[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.

December 16, 2025 Regular Council Meeting [recording upload]

Transcript