. Research shows hard packed clay is used to repair and build proper roads. I would like to see the west half of Beaver County joined with Strathcona, and the east half to Wainwright. They keep up with their roads and have big tax differences. It would also clear up the recent review of 40 county recommendations. We do have a choice. I would like to thank all who made the effort to vote for me. Stay healthy and have a good year. Dale L Collison Resident, Division 4, Beaver County
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OUR PUBLIC AD DVISORY RY COMMITTEE HAS H OPENINGS! Are you a resident of Beaver County that is involved in the community? Do you have a general interest in waste management matters? Do you have expertise or experience that you could bring to an advisory committee with a particular focus on environmental and occupational health and safety compliance? If so, Claystone Waste has openings on our PAC that may interest you. Our Public Advisory Committee (PAC) is a committee of the Board of Directors of Claystone Waste whose purpose is to advise the Board on issues of community concern or interest on our regional waste facilities and services. The Committee consists of public member appointments made by the Board and appointments made by municipal shareholders via Council selection. There are six (6) public member positions on the PAC, with openings for four (4) positions. Appointments will be made for a three-year term commencing April 1st, 2022. Eligibility and Selection criteria includes: x
Public member appointees must be a resident of one ˢ˙ ʶ˟˔ˬ˦˧ˢˡ˘ ˊ˔˦˧˘Ϡ˦ ˦ ˛ ˔ ˥ ˘ ˛ ˢ ˟ ˗ ˜ ˡ ˚ municipalities: Beaver County, Town of Tofield, Town of Viking, Village of Ryley or Village of Holden.
x
Public member appointees will be selected based on an evaluation of expertise and experience in key focus areas including environmental and occupational health and safety compliance, involvement and general interest management matters.
x
community in waste
At least one public member appointee will represent youth in the community of an age of 30 or under.
If you are interested in being a part of our PAC, please send a cover letter connect@claystonewaste.com.
and resume Submissions will
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accepted until February 17, 2022. Interviews and applicant selection will follow with the appointment of PAC public members in March 2022. Please call our office at 780.663.2038, and ask for Communications if you have questions. Toll Free: 1.855.221.2038 Ph: 780.663.2038
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Beaver County Chronicle, February 9, 2022 - 3
Meetings across province to keep RCMP Patricia Harcourt Beaver County councillors are interested in attending the National Police Federation’s “KeepAlbertaRCMP” community engagement tour underway across the province. Deputy Reeve Gene Hrabec (Division 3) told county council Feb. 2 that he had attended a meeting, and “hopes other councillors can go.” Hrabec stated there were some “interesting things the committee has brought forward,” including a couple of items he called “spectacular.” He referred to mental health initiatives being undertaken by Alberta RCMP including nurses and social workers riding with the police on certain kinds of calls. These calls would be “the first contact for mental health issues,” he said. Police are often expected to deal with people in crisis and often lack specific training on how to deal
with someone with a mental health issue. Hrabec said that “a lot of calls are this kind,” adding: “If they had this kind of resource in rural Alberta it would make a huge difference.” He believed that, “on the political level, the government should proceed with it right away,” in terms of implementing this kind of initiative into the police force. Without being specific, Hrabec also said he believes the RCMP’s mandate “may be changing,” which could affect its future and the UCP government’s exploration of establishing the province’s own police force. That initiative is being challenged by a series of meetings taking place across the province, under the National Police Federation which is the umbrella organization for the RCMP. The association is arguing the case for keeping the RCMP force in Alberta.
Reeve Kevin Smook (Division 1) told council he plans to attend one of the meetings, likely in Camrose. Smook reported he had also attended an RMA town hall meeting where the idea of a provincial police was discussed. “I will go in with an open mind,” said Smook, of the “KeepAlbertaRCMP” meeting he plans to attend. But he disagreed when Hrabec expressed the opinion that politics and political questions weren’t appropriate at these meetings. “I want to ask political questions,” said Smook. “I am a politician after all.” Upcoming meetings of this public engagement tour are being held on February 14 in Leduc and Ponoka, February 15 in Camrose and Wainwright, February 16 in Vermilion and Bonnyville, February 17 in Smoky Lake and Edmonton, February 18
Grazing School for Women
in Drayton Valley, and February 28 in Edson and Whitecourt. Meetings will also be held in March, including March 1 in Valleyview and Grande Prairie, March 2 in High Level, March 3 in Peace River and March 4 in Slave Lake. A recent online survey conducted by Pollara from October 27 to November 4 last year shows that Albertans support the Alberta RCMP, and do not support “this expensive proposal,” of a provincial force, said the NPF website. The poll also stated that 84 per cent of Albertans want to keep the RCMP and only 9 per cent support a change to a provincial policing service. As well, 80 per cent served by the RCMP are “consistently satisfied” with the service. That includes 81 per cent of persons living in rural central communities.
Survey Continued from BCC1 Councillor Dale Pederson (Division 5). “It’s across the county we have to consider.” Reeve Kevin Smook (Division 1) thanked all those who participated in the survey. “We need that feedback, it will help with setting priorities.” Smook added he, too, was surprised with the responses. “I appreciate the opinions of the people and this will definitely help us going forward,” he said. Boese reaffirmed that administration would be “going through all the comments to provide a summary document that will be made public.” She said it “shows trends,” with 60 pages of comments “we will bring back to council as soon as it’s ready.” The document will be used for strategic planning sessions. Councillor Barry Bruce (Division 4) said he received some concerns about a larger division with more population carrying bigger weight with its responses and opinions. “Would decisions be skewed by differences in
populations of the participating divisions,” he asked. Survey results showed that, of all those who answered the survey, 25 per cent lived in Division 1, 30.38 per cent lived in Division 2. 11.71 lived in Division 3, 14.24 per cent lived in Division 4 had 18.67 per cent lived in Division 5. Boese said there are usually not so many questions in a survey about particular issues, calling this “a larger survey.” However, other avenues usually employed to get more opinions from areas with fewer population couldn’t be done due to COVID-19 health restrictions. These include holding community meetings so people could express their feelings in person. “Unfortunately, a survey was the only avenue we have to work with,” she said, “It’s the best we could get back from the ratepayer.” Williams said he “got more calls and feedback from this survey than during the election,” emphasizing its positive results. A motion by Bruce to go with administration’s recommendation was passed.
Accepting Proposals OPERATION AND MAINTENANCE OF BLACK NUGGET LAKE PARK Beaver County is accepting proposals for the operation and maintenance of Black Nugget Lake Park for a term of up to three years, commencing with the 2022 season. Proposals will be accepted until 2:00:00 pm, Tuesday, February 15, 2022. Information packages are available at the Beaver County Service Centre, Ryley, by email request to slungal@beaver.ab.ca, or by visiting our website @www.beaver.ab.ca. The lowest or any proposal will not necessarily be accepted.
Accepting Proposals OPERATION AND MAINTENANCE OF CAMP LAKE PARK Beaver County is accepting proposals for the operation and maintenance of Camp Lake Park for a term of up to three years, commencing with the 2022 season. Proposals will be accepted until 2:00:00 pm, Tuesday, February 15, 2022. Information packages are available at the Beaver County Service Centre, Ryley, by email request to slungal@beaver.ab.ca, or by visiting our website @www.beaver.ab.ca. The lowest or any proposal will not necessarily be accepted.
4 - Beaver County Chronicle, February 9, 2022
Beaver County Service Centre 5120 - 50 Street Box 140 Ryley, Alberta T0B 4A0 Monday to Friday 8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.
Notice of Public Hearing
Phone: (780) 663-3730 Fax: (780) 663-3602 Toll Free: 1-866-663-1333 www.beaver.ab.ca Email: administration@beaver.ab.ca
Viking/Beaver FCSS Drop-In Dates
Proclamation: Canada’s Agriculture Day
*NEW* Governance and Priorities Committee GOVERNANCE AND PRIORITIES COMMITTEE Beaver County Council is proposing to establish a Governance and Priorities Committee. This Committee will consist of all of Council and will meet outside of formal Council meetings to discuss matters that require additional time for consideration and do not require an immediate decision of Council. First reading of the bylaw was passed on February 2 and Council will consider 2nd and 3rd readings on February 16. To view a copy of the bylaw, go to www.beaver.ab.ca/ council/bylaws.