[0:04] Hello everyone. We've had some technical
difficulties and we are now live and it
[0:10] is what 4:43
[0:16] on December 16th.
So, good evening everyone and I'll now
[0:21] call our regular council meeting of the
town of Drum Heler for December 16, 2025
[0:28] to order at 443.
So, um
[0:34] I I'd like to remind that everyone that
this meeting is being livereamed. Is it
[0:40] Oh, it's not. Okay.
>> Okay. So, it is being recorded. Sorry. I
[0:45] thought I thought we were live for a
minute there. All right. So, it is being
[0:50] recorded. Uh, so the public will see us
probably when we're done or whenever the
[0:56] YouTube channel is once again available
and it's all recorded in accordance with
[1:02] the car council procedural bylaw.
Uh, do we have any announcements from
[1:07] our committee here today? Councelor
Zeriski.
[1:12] » Yeah, thank you your worship. I'd just
like to thank all of the students who
[1:16] were involved in the senior's Christmas
dinner. Um, very good Christmas dinner.
[1:21] We served about 340 seniors. Uh, so all
of the schools in the valley were
[1:26] involved. Uh, I'd like to al also like
to thank all of the businesses and
[1:31] organizations that sponsored the dinner.
um everything every
[1:36] nonprofit in the valley practically
comes together uh and helps fund the
[1:40] dinner and it was very very good. Thank
you very much.
[1:45] » Thank you councelor Zitzky. That was
actually a great great day. Thank you.
[1:50] Anybody else? Councelor Hardy.
Yeah, today I attended the world of
[1:57] choices event um as a volunteer uh
professional um
[2:03] mentor. Um it's put on by the junior
achievement of Alberta. Um it was
[2:09] attended by probably 220ome odd
students. There was 24 professional
[2:15] mentors in attendance. There was
probably six or seven keynote speakers.
[2:21] Um it was a great event. Uh, lots of
good conversation around the tables and
[2:25] I'd like to think that some future minds
walked away with some more direction
[2:31] what they want to see after high school.
[2:35] » Thank you, Chub. Thank you, uh,
councelor Hardy. That was, uh,
[2:39] definitely a generation next promo there
for sure.
[2:43] and councelor Kappa.
>> I just like to mention that the
[2:47] Salvation Army kettle campaign is still
going and it's wrapping up, but they
[2:51] still need some volunteers. The funds
raised at the during the annual kettle
[2:55] campaign stays local and supports their
work throughout the year. So, if you've
[2:59] got a couple hours to spare, contact the
Salvation Army at 823 uh 2215.
[3:07] Thank you for that. Good
deal there. Okay. hand. Councelor
[3:12] McNeel.
>> Thank you. Just want to let everyone
[3:16] know that on Friday, December 19th at
1:30 p.m. at the Miners Memorial Park,
[3:22] which is adjacent to town hall, the
Atlas Coal Mine will be hosting a
[3:27] ceremony to unveil the new entrance sign
at the Miners Memorial Park. Everyone is
[3:34] welcome.
[3:37] » Thank you for that, Councelor McNeel.
I think that's about it for our
[3:41] announcements. Um,
okay. So, tonight's uh adoption of the
[3:47] agenda. Is there any any additions or
amendments to tonight's agenda?
[3:53] Anything else? Nothing else. Okay.
Hearing none. Uh, can I have a motion to
[3:57] adopt the agenda as presented?
>> Councelor Miller.
[4:04] » I move that council approve the minutes
for the Oh, no. that council adopts the
[4:08] agenda for the December 16, 2025 regular
council meeting as presented.
[4:14] » Thank you, Councelor Miller. And can I
have a seconder? Councelor Kapa. Thank
[4:19] you. All in favor?
Okay. Carried. Thank you.
[4:26] All right. Then uh
our minutes from our November 25th. May
[4:33] I have a motion to approve the regular
council meetings for November 25th.
[4:39] Councelor Zeritzki.
>> Yeah. I move that council approves the
[4:44] minutes for the November 25th, 2025
regular council meeting as presented.
[4:51] » Thank you. Can I have a seconder?
Councelor Hansen. All in favor? Carried.
[4:58] Okay. Thank you.
And all right, can I have a motion to
[5:05] approve the regular council meeting
minutes from November 26.
[5:11] Councelor Harding.
[5:14] » I move that council approves the minutes
for the November 26, 2025 regular
[5:19] council meeting as presented.
>> Can I have a second here? Councelor
[5:24] McNeel. Thank you. All in favor?
Carried.
[5:30] All right. So, we're getting a bunch of
tidy up here. So, our minutes from
[5:33] December 2nd are regular council
meeting. May I have a motion to approve
[5:37] the regular council meetings from
December second? Councelor Hansen.
[5:46] » No,
I move that council approves the minutes
[5:50] of the December 2nd, 2025 regular
council meeting as presented.
[5:56] » Thank you, Councelor Hansen. Can I have
a seconder? Councelor Miller. Thank you.
[6:02] All in favor?
Okay.
[6:06] All right. And then our minutes from
December 3rd, our special council
[6:09] meeting. May I have a motion to approve
the special council meetings for
[6:13] December 3rd? Councelor McNeel.
[6:19] » I move that council approves the minutes
for the December 3rd, 2025 special
[6:23] council meeting as presented.
>> Thank you. Councelor McNeel. Can I have
[6:28] a seconder? Councelor Miller. Thank you.
All in favor?
[6:34] Okay. Thank you. Okay. We'll now move on
to section five, our council boards and
[6:43] committees. As a reminder to the public,
uh council accept these minutes as
[6:48] information only. So, our Drumheller uh
District Solid Waste Management
[6:55] Association, that's the October 16th,
2025 regular meeting minutes. May I have
[7:01] a motion to accept? Thank you, Councelor
Koffa. I move that council accept the
[7:05] Drum Heler District Solid Waste
Management Association meeting minutes
[7:09] for the October 16th uh 2025 regular
meeting as presented.
[7:14] » Excellent.
Okay. Thank you. Uh, councelor Kapa, can
[7:19] I have a seconder?
Councelor Hansen. Thank you. All in
[7:24] favor?
Okay.
[7:27] And, uh, we'll skip our we'll table our
6.1
[7:33] for the right time.
[7:40] Okay. So
[7:44] our our next one it would be the office
of the CAO.
[7:51] Oh, revision of our council. Oh, did you
have anything to put in there? No.
[7:56] » Uh, I I'll do the presentation.
>> Okay. So, I'll just All right. So, now
[8:01] we'll move on to item 7.1.1, the
revision of council board and and
[8:07] committee appointments.
[8:11] Super. Uh thank you your worship. Uh so
um administration is just bringing
[8:17] forward a slight amendment to our um our
appointments to our boards and
[8:24] committees for 2025 to 2026.
Uh specifically um councelor Hardy is
[8:30] stepping down from the Drumheller
housing administration position.
[8:34] Therefore council needs to appoint a new
council representative to their board.
[8:38] The Drumheller Housing Administration
consists of one council representative
[8:43] and four members at large who meet
quarterly or as needed. The DHA is a
[8:49] management body established by the
Alberta Housing Act and governed by the
[8:53] social housing accommodation regulation.
The DHA is responsible for the
[8:58] governance and operation of affordable
housing on behalf of the town. It was uh
[9:03] formed and is currently governed under
ministerial order number H00
[9:08] sorry 088/95.
[9:13] So that was back in 1995.
Um so uh moving forward uh
[9:18] administration has provided a copy of
the current uh listing of our boards and
[9:24] committees for this term. However, I
understand uh we did put in a bit of a
[9:30] blank here. Um, so we're just looking
for confirmation on how council would
[9:35] like to proceed filling this vacancy.
Thank you.
[9:50] » Okay. Thank you, Mrs. Kenbo. Uh, while
we usually only debate a matter. Is that
[9:55] the one I'm doing? Yeah. Okay. a ma on a
matter after a motion has been moved.
[10:01] Seeing as we need to determine who is to
be appointment, we will have a
[10:05] discussion on this before we make the
motion.
[10:09] Right.
>> So we just leave that for now. Is that
[10:14] the deal?
>> Okay.
[10:17] All right. So then on to the next thing
>> is now is there any comments from
[10:24] council?
>> Okay. Is there are there any comments
[10:29] from council on that? Uh and this is for
that FCSS board
[10:36] » for DHA.
>> Oh, this is for there it is too right
[10:40] there. DHA. Okay. Sorry,
Councelor McNeel.
[10:47] » Yes. Um, I am willing to uh be appointed
to the DHEA, the Drumheller Housing
[10:53] Authority Board if uh that works out.
And uh just given my other
[11:00] responsibilities and committees, I have
uh suggested to uh Councelor Hardy that
[11:06] he then take uh the Red Dear River users
group and I will no longer be appointed
[11:12] to that one.
[11:16] Okay. Um thank you counselor. Uh so uh
we would then as administration if
[11:23] council so agrees uh would suggest a new
proposed motion that council removes
[11:31] actually I'd actually recommend two
motions
[11:35] um actually three motions. So number one
is that council removes counselor Hardy
[11:40] from the Drum Miller Housing
Administration and appoints him to the
[11:43] Red Deer River Municipal Users Group.
The second motion would be that council
[11:48] removes councelor McNeel from the Red
Deer River Municipal Users Group and
[11:52] appoints her to the Drumheller Housing
Administration and as an alternate
[11:57] member for the Red Dear River Municipal
Users Group. And then the third one
[12:01] being that council adopts the revised
202526 schedule of council board and
[12:07] committee appointments as amended.
[12:15] I believe that councelor Miller would
like to step up for the alternative
[12:21] for the user group.
>> Yeah, I'm just trying to find it here
[12:24] and I haven't but I believe counselor
Hardy was already the alternate. So, he
[12:29] was going to become the main and then we
were going to need someone to step up to
[12:33] alternate and that was going to be me.
>> Okay, sounds good. Um, thank you
[12:38] counselor. So, uh, through the chair,
what we'll do then is there will be a
[12:45] a fourth motion then that council
appoints uh, councelor Miller as the
[12:52] alternate member for the Red Deer River
Municipal Users Group.
[12:56] Okay, sounds good.
[13:07] Okay. So, we're going to need somebody
to bring forward a motion. Councelor
[13:12] Klopp. I'll move the council removes
councelor Hardy from the Dheller Housing
[13:16] Administration and appoint him to the
Red Dear River Municipal Users Group.
[13:24] Thank you, Councelor Kafa. Uh, can I get
a seconder on that? Councelor's Risky.
[13:30] Can I uh All in favor then?
Okay. All right. So, that's the first
[13:38] one.
Now, we're going to need a motion for
[13:41] councelor McNeel to be removed from the
drum or the uh Red Deer River. Uh what
[13:48] was that? Red Deer River
>> Red Deer River Municipal Users Group.
[13:53] » Municipal Mu Mu
users group. Yes.
[14:00] All right. And so can
>> and further
[14:05] » appoints her to the Drumheller Housing
Administration.
[14:08] » Okay.
>> Yeah. I move that council removes
[14:11] councelor McNeel from the Red Deer River
Municipal Users Group and appoints her
[14:16] to the Drumheller Housing
Administration.
[14:20] » Can I have a seconder?
Councelor Hardy.
[14:24] And all in favor? Okay.
All right.
[14:29] So then we need a fourth to remove
councelor Miller or not to appoint
[14:38] councelor Miller to the Red Deer River
authority there
[14:42] » as alternate
>> as the alternate order for that
[14:47] councelor Kafa. I'll make a motion to
appoint councelor Miller as an alternate
[14:53] member of the Red Deer River Municipal
Users Group.
[14:57] » Thank you. Can I have a seconder?
Councelor Hardy. All in favor? Okay. And
[15:04] now the last one. Now we need to adopt a
revised committee uh
[15:11] » schedule
designations.
[15:16] Anybody? Councelor McNeel.
>> Yes. I move
[15:23] » Sorry. I move that uh council then
adopts a revised schedule of council
[15:28] appointments to boards and committees
for the 2526 year.
[15:35] » Thank you. Councelor McNeil second
councelor Hansen. All in favor?
[15:41] » Oh comment. Councelor.
>> Yeah just to comment your worship. I was
[15:44] just wondering if uh there has been any
decision made on the Dremeler standing
[15:49] committee on health whether that was
going to be incorporated into the
[15:53] committee schedule or not.
>> Um thank you councelor through the reeve
[15:59] uh we are still waiting on a response um
and just to finalize what the status of
[16:05] that is with the committee.
[16:10] » Okay.
Thank you.
[16:13] So, all in favor?
I. Okay.
[16:19] Okay. Where are we now?
Now we're on to uh
[16:27] approval of the 2026 consolidated
operating and capital budget. Um we'll
[16:35] now move on to item 7.2.1 2.1
approval of the 2026 operating and
[16:42] capital budget.
[16:50] » Good evening, your worship and council.
Uh through your worship, I'm uh pleased
[16:55] to be able to present the um results of
all of our budget deliberations
[17:03] and um discuss about the budget approval
for the 2026 operating capital budget.
[17:10] Um so as you're aware um per the
municipal government act uh
[17:14] municipalities must pass an annual
operating budget um by January 1st or an
[17:19] interimm budget of that year um plus a
capital um budget or capital improvement
[17:27] plan um and as part of those
requirements a three-year operating plan
[17:32] and a five-year capital plan must be
presented and they are done so within
[17:36] this document Um
so council had five deliberation
[17:42] meetings to discuss the operating
capital budgets. Um during that time
[17:49] they deliberated on the base budget,
capital budget, service level
[17:55] initiatives and utility budgets to end
their deliberations and be able to set
[18:00] or finalize
the um um upcoming required tax revenues
[18:06] and tax rate for and spending for the
year. So overall the proposed budget
[18:11] contains operating expenditure increases
of about 1.2%.
[18:16] Um so pretty um minor amount when you
look at our operating costs and
[18:20] operating amounts within the budget. Um
however when you look at
[18:26] all expenses which would include our
non-operating so that's uh capital so
[18:32] transfers to reserves debt charges which
again were significant this year we had
[18:36] to incorporate um a $5 million debenture
into this year's budget um and
[18:45] capital infrastructure funding the total
expenses were 4% over year-over-year
[18:50] here.
[18:54] Um, based on the results of council's
decision, um, required municipal tax
[19:02] revenues will need to increase by 2.93%.
So, I want to be careful how I say this.
[19:07] So, when I say revenues, that's all of
our tax revenues, about 3
[19:12] um, 42,000 or 2.93%.
Um, I like to say that on average that's
[19:18] what a municipal tax bill will go up in
the town. However, that's looking at a
[19:23] consolidated number. For different
classifications,
[19:27] the amounts might be different.
Individual properties, the amounts will
[19:31] be different. It really ends up
depending on how much um an individual
[19:36] assessment changes compared to the um
average assessment for that
[19:41] classification. So,
I'm comfortable saying that we need to
[19:44] generate about 2.93% more revenues,
which on average does a 2.9.3 um tax
[19:52] bill increase, but there's a lot of
things that are subject to make that um
[19:57] change individually.
Um however, you know, when we look at
[20:02] that compared to our 2025 tax bill, um
it is an annual increase of about $69.
[20:09] um looking at a residential property at
our our median value of $281,000
[20:15] or $579
per month. So, you know, in terms of a
[20:21] an actual dollar increase, um I'm not
going to say it's not insignificant.
[20:26] They all are, but you know, it's
generally constrained to whatever um our
[20:32] municipal inflation rate is, which
again, we talk about inflation rates. um
[20:37] we can't really look at consumer price
increases. We need to look at um our
[20:41] costs.
Um
[20:45] within the
approved budget, there's some service
[20:50] level changes and new initiatives that
were approved by council. Um some of the
[20:55] highlighted items here um additional
$35,200
[21:00] which are either reapproved or new
approvals for grants for watershed
[21:04] community health public safety programs.
Um funds for an economic development
[21:10] strategy which is a grant-f funded
project. So um the net cost would be
[21:15] approximately $40,000.
Um this one's significant. So,
[21:20] additional capital funding of $35,000.
So, that's a result of the del
[21:25] deliberations where council identified
um infrastructure replacements as a
[21:30] priority and are making the funds
available to do so. Um changes to
[21:36] operations at the aquiplex which would
involve the closure of the indoor pool
[21:41] during the summer months um with a a
cost savings there. anticipated at
[21:47] 30,000 could be um different. We'll see
what that is. Um health and safety
[21:53] initiatives $50,000. That's a review of
the program. Um pest and weed control
[21:59] measures $25,000. So those are some of
the the bigger highlighted items. Um
[22:05] something else the council directed was
a reduction of of the minimum tax rate
[22:10] from $500 down to $240.
That'll be addressed when we do the tax
[22:16] rate bylaw. Um, but that was a council
direction and we incorporated that into
[22:21] the budget plus all the other necessary
changes.
[22:26] Um,
so
[22:29] in terms of some of the um adjacent type
funds, so we do have utility funds
[22:35] within the operating budget which were
also approved. Um, I'll talk about the
[22:39] waste um and recycling fees. That's a
5.78%
[22:44] increase year-to-year. Um, and that'll
be um formalized when we do the utility
[22:50] rate bylaw, which has those rates in it.
Um, water and wastewater funds had
[22:57] larger increases. Again, water was 8.2%
of a a revenue requirement. So, um,
[23:04] again, kind of that tax bill or utility
bill concept um will increase by about
[23:09] that amount. and 10.3% for wastewater.
Again, those were I um budget
[23:19] corrections on the water side. We had
some chemical costs that were budgeted
[23:22] quite low. Um debt costs and again
council's commitment to doing additional
[23:28] capital work which um
ended up being part of that that rate
[23:35] increase for the um water side um sewer
side. Um there was a revenue adjustment
[23:40] that we had to do. The revenues are
budgeted high last year. Those had to be
[23:45] corrected. Um plus again um capital
works and funding that were approved by
[23:52] council during deliberations.
[23:55] Um in light of that, there's some
information
[23:59] um that shows comparables for water and
wastewater um billing. Um that's
[24:04] included within the report. Um looking
at the water side even with our increase
[24:10] which has been factored in based on the
upcoming utility rate um I've included
[24:15] comparables
um seven population comparables so
[24:19] similar size um our water bill is about
$7 less on average than our comparables
[24:26] and that's with our new rate than their
older rates so their rates are going to
[24:30] come up. um those haven't been um enough
haven't been approved. So, I didn't I
[24:36] just showed everyone's prior year rates.
So, again, we're in line with um utility
[24:42] rates um especially water. Um there's
similar information for wastewater
[24:47] rates. Um on average, we're a little bit
higher than the average, so about $329
[24:52] higher than average. Um but again, you
know, really in line with with what
[24:57] those rates will be.
Um, those are the operating budget
[25:03] highlights. Um, I'll talk about capital
next and then get to the motions. Are
[25:07] there any questions at this point? I
don't want to I'm not going to go over
[25:11] the whole report. It's all there. Um,
but I did want to pick out some
[25:14] highlights for council and the public.
[25:21] Nope. Okay. Um, seeing none, the capital
budget. Um, council approved the capital
[25:28] 2026 capital budget of 51 projects um
totaling 8,18,000
[25:38] um of that about
2/3 no 3/4 is funded through town
[25:45] controlled funds. So again, when I say
town controlled funds, that's our
[25:50] reserves, but it's also grants that we
control such as the local government
[25:54] fiscal framework, um provincial funding
or the Canada community um building
[25:59] fund, which is the old gas tax fund. So
there is other levels of government
[26:04] funding in there, but we control those.
It's a uncommitted
[26:09] um amount. We don't have to um we get
that money as a right. So um that's
[26:14] considered our funding. Um and then a
quarter from other external source
[26:19] sources which would be um um provincial
and some federal grant funding which is
[26:24] conditional on um specific projects.
Um, as presented, the 2026 capital
[26:30] budget does not incur any additional
debt. Um, that wasn't needed or that
[26:36] wasn't modeled into this year's. Um, but
we should expect to see some some
[26:41] utilization of debt in future year's
budgets as we um tackle our
[26:47] infrastructure deficit and we'll manage
that in a a rational way to include um
[26:53] um debt as a funding source.
[26:58] So the capital program is shown within
appendix.
[27:05] I don't want to say the right one. I'm
just flipping here. So appendix B has
[27:09] capital information. Um and again that
includes information on our long-term
[27:13] debt projected debt um our debt
capacity. Um, plus it does show our
[27:19] five-year capital program, which I will
um remind council um the first year 2026
[27:27] is funded. We've identified the funding
for that. The future years, so years 2
[27:34] to 5 um are unfunded. So, we're showing
the capital projects that um we
[27:40] anticipate will need to be done and
we'll have that discussion as we go into
[27:43] further approvals. Um, but we also
understand that um, the items listed
[27:50] probably won't be able to fit within our
our funding envelope or bucket and will
[27:54] have to be paired back and that'll be a
conversation with council. But we did
[27:59] feel it was important to show um, from
staff's perspective, you know, what what
[28:04] infrastructure um, replacements and and
uh, repairs need to be done within the
[28:09] community.
[28:14] Is there any questions on the the
capital program or capital budget?
[28:24] » Okay, we'll have our motion for uh
um Can I get a Yeah. Can I get a
[28:31] counselor to make a motion?
>> Yeah. I move that council approves the
[28:34] town of Drumheller 2026 operating budget
with a total expenditure of $32,493,243
[28:43] resulting in a tax levy of 12,136,732
[28:49] as presented. Goes pretty quick when you
say it fast, right?
[28:55] » All right. point of information. I'm
sorry through the chair councelor
[29:00] Zeriski. The motion uh did have 2026
consolidated operating budget. Is it
[29:07] okay if I include that in the motion?
It was a revised proposed motion.
[29:18] I move that council approves the town of
Dr. 2026 consolidated operating budget
[29:24] with a total expenditure of 32,493,243
[29:30] resulting in a tax levy of 12,136,732
[29:36] as presented.
[29:39] » Thank you, Councelor Zitzki. A little
slower having to do it twice. See?
[29:47] All right. Can I have a second?
Councelor Hansen. All in favor?
[29:53] » Any question?
>> Oh, question. There we go. Sorry.
[29:56] Questions? Uh, councelor Kapa? I just
want to commend administration and this
[30:02] council on all the hard work. For me, it
was probably the most thorough and
[30:06] recent history that I recall. And I got
to say, well, you know, we're not all
[30:11] going to be happy with every line item.
It's great that we had those discussions
[30:14] and came to consensus on so many things
that we can move forward. And I just
[30:19] want to confirm um with the operating
budget we are able to come in at this
[30:25] level without uh relying on uh balancing
funds or reserve funds.
[30:33] » Uh yes, that's correct. Uh through
through the uh mayor um we did remove um
[30:39] a significant um transfer from reserves
that were used to offset expenditures in
[30:45] the past. Um so there was reserves for
um funding of positions. Um again they
[30:52] were appropriate for those funds but
those those were removed. So um there's
[30:56] there's less inter transfer inter fund
transfers happening to support or lift
[31:01] the operating budget which will again um
just
[31:07] it just um stabilizes the funds allows
more funds available for capital um
[31:12] projects in the upcoming and future
years. um and just makes the funds be a
[31:17] little bit healthier um as an
independent um uh funding entity.
[31:22] » Thank you.
[31:26] » Any other questions? Councelor Zooi.
>> Yes. Thank you, your worship. Yeah, I
[31:30] I'd like to echo councelor Kafa's
comments. Um, I I hope people appreciate
[31:36] the hours and hours and hours and hours
and hours that council put into this,
[31:40] that it is not taken lightly, that it
was analyzed in depth. Um, and I'd like
[31:45] to definitely thank all of the the
managers uh for all the business units
[31:50] who sharpened their pencils and tried to
get, you know, just the most um dire
[31:57] things that we needed to do done. uh and
and I'm very pleased to see that we are
[32:03] able to maintain our current level of
services uh that that we do an awful lot
[32:07] in the town around that that people kind
of take for granted um which costs a lot
[32:12] of money and we're still able to
maintain all of those services. So thank
[32:16] you for everyone.
[32:21] » Thank you councelorski
councelor McN.
[32:25] Yes, I too also echo the thanks to
administration for uh guiding us and
[32:31] being a sherpa through this process. I
think it went very well and yes, we did
[32:36] spend hours but certainly we all learned
a lot especially the newbies on council.
[32:41] So really appreciate that and I just
wanted to mention that I really found it
[32:45] very useful to have the comparisons with
the other communities with a similar
[32:50] population uh when we were looking at
the water and the sewer rates in
[32:54] particular. Uh that was just so helpful
to have and uh yeah I just hope that we
[33:00] can then keep an eye on that uh through
2026 to see uh what happens in those
[33:06] other communities as we continue to
compare. Thank you.
[33:12] Yes. Thanks. Anybody else? No. It was a
great uh team building thing here
[33:19] between council and admin and helped us
to understand everything because we did
[33:25] give them the rake. So, all right. All
in favor?
[33:31] Okay.
[33:35] Okay. So, then uh where we at? 10
minutes left here.
[33:48] this one.
>> Yep.
[33:50] » Okay. So then uh
All right. So now proposed motion that
[33:56] council approves the town of Drumheller
2026 capital budget with a total of
[34:01] expenditure of 8,18,000.
[34:06] Oh, that's anyways 8 million 18,000 as
presented. Could I have a motion for
[34:14] that?
Councelor Miller.
[34:18] » I move that council approves the town of
Dpeller 2026 capital budget with a total
[34:23] expenditure of $8,18,000
as presented.
[34:29] » Thank you, Councelor Miller. Can I have
a second?
[34:32] Councelor Hansen.
Thank you. Any questions or comments at
[34:37] that time?
[34:40] Oh, councelor's risky.
So, the capital budget addresses things
[34:47] that we need, equipment, um,
projects that that have to be done. And
[34:55] this is $8 million. You know, it sounds
like an awful lot of money, but the
[34:59] reality is there are so many old
infrastructure things in the town. Uh,
[35:06] and at our recent Alberta municipalities
conference, I mean, we talked to many
[35:11] municipalities and and they refer to it
as the infrastructure deficit. Um, that
[35:16] every municipality has lots and lots of
roads that needs paved, lots of lots of
[35:21] pipes and sewer lines and water lines
that need redoing. um lots and lot of
[35:27] water treatment plant processes and
equipment they need and we can't come
[35:32] close to doing all of that. Uh I mean,
as I say, $8 million looks like a lot.
[35:39] Uh but there's an awful lot that uh I
hope people realize that we are putting
[35:44] off and the longer we put these things
off um the more they deteriorate and the
[35:50] more expensive they get to fix. And so
at at some point I am hoping that
[35:56] council will and and this is part of the
planning uh that we are doing is looking
[36:01] at all of this infrastructure that we
have that that is deteriorating
[36:06] um and coming up with a plan how we can
address some of this because it is just
[36:12] getting worse and worse and older and
older and more and more expensive. Um,
[36:17] and so I think at some time we have to
maybe look at what we can do to to stop
[36:23] that slide.
[36:28] Thank you, Councelor Zeritzky. Anyone
else have any comments?
[36:33] No other comments? It's not all in
favor.
[36:37] Okay. Carried.
All right. Our 2026 utility rate bylaw
[36:47] We will now move on to 7.2.2
2026 utility rate bylaw.
[36:56] Okay.
>> Uh again through uh
[37:02] » through the mayor. Um so as a result of
our budget deliberations, we now have
[37:07] enough information to um bring back the
utility rate bylaw for the upcoming 2026
[37:14] um utility rates which will be water,
wastewater and garbage and recycling
[37:18] rates. Um so again similar um
I just discussed the challenges that
[37:25] they're facing um within those those
individual funds. They are self-funded.
[37:30] I'll just remind council that they are
not um subsidized by taxes or any other
[37:36] means. They are entirely rate driven. So
the rates that we collect through the
[37:40] utility bills pays off these funds, this
operating fund this year um plus the
[37:46] capital um program that they support. Um
because of that and the increased costs,
[37:53] we do need to see um significantly
larger rate increases to um manage the
[37:59] increases in the operating budget. So,
as I mentioned, um chemical costs
[38:04] yeartoear
um they're up over $120,000.
[38:08] I did some additional work on this over
a four-year period, they've increased
[38:13] 129%.
Um
[38:16] whole bunch of reasons for that. There's
um
[38:21] um COVID was sort of the the start of
it, but um cost for chemicals, delivery
[38:26] costs, um unit costs. Um I'm going to
assume tariffs are now part of this. Um
[38:32] it's just incredible what um uh chemical
costs increases have been over over the
[38:37] last um half decade. Um
uh debt charges and capital
[38:43] contributions for water um projects.
Again, that's an additional $160 or
[38:48] $160,000
year toyear. Um just repair maintenance
[38:52] of the water system. So, um not just the
plant, but the pipes and the um pump
[38:59] stations. Um so, what you yeartoear
$66,000 increase, you know, needed, not
[39:05] very much. And again, we're trying to
manage best um as we can. Um sewer
[39:10] again, similar type um idea. um debt
charges and capital contributions um up
[39:17] more than $122,000 year to year. Um and
that's a that fund doesn't generate as
[39:23] much revenue as as water does. So the
margins are tighter there. Um so a
[39:29] smaller number um still equates to a
large fairly large increase
[39:33] unfortunately.
Um and then again for um garbage and
[39:39] recycling um increases um it's an
increase to our contribution to the
[39:44] solid waste authority. Um that's
affecting that a little bit from our
[39:49] contracted garbage um um pickup
provider, but that's that's a minor
[39:54] amount in comparison. Um and the solid
waste authority that was a budget miss
[39:59] in 2025.
That's why the the number is a bit
[40:03] higher than it would be. It should only
be about 15,000. Um, but it was not
[40:08] incorporated in the 2025 budget. So,
we're doing that now.
[40:12] Um, overall the impact of this are water
revenue or water rate increases of 8.2%.
[40:20] Wastewater revenue or rate increases of
10.3%.
[40:25] And waste management so garbage and
recycling of 5.78%.
[40:31] The changes are shown
in appendix A
[40:37] of the budget or the um the RFD I mean
so 2025 versus 2026 the change in
[40:44] percentages again for our flat rate or
base rate um it's about a 7.1 7.2% 2%
[40:52] increase, this is on page 60 of the the
agenda.
[40:57] Um, and then for the consumption
charges, it's an 8.2% increase,
[41:02] mirroring the amounts that um they
needed to go up as per the budget
[41:06] deliberations.
Um, on the wastewater side, it's pretty
[41:11] well a flat 10 or 10.2%
um rate increase needed to um balance
[41:16] out budget. And on the garbage and
recycling, it's 5.7% to recycling and
[41:22] 5.8% to um garbage um rates per month.
All other rem rates are remaining the
[41:31] same
um within the bylaws. So amounts for
[41:38] um penalties, paper billing
um are remaining the same.
[41:45] again um talked about comparables in the
last um RFD. We we are in line with what
[41:51] our other municipal comparables are
doing. I know that's not great comfort
[41:55] when you have a large increase like
this, but you know when when we do show
[41:59] this um you know it's the the rates the
amounts we're charging are are pretty
[42:04] reasonable when you consider similar
size municipalities.
[42:16] Is that it there? Thank you, Mr. Towns.
Uh, questions. Councelor Zitzky.
[42:21] A motion.
>> Oh, I make a motion for that. Thank you.
[42:25] To accept. Yep. I move the council gives
first reading to 2026 utility rate bylaw
[42:32] number 41.25
as presented.
[42:37] » Thank you, Councelor Zeritzky. Can I
have a seconder?
[42:41] Thank you, Councelor Hansen.
Any questions for council,
[42:50] councelor Kapa?
Um, yeah. Uh, I just a quick comment
[42:56] that yet this is, you know, a fairly
significant change which none of us
[43:01] would like to see, but it also, you
know, it is the safety of our water
[43:05] supply and making sure that we can
deliver that very basic service. I'm
[43:09] glad that it is within sort of
parameters of comparables. Um, but yeah,
[43:14] nonetheless, it's it it is, you know,
it's going to be what it's going to be.
[43:22] Okay.
[43:26] Second, second. Oh, you get a question.
Okay.
[43:33] » McNeel. Yep.
>> Thank you. I just had a question uh just
[43:37] from the information package and it was
referring to group one which includes
[43:42] connections with meters 1 in and under
and group two includes connections with
[43:47] meters from 1 and a/4 in to two. So I'm
wondering what is the most common like
[43:52] what most households would have
>> um the most common rate is a either a
[43:58] 5/8 or 3/4 inch connection. That's what
the vast vast vast majority of domestic
[44:04] so residential properties will um that
that's the meter size.
[44:10] » Yeah.
>> Thanks.
[44:12] » I will also say while I have my mic on,
I didn't talk about this um the regional
[44:17] customers that we also sell water to um
they're not part of this bylaw. Um but I
[44:23] will just remind council and the public
that they are um also incurring the same
[44:27] 8.2% 2% rate increase that that town
residents are. So again, there's, you
[44:34] know, the the costs that are being
charged to them are are similar to those
[44:37] borne by by our residents.
[44:41] » Thank you, Mr. Town for that. Councelor
K or sorry, Zitzki.
[44:46] » Yeah. Further to councelor Kafa, I I
guess the way I look at it is simply
[44:51] this is what it costs.
So this is what it costs.
[44:59] Okay. Any other uh any other questions
or comments?
[45:04] So, there's none. May I get a have a
motion for a second reading or
[45:10] all in favor now? Okay. Sorry. Okay. All
good.
[45:21] Okay. Uh can we take uh we'll take a
couple of minutes here for our before
[45:27] our public meeting
>> public hearing
[45:30] » our public hearing
>> on yes back here to 6.1 for the
[45:36] Knackmine east uh land designation bylaw
>> what is that
[45:41] » take
[50:41] 674 of the Municipal Government Act. The
town is required to hold a public
[50:46] hearing prior to the removal of the
municipal reserve designation. Our
[50:52] public hearing today was advertised in
the drumer mail on November 26th and
[50:56] December 2nd as well as on our website
and by placing signage adjacent to the
[51:01] subject lot. Any person who claims to be
affected by the proposed bylaw was
[51:07] invited to present their comments in
person at the public hearing or to
[51:11] submit written submissions by the
established deadline in order to comply
[51:16] with the provincial and federal funding
agreements. Um with regards to our uh
[51:21] flood mitigation projects, land acquired
for the flood mitigation project must be
[51:26] dedicated as either environmental
reserve public utility lot or another
[51:33] designation satisfactory to the
province. Construction of the Knackmine
[51:37] Burm began in spring of 25 and was
completed in the fall of 2025.
[51:45] Wherever possible, land acquired for the
use of BMS is converted into a P as the
[51:50] BMS are considered municipal
infrastructure.
[51:54] Currently, a section of the land on the
east end of the Burm is described as
[51:59] block R1 plan 75100071
[52:04] is designated as a municipal reserve. A
municipal reserve is land that is set
[52:09] aside by the municipality for use as
public parks, playgrounds, or other
[52:13] types of recreational areas. In order to
designate the parcel as a PUL, the MR
[52:20] designation must first be removed. In
accordance with the requirements of 674
[52:25] of the Municipal Government Act, the
town is required to hold a public
[52:29] hearing prior to the removal of this
designation
[52:34] bylaw today of number 40.25. 25 and
tends to remove the status of MR so that
[52:39] a future bylaw can be brought to council
to designate the land as a P.
[52:44] Again, a P is a titled parcel of land
which is owned by the town and contains
[52:49] a public utility or municipal
infrastructure.
[52:53] An environmental reserve, on the other
hand, is a designation for land that is
[52:57] unsuitable for development or
environmentally sensitive and usually
[53:02] contains land subject to flooding or
containing repairarian lands.
[53:07] The financial impact of this bylaw is
that the coast's costs associated with
[53:11] holding a public hearing uh are usual
costs to us and are included in our
[53:16] operating budget.
This uh bylaw is in compliance with our
[53:21] provincial and federal funding
agreements uh that are currently in
[53:24] place for the flood mitigation project.
And uh as mentioned, the public hearing
[53:30] was advertised publicly in the
Dremeeller mail as well as on our
[53:34] website and was posted on uh signage was
also posted adjacent to the subject lot.
[53:41] Thank you.
[53:45] » Thank you, Mrs. Kyone.
[53:50] Sorry.
Okay. Uh now our rules of conduct for
[53:55] this um those in correct.
Okay. So those in support of the matter
[54:02] will be permitted to speak first
followed by those in opposition.
[54:06] Following this the CEO will be permitted
to respond in any comments and council
[54:10] will be given the opportunity to ask
clarifying questions.
[54:16] Each presenter will have five minutes to
speak and each group or organization
[54:20] will have 10 minutes to speak. Each
presenter shall have their name whe
[54:25] shall state their name whether they are
in support or in opposition whether they
[54:29] are a resident of Drum Hiller or how
they are affected by the matter. Each
[54:35] presenter shall address their
presentation to the mayor and shall only
[54:38] address the council with permission of
the mayor.
[54:42] We request that you only present
material associated with the subject of
[54:47] the public hearing.
All presentations will form part of the
[54:52] meeting minutes and will become part of
public record.
[54:56] Council may not debate the matter and
may only ask questions for
[55:00] clarification. Council will have the
opportunity to ask questions once the
[55:04] presenters are finished.
and we ask that you respect the views of
[55:09] anyone here and allow each person their
time to speak.
[55:15] We will now open the floor to the
public. Are there any written
[55:20] submissions in support of bylaw 40.25?
>> Your worship, we did not receive any
[55:27] written submissions in support of bylaw
40.25.
[55:33] » Thank you. And
For the first time, has anyone
[55:41] registered to present in person or
remotely in support of the bylaw?
[55:48] » Your worship, no one has registered to
present in person or remotely in support
[55:53] of this bylaw.
[55:57] » Thank you.
And for the second time, is there anyone
[56:02] present who would like to speak in
support of the bylaw?
[56:09] » No one has stepped forward to speak in
support.
[56:16] » Thank you again. And for the third time,
is there anyone present who would like
[56:20] to speak in support of the bylaw?
[56:26] No one has stepped forward to speak in
support.
[56:33] » Thank you, Mrs. Kyle.
Um,
[56:39] are there any written submissions in
objection to bylaw 40.25?
[56:46] » Your worship, we have not received any
written submissions in objection to
[56:50] bylaw number 40.25.
[56:55] Thank you, Miss Skyel. Um, for the first
time, has anyone registered to present
[57:01] in person or remotely in objection to
the bylaw?
[57:07] » No one has registered to present in
person or remotely in objection to this
[57:12] bylaw.
>> Thank you again. And for the second
[57:17] time, is there anyone who would like to
speak in objection to the bylaw?
[57:26] Thank you, worship. No one has stepped
forward.
[57:30] » Thank you. And for the third time, is
there anyone who would like to speak in
[57:34] objection to the bylaw?
[57:40] » No one has stepped forward your worship.
[57:46] » Okay. So, if there are no written
submissions or presentations, the h the
[57:51] public meeting will close
and then it's um
[57:57] may I have a motion to close the public
meeting?
[58:01] Councelor Hardy,
[58:05] I'll move that the public hearing for a
proposed Knackmine East removal of land
[58:10] designation bylaw 40.25 25 be closed at
5:42 p.m.
[58:17] Thank you, Councelor Harding. Can I have
a second here? Councelor Zerki.
[58:23] All in favor?
Okay.
[58:44] All right. So, now we are on to our FCSS
committee appointment. Pardon?
[58:53] » What
is it? At a point we had we had uh
[58:58] completed first reading of utility rate
bylaw 41.25 and I think we were hoping
[59:02] to do three readings today.
>> Thank you. My apologies. Um I'm too
[59:09] fast. Yes, we would like to request all
three readings today. Um just to get
[59:14] them all in before year end. Thank you.
[59:30] Yeah.
[59:33] Okay.
I'll make that motion if you want.
[59:37] » Can I get a motion, please?
>> Councelor Kalapa,
[59:41] » I move that council give second reading
to 2026 utility rate bylaw 41.25 as
[59:47] presented.
>> Thank you, Councelor Kapa.
[59:52] All in all second
councelor McNeel. Thank you.
[1:00:01] All right. All in favor now. All right.
Thank you.
[1:00:07] Okay.
[1:00:20] All
[1:00:33] right. Sorry, I'm I got skipped there.
All right. Okay. So then
[1:00:41] I guess
councelor Miller, go ahead.
[1:00:47] I move that council gives unanimous
consent for third and final reading of
[1:00:50] 2026 utility break bylaw number 41.25.
[1:01:00] » You'll second it. Okay. Second that
kafa.
[1:01:05] » All right. All in favor? Okay. Carried.
[1:01:14] Okay. So now
I need a motion that we'll do our third
[1:01:20] and final reading of the 2026 utility
rate
[1:01:24] bylaw.
[1:01:27] Councelor Miller. Thank you.
>> I move the council gives third and final
[1:01:31] reading to the 2026 utility rate bylaw
number 41.25 as presented.
[1:01:37] » Thank you. Can I second her? Councelor
Ritzky.
[1:01:41] All in favor?
Oh, all in favor. Thank you.
[1:02:16] Okay. So, now we're on to uh move on to
item 7.3.1, the FCSS
[1:02:23] committee appointments.
>> Thank you, your worship.
[1:02:29] So, uh, in accordance with the
consolidated FCSS committee bylaw number
[1:02:34] 34.24,
council is responsible for appointing
[1:02:38] members to the family and community
support services or FCSS committee. The
[1:02:43] committee serves as an advisory body to
council and provides input and
[1:02:48] recommendations regarding the planning,
delivery, and evaluation of preventative
[1:02:53] social programs and services under the
FCSS act and regulation uh under the
[1:03:00] province. Appointments are required to
ensure the committee maintains full
[1:03:05] membership and continues to represent a
diverse range of community perspectives.
[1:03:11] Administration has reviewed applications
received and is presenting
[1:03:15] recommendations for council's
consideration and approval.
[1:03:20] Administration is recommending that
council appoints between two to three
[1:03:25] applicants to the FCSS committee members
at large each for a three-year term
[1:03:30] beginning December 16th, 2025
and ending December 16th, 2028.
[1:03:38] So our FCSS committee uh is an important
advisory body to council. It provides
[1:03:44] like I said insight into the planning
and delivery of our preventative social
[1:03:48] programs in the community. Um we um
would like to see members who are
[1:03:54] actively engaged in social services to
strengthen the committee's capacity to
[1:03:59] provide informed and relevant and
practical recommendations
[1:04:04] as outlined in bylaw 23.25. 25
uh which is uh incorporated into our
[1:04:11] consolidated bylaw in appendix A. Uh the
FCSS committee shall consist of not more
[1:04:17] than three members at large who
represent social services agencies along
[1:04:23] with four members of our council
including the mayor. As the application
[1:04:28] deadline um as of the application
deadline of November 15th, the following
[1:04:34] uh completed applications uh were
received. We had seven applications
[1:04:38] submitted and there um the people are
listed uh on the RFD.
[1:04:45] So um as far as the financial impact of
this report and these appointments,
[1:04:50] there is no financial impact to the
town. The FCSS committee is a
[1:04:54] volunteerbased body and members are not
compensated for their participation. Uh
[1:05:00] this committee and and the structure um
in relation to our strategic policy
[1:05:05] alignment, it does support the town's
commitment to community engagement and
[1:05:10] social well-being by ensuring that
diverse community voices inform the
[1:05:14] planning and delivery of our FCSS
programs.
[1:05:19] Through this advisory role, the
committee strengthens collaboration
[1:05:22] between the town and local stakeholders
and it fosters responsive, inclusive,
[1:05:27] and preventative social services.
Upon confirmation of the appointments,
[1:05:32] the FCSS committee members will receive
written notification regarding their
[1:05:36] appointments stating that administration
uh will contact them with details about
[1:05:42] the next steps for upcoming meetings.
So at this time um because this does
[1:05:49] deal with um uh confidential evaluations
and personal information, administration
[1:05:55] is recommending that council goes into
close session to uh deliberate and
[1:06:00] review the applications.
Thank you.
[1:06:09] » Uh thank you Mrs. Kombo. We'll now close
the meeting to public to discuss these
[1:06:15] appointments. We have a motion to go
into close session, please. Councelor
[1:06:19] McNeel.
>> Hello. I just had one question. I just
[1:06:23] wanted to ask, will the applicants that
aren't successful with this appointment,
[1:06:28] will they also receive a notification
>> through the the chair? Yes, absolutely.
[1:06:38] Council
[1:06:42] Clappen,
>> I'll move the council close the meeting
[1:06:44] at 5:49 p.m. to discuss the appointment
of members at large to the SCSS
[1:06:49] committee as per AITA 22 confidential
evaluations.
[1:06:55] » Thank you, Councelor Kafa. Can I get a
seconder? Councelor McNeel. All in
[1:07:00] favor? Carried. Okay.
[2:12:02] Okay, we're back on the air here and the
time is what is that?
[2:12:08] » 6:55.
[2:12:12] Okay. And uh can I get a motion to amend
our bylaw? Thank you, Patrick.
[2:12:19] » As a motion,
>> I'll make a motion to amend bylaw 34.24.
[2:12:24] 24 section 5.1 to allow for members at
large who represent town social services
[2:12:31] agencies and or have relevant local
social service expertise or experience.
[2:12:39] Thank you. Councelor Kafa, can I get a
second here? Councelor Hardy. All in
[2:12:44] favor?
Okay.
[2:12:48] All right. Now, can I get a motion to uh
table that to table our um
[2:12:56] that to Yeah. Thank you, Councelor
McNeel. Yeah.
[2:13:03] I make a motion that council tables the
appointment of the FCSS
[2:13:09] committee members to the January 20th,
2026 regular meeting of council.
[2:13:16] » Thank you, Councelor McNeel. Can I get a
seconder?
[2:13:20] Councelor Miller. All in favor?
Kate.
[2:13:26] Can I get a motion to
adjourn? No.
[2:13:31] » No. Where?
[2:13:37] » Okay.
Sorry about that.
[2:13:42] All right. So, now
[2:13:49] There we are. Okay. So, now we'll move
we'll move on to item number 8.1,
[2:13:55] correspondence from the East
School Museum.
[2:13:58] » Thank you, your worship. Um so in
accordance with our council procedural
[2:14:02] bylaw, administration does bring forward
all requests uh formal, written or
[2:14:07] electronic um that um are addressed to
council or a council member that are
[2:14:14] asking for uh requests for a financial
decision or contains other matters of
[2:14:19] significant importance in the opinion of
the CEO and the mayor.
[2:14:24] So, our uh request here today is from
the East School Museum who are
[2:14:29] hosting their 7th annual Highland Gala
on January 24th, 2026. This event
[2:14:35] celebrates Robbie Burns Day and raises
funds for restoration work required for
[2:14:40] their building. They're requesting a
donation for use in a silent auction,
[2:14:45] the purchase of tickets for their event,
or cash donations. Tickets purchased
[2:14:50] prior to December 25th receive a 10%
discount per pair of tickets. Individual
[2:14:56] tickets are $95 each. In alignment with
the direction provided for similar
[2:15:01] requests and the town's community
assistance grant program, administration
[2:15:06] has encouraged the East Cooling School
Museum to apply for a silent auction
[2:15:10] donation through the ENIND support
available through that grant program as
[2:15:16] the financial um portion of that budget
is maximized for 2025.
[2:15:23] The financial impact of that decision is
just the value of the inind donation. uh
[2:15:28] which will be accounted to through uh
that annual maximum budget of value of
[2:15:34] $30,000.
Currently, our available balance uh is
[2:15:39] $11,000500.
[2:15:43] If council chooses to uh also purchase
tickets for the event uh through the
[2:15:49] town specifically, cost would be
expensed to the council registration
[2:15:53] budget. If tickets are purchased, the
costs are as follows. For a set of two
[2:15:58] prior to December 25th, $171.
For a set of two after December 25th is
[2:16:05] $190.
Or uh for a table of 10 prior to
[2:16:09] December 25th, cost is $855.
Or after December 25th, the table of 10
[2:16:16] would be $950.
[2:16:20] In alignment with our strategic policy,
the town does support nonprofit
[2:16:24] community organizations and social
services groups when possible through
[2:16:28] our inind support um either through our
community assistance grant program or
[2:16:33] our FCSS grant program. While council
directly funds certain organizations
[2:16:38] such as stars and Colton's place,
previous council re recognized limited
[2:16:43] funding available to support direct
requests.
[2:16:48] um administration's recommendation um
unless council does choose to purchase
[2:16:53] tickets is uh that council accepts the
presented council correspondence from
[2:16:57] the East School Museum as
information.
[2:17:03] » Thank you, Mrs. Kamba. Um
so
[2:17:09] can I have a motion, please? Councelor
Zriski.
[2:17:13] » I move the council accepts the presented
council correspondence from the East
[2:17:17] Cool East School Museum as information.
>> Can I have a second? Councelor Miller.
[2:17:25] Uh, any questions or comments remaining?
None. Okay. All in favor?
[2:17:33] Okay. Carried.
All right. So, this brings us to the end
[2:17:39] of our final our agenda for today for
2025.
[2:17:44] Can I have a motion to adjourn, please?
Councelor Hardy,
[2:17:51] » I move that council adjourns the meeting
at 7:01 p.m.
[2:17:56] » Thank you everyone. Have a great holiday
season and best wishes. Oh, second.
[2:18:02] Sorry. Sorry. I'm ready. I'm already out
of here.
[2:18:05] Okay, councelor Kafa. All in favor?
Okay. All right. Now, have a merry
[2:18:11] Christmas and happy new year and a happy
holiday and happy new year. All right. I
[2:18:17] see you.