[2:25] testing.
[5:11] Good morning everyone. [clears throat]
Welcome to the regular council meeting
[5:15] of August 26th.
Um, we'll call the meeting to order.
[5:21] Before we do introductions, uh, just a
few housekeeping items. If you have a
[5:25] cell phone, if you could please ensure
your cell phone is turned to off.
[5:29] Um, please note that all council
meetings are being livereamed, recorded,
[5:33] and retained. All personal information
collected will be managed in accordance
[5:37] with the access to information act. And
with that, I will start with
[5:40] introductions. And I'll start with Ryan,
please.
[5:42] » Good morning. Ryan Morrison, director of
operational services.
[5:46] » Good morning. Mike Kger, manager of
assessment services.
[5:49] » Good morning, Chris Ratchen, director of
legislative, community, and agricultural
[5:52] services.
>> Good morning, Margareta Bloom, director
[5:54] for planning and development services.
>> Jeff Holmes, chief administrative
[5:58] officer.
>> Good morning. It's nice to see so many
[6:01] people in the gallery. I'm Jennifer
Lutz, division 7. And if you don't know
[6:04] where division 7 is, it's the east
corner of old surrounding area out to
[6:09] the kneehill red county borders.
Good morning. Peggy Johnson, counselor,
[6:15] division six, which is Eagle Hill, Eagle
Valley, and Westward Hoe. Uh, south, no,
[6:22] northeast of Sunundry.
>> Tiffany Nixon, division 4, uh, soy
[6:27] Bergen up through Zella and Melville
towards Dsbury.
[6:30] » Good morning, Angela Alers. Uh, division
5 council and Reev.
[6:35] » Good morning, Angela. Look, division
three counselor just um, west of Dsbury
[6:40] to the kneehill border running straight
through here. Morning,
[6:45] Greg Harris, division 2. That's uh way
out Cremona Water Valley Way.
[6:52] » Good morning. [clears throat] Uh Dwayne
Fton, division one counselor uh rule
[6:55] cares south to Rocky View and East Hill.
>> Good morning, Laura Catman's executive
[7:00] assistant.
>> Good morning, Ray Pole, planner.
[7:04] Morning, Shelley French Communications.
>> Thank you. And we have an agenda in
[7:09] front of us. Are there any additions to
the agenda? Councelor Harris, if
[7:13] » I could add an item RMA uh committee
appointment.
[7:18] » Okay. So, we'll add that under 9.8.
[7:29] Is there any other additions or any
other changes to the agenda?
[7:34] Seeing none, could I have a motion to
adopt the amended agenda, please? Moved
[7:38] by Councelor Nixon.
Uh, [clears throat] I will call the
[7:42] question. All in favor? And that motion
is carried.
[7:48] Okay. And we have um regular council
minutes of our August 12th meeting. Is
[7:54] there any errors or omissions in those
minutes?
[7:58] Seeing none, could I have a motion to
adopt those? Moved by councelor Lutz.
[8:02] I'll call to question. All in favor? And
that motion's carried.
[8:07] Okay. Okay. And so before we get into uh
the council agenda, just to point out a
[8:11] few things. We do have two delegations
today. We have the Legacy Land Trust
[8:15] Society coming at 11:00 and we have Olds
College coming at 11:30. So wherever we
[8:20] are in the agenda, we will endeavor to
accommodate those um uh delegations as
[8:25] uh um
um as appropriate on the agenda times
[8:30] 11:00 and 11:30. And then 9.1, the
future airport management structure. We
[8:35] will be um addressing that agenda item
after our close session.
[8:42] So we will move right into the public
hearing
[8:47] and that is agenda item 4.1.
[clears throat]
[8:53] This is bylaw number LU2026
being a bylaw of Mount View County in
[8:57] the province of Alberta to amend land
use bylaw number uh 1024 affecting
[9:03] Southeast 153365
plan 1711620
[9:09] block one lot 2 pursuit pursuant to the
municipal government act. This received
[9:14] first reading on July 8th 2026. And with
that I will open the public hearing and
[9:18] turn it over to planning please.
>> Thank you. The beginning of the
[9:22] presentation starts on page 25 of the
agenda. The applicants and land owners
[9:27] are Gary and Heather Crouch. This
application is proposing to redesate an
[9:31] approximate 2.63 acres from agricultural
2 district A2 to country residential 1
[9:37] district.
[9:40] The next slide is the location map and
shows that the subject property is in
[9:44] the rural neighborhood of McDougall
Flats about 7 kilometers west from the
[9:49] town of Sundry.
[9:53] The next slide shows the figure three
map from the municipal development plan
[9:57] and shows that the proposal is within
the potential multi-law residential
[10:00] development area. This is a policy area
that may consider a maximum of four
[10:05] titles within a quarter section.
[10:10] The redesation site sketch on page 28 of
the agenda shows that the application
[10:14] seeking to redesate an approximate 2.63
63 acres of bare land from the southwest
[10:19] corner of a 71.91
acre agricultural parcel. The subsequent
[10:24] subdivision application proposes the
creation of the fourth title for the
[10:28] quarter.
[10:31] The surrounding land use map shows that
the subject property is predominantly
[10:35] surrounded by agricultural zone land.
The subject quarter does already contain
[10:39] one residential parcel east of the
parent parcel.
[10:43] Surrounding the subject quarter, there's
also a residential parcel in the quarter
[10:47] to the west. The quarters to the north
and northeast are both crown land. Four
[10:52] of the neighboring quarters are
currently unsubdivided and four contain
[10:55] two titles.
[10:59] The well and pipeline facilities map is
shown on the next slide. The subject
[11:03] quarter contains one natural gas
pipeline along its north boundary along
[11:06] with foothills natural gas lines that
are used to service nearby residential
[11:10] sites. The closest oil and gas facility
surrounding the parent parcel is a
[11:14] flowing gas well located over 530 meters
northwest of the proposal within the
[11:19] neighboring quarter. Oil and gas
facility should have a minimal impact on
[11:23] the proposal.
[11:27] The next slide shows the topography and
water map. The parent parcel is more
[11:30] elevated along its north boundary and
slopes down to the south. According to
[11:34] Agressid, the landform is mostly
considered hammocky low relief. Barberry
[11:39] Creek is located about 490 m south of
the proposal within the quarter to the
[11:44] south.
[11:48] Looking closer, you can see that there
appears to be unclassified creeks to the
[11:52] north and west of the proposal. During
the site visit, it was noted that these
[11:56] creeks appear to be seasonal,
representing the natural drainage
[11:59] throughout the quarter. This seasonal
creek eventually drains into Bberry
[12:03] Creek.
[12:08] Because the topography map does not
capture the proposal's feature, this
[12:11] slide shows historical aerial images of
the proposal area that shows some of the
[12:15] site's characteristics. The proposal
consists of an elevated area near its
[12:19] center and is bordered by gentle
hillsides. There appears to be um
[12:24] adequate space near the center of the
proposal with more level topography that
[12:27] can accommodate future development.
[12:33] Soil information is shown on this next
slide. According to Canada Land
[12:38] Inventory, the parent parcel contains
class 5 soils. Eggressid shows that most
[12:43] of the parent parcel contains soils with
an LSRS rating of 4H, indicating that
[12:47] the soils have severe limitations to
produce spring grains. According to the
[12:52] farmland field sheet, most of the parent
parcel contains soils with a farmland
[12:56] assessment rating that ranges from 34 to
39%. While the soils with the greatest
[13:01] limitations appear to be within the
lowerlying areas. The data shows that
[13:05] the north portion of the parent parcel
contain soils with somewhat higher soil
[13:09] capabilities.
[13:13] The environmental scan map on this next
slide shows that there are no
[13:16] environmentally significant areas
identified within the parent parcel.
[13:21] There is a class 4 ESA within the
quarter to the south that surrounds
[13:25] Barberry Creek and its tributaries.
[13:30] Starting on page 36 of the agenda are
some site photos. Um this slide shows
[13:36] the approximate location of the
proposal's boundaries. Photo A was taken
[13:41] um near the proposal southeast corner
and photo B shows the proposal southwest
[13:46] corner that is bordered by the adjacent
quarter to the west. You can see how
[13:49] this area of the parent parcel contains
a gentle hillside.
[13:55] The next slide shows the approximate
location of the proposal's north
[13:58] boundary. Photo A shows the proposal's
northwest corner, and you can see how
[14:03] this boundary has been angled to follow
the edge of a tree stand near the bottom
[14:07] of the hill while allowing the wetter
areas to remain within the balance of
[14:11] the parent parcel. And photo B shows the
approximate location of the proposal's
[14:16] northwest corner.
[14:22] This next slide shows views within the
proposal area. Photo A and B uh both
[14:27] show that the proposal is slightly more
elevated here and consists of a slightly
[14:31] undelating topography. This would be the
location of a future residential site
[14:36] should the application be approved.
[14:40] The next slide shows views of the
surrounding uh parent parcel. Photo A
[14:46] shows the areas north of the proposal
and photo B shows the lowlying area to
[14:50] the east of the proposal. The applicants
intend on continuing using the
[14:54] surrounding lands for pasture.
[15:01] This next slide shows access and sight
lines to the subject property. The left
[15:06] side shows the potential location for a
future approach that would need to be
[15:09] constructed into the proposal and the
right side shows the existing approach
[15:13] into the proposed remainder. Should the
application be approved, one condition
[15:17] of subdivision will be to ensure that
both approaches meet the county's
[15:20] current access management policy.
[15:25] The application proposes a third
subdivision from the quarter to create a
[15:28] new residential parcel and was evaluated
against the municipal development plans
[15:33] residential land use policies. As the
proposal would be um seeking to create
[15:37] the fourth title and is within the
potential multi-illot residential
[15:41] development area, it does remain within
the maximum density of four titles per
[15:45] quarter. The proposal mostly complies
with the policies of 433 for lowdensity
[15:50] residential subdivisions and are
summarized on this slide. A more
[15:54] detailed evaluation of policies 433D and
M is provided on the following slide.
[16:01] The land owners have owned the property
for more than 5 years and the higher
[16:04] quality agricultural lands will remain
within the proposed balance of the
[16:08] parent parcel. The proposal is between 2
to three acres and would have access to
[16:13] a county road and can establish services
located on an elevated area in the
[16:18] southwest corner of the quarter. The
proposal is expected to have a minimal
[16:21] impact on the continued agricultural use
of the remaining lands. The applicant
[16:27] also consulted nearby land owners before
submitting the application. The site
[16:31] visit confirmed that the proposed parcel
contains a relatively level building
[16:35] area despite the surrounding gentle
slopes and appear suitable for
[16:38] development. A geotechnical report may
be required at the development permit
[16:43] stage depending on the scope and
location of future development. As the
[16:47] subdivision would create the third title
within the quarter section, municipal
[16:51] reserve dedication will be required as
cash inlue in accordance with county
[16:55] policy and the municipal government act.
The environmental land use policies were
[16:59] considered due to the unclassified
creeks. However, given that the nearby
[17:04] creeks appear to be seasonal and
Barberry Creek is well removed from the
[17:07] proposal, it should have a minimal
impact on the surrounding environment.
[17:13] A key policy consideration is MDP policy
433D.
[17:18] The quarter already contains a 7.14 acre
residential parcel that was created in
[17:23] 2008. Combined with the proposed 2.63
acre parcel, the total residential area
[17:28] within the quarter would be
approximately 9.77 acres exceeding the
[17:33] preferred maximum of 9 acres. The
applicants have provided additional
[17:38] rationale to support this variance which
has been included in the report to
[17:42] council for your consideration.
Analysis of the development history
[17:46] within the quarter shows that it
currently contains three dwellings. One
[17:50] in the previously subdivided residential
parcel and two on the agricultural
[17:55] parcel along the east half of the
quarter. The applicants have confirmed,
[17:59] however, that the mobile home within the
agricultural lot has been sold and is
[18:03] expected to be removed early in
September. If the proposed parcel is
[18:07] approved and developed, the quarter
would then contain three dwellings with
[18:11] the potential for a fourth dwelling on
the remainder parcel remaining compliant
[18:16] with the land use bylaws dwelling
density provisions.
[18:21] Administration recommends refusal of
this application as the proposal seeking
[18:25] to exceed the total area of 9 acres for
residential use within the quarter
[18:29] established by MDP policy 433D.
However, given the applicant's
[18:34] rationale, the size of the 2008
subdivision and the modest size of the
[18:38] proposed parcel, council may consider
approval with a variance of the total
[18:42] residential acres policy. That concludes
my presentation and the applicants are
[18:46] available if you do have any questions.
Thank you.
[18:50] Thank you. Do the applicants have any
new or additional information they'd
[18:53] like to provide?
No. Okay. Thank you. The applicant
[18:58] waves. Is there anyone in the gallery
who would like to speak in opposition of
[19:02] this application?
Is there anyone in the gallery who would
[19:07] like to speak in favor of this
application?
[19:11] Is there anyone online who would like to
speak either in favor or in opposition
[19:16] to this application?
[19:21] Okay. Uh, seeing none, then I will open
the, uh, floor for council to ask any
[19:25] questions they may have. Council
Johnson,
[19:29] [clears throat] thank you. Question to
planning. If the, um, second dwelling
[19:34] um, [clears throat]
doesn't get moved, does it become legal
[19:38] nonconforming in order to allow for an
additional dwelling on the proposed
[19:42] parcel? How does that work?
>> Margaretta, please. So the only
[19:48] provision there is for a legal
non-conforming second dwelling is if you
[19:52] have a farmstead and it is considered as
part of the redesation and subdivision
[19:57] process.
[20:00] » Thank you. Is there any other questions?
Uh councelor Harris.
[20:03] » Um [clears throat] just to clarify, Ran,
I heard what you said, but on a couple
[20:08] of the maps there's actually showing a
residence
[20:12] on the west part of the quarter. I'm
looking at page 35.
[20:19] and it's showing a residence on the west
half of the quarter immediately west of
[20:23] the residential subdivision that's 7
acres
[20:32] » and then others it doesn't show it so
I'm not sure
[20:36] we're it is confirmed that there is no
residence there though
[20:41] » through the chair um so the 7.14 acre
subdivision has one residential site
[20:49] there and then the east half of the
corridor has um a residential um
[20:56] building there and then a mobile home
just along the periphery of the quarter.
[21:02] Um the parent parcel itself doesn't
contain any development. Um, so the
[21:07] applicants did confirm that the um the
mobile home because they owned the um
[21:15] agricultural parcel on the east side had
been um used by a family member, but
[21:19] they've recently moved out and the
mobile home's been um sold and services
[21:24] have been disconnected and they're just
waiting to have it removed offsite. So
[21:29] if um that [clears throat] confirmation
can be provided prior to the subdivision
[21:33] meeting um then it would have been
addressed and we'll have um only two
[21:38] dwellings within the quarter at this
time um and ensuring that we remain
[21:43] within the maximum of four dwelling
units of um considering that the new
[21:48] residential parcel will need to
accommodate a residential site as well
[21:51] as the remainder of the parent parcel.
>> Okay. So Brian, just to just to clarify,
[21:56] those dots are rural addresses. Are they
is that correct? Not dwellings
[22:02] » on page 35 of the agenda. Yes, they uh
some of those dots there are all rural
[22:08] addresses and you'll see they'll
correlate with dwellings. Uh but the
[22:12] parent parcel has got a rural address
that's indicated by the dot, but there
[22:16] is no dwelling.
>> Thank you. Yes.
[22:19] Thank you.
Is there any other questions?
[22:27] » No. Then I will ask if planning has any
closing comments.
[22:31] » I do not. Thank you.
>> Thank you. And does the applicant have
[22:34] any closing comments?
>> Thank you. The applicant waves. So with
[22:38] that, I will close the public hearing
and I will look for a motion. Please. Uh
[22:42] councelor Nixon. I would move that
council give second reading to bylaw
[22:46] number LU 20226 red designating the
lands within the southeast 153365
[22:52] plan 1711 620 block 1 lot 2.
>> Thank you. Is there any discussion?
[22:59] Seeing none, I'll call to question. All
in favor
[23:02] and opposed. And that motion's carried.
and councelor Nixon.
[23:07] » I would further move that council give
third reading to bylaw number LU 2026
[23:13] redesating the lands within the
southeast 153365
[23:17] plan 1711620
block one lot 2. Thank you. Any further
[23:22] discussion? I will call question. All in
favor
[23:27] and opposed and that motion is carried.
[clears throat]
[23:35] Okay, we will move on to um
we have no uh bylaws, we have no
[23:41] directives, so we'll move right into 8.1
operational services quarterly report.
[23:46] Ryan, please.
>> Good morning. Uh container in your
[23:50] agenda is the operational services
quarterly report. Um always a little bit
[23:55] awkward doing these ones because it's a
month behind from where we're actually
[23:59] at today. So, um, I'll give you, uh, an
update of where we're at today along
[24:04] with this update that's contained in the
report. So, our our chipping crew with
[24:08] the weather here we've had in August,
they've been making some really great
[24:11] progress. Right now, we've been, uh,
spending a lot of time down in uh, the
[24:15] Water Valley area is where they're
currently at right now. Um, we haven't
[24:19] had a whole lot of setbacks besides the
weather we had in June, but everything
[24:22] is looking good right now. They should
be rounding up here at the end of
[24:26] September, getting close to to
completing all their programs.
[24:30] [clears throat] The base stabilization
work, we we just completed the last jobs
[24:35] on that. So, those two program that
program is wrapping up and the majority
[24:39] of the staff that work on that program
are are younger staff and they're
[24:42] heading back to university here right
now. We're starting to see them leave
[24:47] one by one as the as the week goes on.
And uh by, you know, in another week and
[24:52] a half, they'll probably all be be gone.
So, we're we're working on that.
[24:56] Drainage, we've been working on on some
different things all around. Uh we
[24:59] definitely have been getting requests
coming in from different people in the
[25:03] public uh asking for different ditching
projects going on.
[25:08] um bridge work. We're seeing uh rounding
up most of the bridge work is is has
[25:13] been complete for the year. We still
have to do this one on Range Road 20
[25:17] just north of of uh DDsbury. The the one
on the Bergen Road, which I know some of
[25:22] the counselors ran into when they were
coming to the last meeting. That one is
[25:26] complete and now we'll move on to the
other one. It's the same contractor
[25:30] doing both of them because they are each
other's detour route. So, uh they should
[25:34] be getting that. We're just getting the
the final fabrication on the girders and
[25:37] then that one will start. That one
shouldn't take super long for them to do
[25:41] and then we can get everything paved up
and everything completed here before the
[25:44] summer. Um, Acme Road, big one that
we're working on with with staff right
[25:49] now. So, the contractor is is underway.
We have had some some setbacks on that
[25:54] road with uh some of the third party
contractors that we we deal with um on
[26:00] there and I can I can elaborate on that
in the CEO's uh meeting later. um when
[26:05] the contractor has been working there,
we have been hitting very interesting
[26:09] geotechnical
um issues there. We've been hitting a
[26:13] lot of rock and uh rock is a very strong
matter to build a road out of, but it's
[26:20] also inherently difficult to deal with.
So, we've been ripping a lot of rock. If
[26:24] anyone has ever taken a tour through
there, if you got lost and you went
[26:27] through the signs, there's a lot of
rock. A lot of rock coming out of that
[26:31] road. A lot of sandstone. We're we're
ripping it up. we're we're working on.
[26:34] And then the other one we've hit there
is we knew going into it that we were
[26:38] going to be hitting a lot of black dirt.
We are hitting a lot of black dirt.
[26:41] There's some interesting photos that
we've shared with the CEO on on some of
[26:45] the test pits in the center of the road.
You know, six foot tall surveyor stand
[26:49] in the in the pit and the black dirt's
over his head. So, it's uh it's not
[26:55] surprising that we haven't been able to
keep this road together with the
[26:58] changing traffic conditions. I know the
the detour routes in that area. We have
[27:02] been getting uh um some feedback from
the local residents about the traffic
[27:08] moving around trying to get around the
detour, taking some of the gravel roads
[27:12] uh that aren't on the detour road. We've
been seeing a large spike in traffic
[27:16] through uh um township 290 going through
the the kind of the hamlet of dog pound
[27:23] there. We're seeing a very large uptick
of the the county residents who probably
[27:28] are migrating or or commuting to Erdri,
Crossfield, Calgary. That way they're
[27:33] they're starting to go through through
that area there and and uh dogging
[27:37] through through Madden. We've had some
some different [snorts] uh interesting
[27:41] conversations with the fellas at Rocky
View County as well about they're
[27:44] starting to see this this uptick on
traffic, especially uh a lot of the
[27:48] heavy traffic that was using that road.
they're trying to figure their way
[27:51] through there and then the residents in
that area are are feeling a lot of that
[27:55] that that extra traffic on their roads.
Um far as the other projects we're
[28:00] doing, uh long patching, uh most of the
counselors had long patching in their
[28:05] areas. The long patching is complete.
Central City Ashefold did that out of
[28:09] their pit in Garington and uh that's all
good and done and we were we were very
[28:14] pleased with the work that they did and
the time frame to which they did it.
[28:18] They hit it very hard and got everything
done probably in about a week and a
[28:24] half, two weeks, including the uh the
paving and sundry at Willow Hill behind
[28:29] uh the subdivision there where Saunders
and and uh Coleman Forest Products is.
[28:33] That's that's all done. So, we got all
that done. Um this summer, Richardson
[28:38] Brothers Construction, we were looking
at our workflow and they helped us
[28:41] complete the uh the two base jobs we had
to do. one across the lake here just
[28:46] south of southwest of Olds. So, they got
that one done quick and then our crews
[28:50] came in and uh and chipped that one and
then they did that uh elevator road that
[28:55] 332 which we originally got them to come
do that because it was only like a half
[29:00] mile from their shop. We said we need
some help. Can you guys come help us?
[29:03] And they're like, "Yep, we can come help
you." So, uh that one's all done. So,
[29:08] we're we're definitely seeing most of
our projects are either done or starting
[29:12] to wrap up. We have a couple stragglers
out there with bridge stuff to do, but
[29:17] then once those get going, um they'll
get done pretty quick. We're not
[29:21] expecting to roll over any of these
projects into the new year. Um with the
[29:26] exception of the Acme Road upgrade,
that's going to be a wait and see, see
[29:29] how we go. They just passed the Passu
farm road. So now they're they're
[29:33] through the most difficult stretch of
road and now they're getting into the
[29:36] flatter, easier stretch. We're hopeful.
We've been doing some test holes there
[29:41] that will we'll see some of the
geotechnical issues improve out there
[29:45] and hitting less rock in some of these
boral pits we're going to dig, but we
[29:49] won't know until we dig the hole.
>> Just a question for you, Ryan, on the um
[29:54] Bergen Bridge on the Bergen Road just
past um
[29:57] » the office here
>> there. Yeah.
[29:58] » Yep. Uh I are we going to also repair or
replace um the patch that's between the
[30:06] train tracks and the bridge because that
is still pretty crappy. I saw that there
[30:10] was some work that was done around the
tracks which made it a lot nicer coming
[30:13] over it this morning but there's still
that that little gap.
[30:16] » So Vulker Ste's going to pave from the
railway tracks past the bridge. So,
[30:20] we're going to pave that little segment
of road from Range Road 21 to the tracks
[30:24] and then portray across the where the
bridge was where the new culverts were
[30:29] installed.
>> Thank you.
[30:30] » Then they're actually going to jump
across the tracks and do the uh the
[30:34] south shoulder of the Bergen Road as
well because that's starting to just
[30:37] migrate its way in. The guys went out
and patched it. But you can see Central
[30:41] City did those other patches leading up
to there and we had originally had them
[30:45] to do it and then them and Vulker worked
out of things and we'll just do it when
[30:49] we come. So, we'll get that all polished
up.
[30:53] » Councelor Luck,
>> Tiffany asked or sorry, Councelor Nixon
[30:56] asked my question about 320. Um, with
regards to Acme, what are we doing with
[31:00] the excess rock and excess black dirt?
>> So, we're working with our engineers
[31:08] coming up with different plans on the
design template to try and get that
[31:13] material out. So, you have the the road
trapezoid, I guess you would call it. So
[31:19] the center of the road by design has to
be new good material. The shoulders of
[31:24] the road can be that excess material. So
we're taking that mixed organic material
[31:30] and that's what we're building the
shoulders of the road out of. And then
[31:32] there are some of the areas too where
we've over excavated the ditches and
[31:36] we'll fill the ditches with that
material to try and maintain that
[31:40] template. Now, hauling that material and
changing these templates does come at a
[31:45] cost, but we have to we have to find
some place to get rid of this material.
[31:48] And then we're also working with the the
farmers in that area saying, "You want
[31:53] some black dirt? We'll we'll we'll we'll
give you some black dirt because there's
[31:57] there's no no shortage of it out there."
And then there's some of the areas there
[32:02] like on the west side of the pass
through farm road um where we cut
[32:06] through the black dirt. We cut through
like 6 in of subs soil and then it's
[32:10] just shale. Shale below that pure rock.
Now shale that's we can we can use that.
[32:17] We can we take that material and use it.
But most of the large sandstone we're
[32:22] ripping it with the D9s, smashing it up
and putting it in the road.
[32:27] Okay. Uh uh councelor Johnson
>> uh related question. Um later on uh
[32:33] Christopher is going to talk about um uh
how many top soil permits and stuff we
[32:38] do. So I'm trying to understand like the
the way that the black dirt is being
[32:43] treated on Acme Road. Is that kind of
standard policy or in general across the
[32:48] county? What happens to the black dirt?
Does does the contractor just deal with
[32:53] it? [clears throat] Do we need a soil
permit? How does that work? So, no, we
[32:57] don't require a soil permit for when
we're doing the road construction. And
[33:00] then when we strip a quarter section of
land, we don't ever move that top soil
[33:05] off that quarter section. So, if we
strip the quarter section the side
[33:08] adjacent to to your property, we don't
move that top soil onto another quarter
[33:13] section. We try and maintain within
those half mile junctions. And that's to
[33:17] do with a lot of things. We used to do
strip like larger sections and make big
[33:22] piles of dirt. We don't do that anymore
because a lot of the farmers after uh
[33:26] the construction's done were complaining
about weeds. Like I take good care of my
[33:29] black dirt. My neighbor does not. Or
that was uh the big one we've seen is uh
[33:34] one quarter section's cultivated, one
quarter section is pasture. You move the
[33:38] top soil from the pasture into the
cultivated portion and you have a
[33:43] incredible bloom of weeds come up that
the the farmer hasn't been dealt with
[33:48] before. So we uh we keep the land we
keep the dirt per quarter section.
[33:54] » Yeah.
>> Okay. [clears throat]
[33:55] Ryan, do you have anything further?
>> Uh yeah, I'll keep going here.
[34:00] » Um contained here is also the industry
activity we've been seeing here. So um
[34:05] this includes when roadbands came off in
June and uh we saw an uptick in drilling
[34:11] rigs in the Eagle Hill area again which
was uh not unexpected. Um but generally
[34:19] we haven't seen
um the same activity that we saw late
[34:24] last year. Uh I don't know why there was
a lot of D56s that came in for for
[34:29] additional drills, but I'm not an oil
guy. I can't comment on how the oil
[34:34] industry works and how they do their
exploration. But we did see a lot of
[34:38] D56s come through in January. So we're
expecting a lot more drilling to be
[34:42] happening and we haven't seen those rigs
come into the county quite yet. So,
[34:46] might be a big push still this fall.
[clears throat]
[34:53] » Councelor Johnson,
>> an additional question if I might on
[34:56] page 84. I was surprised uh Ryan when I
looked at this report that the the
[35:03] gravel road maintenance which is about
the fourth or fifth line down shows that
[35:08] there was only four requests in in uh up
until the end of June for gravel
[35:13] maintenance. Is that based on the fact
that uh we've had quite a bit of rain
[35:16] and the gravel roads are in pretty good
shape. It just looks a lot different
[35:20] than than the historic requests.
>> It is. And then the other one that
[35:25] really populates that gravel road uh
service request is the dust ones. So, we
[35:31] haven't had as many dust ones come in
because we have had sporadic rain
[35:36] throughout the season. So, we've kept
that kind of down. But, you know, last
[35:41] fall we had that super dry fall and then
we got lit up. So, not saying that
[35:46] that's the indicator on how the year
will finish by any means. And especially
[35:49] with with silage harvest going on, guys
are moving their bales right now. We'll
[35:53] start to see those go up, I'm sure, as
the the agricultural truck traffic
[35:57] begins to increase here as coming to
months end and definitely getting into
[36:01] September.
>> Okay, Ryan.
[36:05] Um, and then the last parts are just the
service requests uh per per quadrant,
[36:12] the maps that that council has requested
in the past. We've included those for
[36:16] for for council to to to stay informed
on on where the actual requests are
[36:21] coming. It's a you know, a wide birth of
of requests. And then the last map
[36:26] that's on there is our continued uh
attempt at letting council know where
[36:32] we're actually seeing the road permits
coming in. So no surprise it's it's
[36:38] Eagle Hill and north of Sundry are
leading the way once again in in all of
[36:43] our oil field over dimension overweight
permits. They're all coming in in that
[36:49] area. And then the last one of the dots
is the actual sites that they've been
[36:53] hauling to. So definitely Eagle Hill
north of Sunundry leading the the charge
[36:59] as far as industry traffic in Mountain
View County.
[37:03] » And uh
>> Councelor Johnson,
[37:05] » um I really appreciate that map on page
94. If um if you look at where um
[37:13] they're drilling, where they're
fracking, and you look at the most
[37:16] recent soil uh dry soil maps from
Alberta agriculture, you'll see that
[37:22] there continues to be a correlation
between where we're pumping the water
[37:26] downhole and where the dry soil is in
Alberta. And u so I very much appreciate
[37:31] this map. Also would comment on the long
patching that was done uh this year. It
[37:36] was extraordinarily good. Um certainly
the improvements on Range Road 44 and on
[37:42] 340 are are really noticeable. So thank
you for that.
[37:48] » Thank you. Is there any other questions
for Ryan? Ryan, do you have anything
[37:52] further?
>> Nope.
[37:56] » Okay.
[clears throat] So we have a motion on
[38:01] the screen page 81. Uh councelor look. I
move that council receives the
[38:07] operational services quarterly report as
information.
[38:11] » Thank you. Is there any further
discussion?
[38:13] Seeing none, I'll call question. All in
favor? And that motion's carried. We'll
[38:18] move on to corporate services quarterly
report. Mike, please.
[38:21] » Thank you, Reeves. The RFD for the
corporate services quarterly report is
[38:25] 90 on page 95 with the report starting
on page 96.
[38:30] On the assessment side, we worked
through reinspections. Assessment
[38:33] notices were mailed out for May 15th and
uh we addressed any inquiries prior to
[38:38] the role closing which occurred on July
14th. At the end of roll closing, there
[38:43] were three assessment appeals that had
been filed.
[38:47] Through [clears throat] that inquiry
period, revisions were completed u
[38:51] municipally and proincially. This
resulted in about $1,500 in reduction of
[38:57] municipal tax base. Uh the chart below
kind of outlines the change in the
[39:01] assessment of the different classes as
well as the tax impact from uh the
[39:06] municipal standpoint.
Looking ahead, we'll continue to inspect
[39:12] uh all residential, commercial, and
industrial properties throughout the
[39:15] county. Uh work through the appeals as
well as prepare for upcoming market
[39:20] analysis.
On the tax side, we included a chart of
[39:23] the pre-authorized debit yearly
comparisons.
[39:27] Below that we have the tax incentive
deadline was June 30th. We did see a
[39:31] decrease in the amount of taxes
collected through the incentive program.
[39:35] However, we did ste see about 50% of
properties taking advantage of that
[39:39] reduction.
Chart below shows outstanding balance.
[39:44] You can kind of see the difference
between last year and this year um at
[39:48] taxes collected as of June 30th. Um but
we should see that level out as we
[39:53] approach the the tax deadline of
September 15th.
[39:58] business services on IT security saw um
nine low severity security incidents
[40:04] reported which did not result in any
data breaches. So it continues to
[40:08] educate staff and make updates to keep
our systems secure and our devices
[40:13] secure. GIS continues to work with
departments to meet their needs and
[40:17] begin work on the ownership map which
are updated every two years.
[40:23] Update on our financial software
replacement noted as the ERP project.
[40:28] Our targeted go live to date is uh early
Q4 of this year. The current system will
[40:34] remain operational during this
transition. Uh the project is noted it
[40:39] is behind schedule uh due to data
conversion and software readiness. This
[40:44] is common not just for us but other
municipalities converting to the new
[40:48] platform. So we look to uh avoid being
the lead in development of the software
[40:54] and and allow other clients to kind of
work through the kinks so to speak.
[41:00] Uh service request transition Cclicks
fix implement implementation is underway
[41:06] and expected to go live um Q4 prior to
the expiration of our current software
[41:13] through syllogis. We also introduce a
citizen portal. This will allow public
[41:17] to make payments to access historical
transactions. Uh view properties
[41:22] associated with their accounts along
with tax and assessment notices. Uh
[41:26] users will be able to register for tips,
pay bills, produce tax certificates all
[41:31] through the portal.
Another change that will um be expected
[41:36] are assessment and tax notices. If you
can recall a couple years ago, uh, June
[41:41] of 2024, council approved the separation
of assessment and tax notices with this
[41:46] new software. To help with that
transition, we're kind of looking to
[41:50] maintain traditional mail uh target time
frames as as we have in the past for for
[41:57] 2027. and with that communicate changes
that that will likely be expected for
[42:04] 2028 which include an earlier assessment
notice mail date outside and separate
[42:08] from their tax notice mail date later in
the year.
[42:12] So lots coming up with updated programs
and systems. Um
[42:17] on the finance for revenues some
variances throughout either above or
[42:22] below due to timing of specific bill
building billing and payments received
[42:26] but overall revenues are in line with
year-to- date budgets and expectations.
[42:31] Return on investment has outpaced the
year-to- date budget due to favorable
[42:34] short-term interest rates and higher
than expected returns from early
[42:38] investment sales.
On the expense side, some variances as
[42:43] well noted throughout the departments.
Again, due large part to the timing of
[42:46] the expenses compared to when this
report was generated, but overall
[42:50] expenses look in line with the budget.
Looking ahead, finance system
[42:55] replacement will take some time uh with
training and testing ongoing through Q3
[43:00] with anticipated Q4
uh application. inventory count of the
[43:06] Disbury shop scheduled for the end of Q3
and the budget process is currently
[43:10] underway with operating budgets being
compiled in anticipation of the October
[43:16] special council meeting.
Grant status updates are provided in
[43:20] tables below including annual grants,
new ongoing and project grants and
[43:26] completed grants are outlined in three
tables.
[43:30] Also attached for your reference are uh
the consolidated statements of
[43:34] operations
2026 project reporting and the CO CAO
[43:40] contingency funding all as of June 30th
2026.
[43:45] With those attachments, that concludes
the corporate services quarterly report.
[43:49] Jen and I are happy to answer any
questions.
[43:52] » Thank you, council. Any questions?
[43:59] » No. [clears throat]
Seeing none, um just one note, I did
[44:04] speak with the assessment department
this year and um they were extremely
[44:08] helpful. Uh explained my assessments
very well to me and uh congratulations
[44:13] to your to your staff. They did a
fantastic job. So, please feed that
[44:17] back. And I've been encouraging everyone
to call the assessment department if
[44:21] they have any questions or concerns or
if they just want to understand the
[44:24] process better. Um, so hopefully you
haven't been overwhelmed with calls, but
[44:28] uh um I I do encourage all the
counselors to to um point uh point their
[44:34] constituents to the the assessment
department and uh they'll get some great
[44:37] information.
>> Absolutely. Thank you very much, Ree. I
[44:41] will pass that on.
>> Thank you. And we have a motion on page
[44:44] 95.
>> So maybe if I could, I just wanted to
[44:46] share one um experience from our return
on investments. Um we had a really
[44:50] profitable one this year that came um up
for early sale. So, back in 2024, we had
[44:56] purchased a 7-year PPN, which is a
principal protected note, uh, at an
[45:00] original investment of about $200,000.
Uh, earlier this year, we sold off half
[45:05] of that and, uh, actualized a return of
$138,000.
[45:11] So, just over a 100% return. Um, and
here in August, we actually sold another
[45:16] $60,000 of that principle and brought in
another $94,000 in interest. So on that
[45:22] original 160, we realized uh $232,000
in interest. Um when when looking at
[45:30] that opposed to budget, this PPN
actually didn't have a cash flow planned
[45:34] for this year. So that is all above and
beyond what our expectations had been.
[45:38] Uh we retained about $40,000 in that
investment just because the underlying
[45:43] index is still up and we don't want to
lose out on any um future growth that we
[45:47] might see. But I just wanted to share
that as kind of one of the indicators of
[45:51] why that return on investment is coming
in um above budget and we're working
[45:55] really hard with our portfolio managers
to find good replacements so that we can
[45:59] get these you know windfalls when
they're available. [clears throat]
[46:03] » Fantastic. Thank you. Uh councelor Lutz,
>> speaking of windfalls, um is there any
[46:08] strategy? I know it's really early days,
but we have a lot of green equipment and
[46:12] arts are going to be tariffed. Are you
guys talking as a group on um
[46:18] what to do with tariffs,
[46:22] » Jeff?
>> Well, it's an everchanging question. Um
[46:27] we have
had conversations with tariffs as we've
[46:31] moved through the the changing landscape
over the last couple of years, but we
[46:36] have not looked at the anything new
announced yesterday or that kicked in um
[46:41] yesterday. So remains to be seen uh how
that'll impact us. We we do also rely uh
[46:48] significantly on RMA and canoe
procurement to help mitigate some of
[46:53] that landscape as a lot of our
procurements do go through the the canoe
[46:57] portfolio which is run by RMA.
There'll be interesting budget
[47:02] discussions this year, I'm sure, in the
fall.
[47:06] And we always retain the option to defer
purchasing new equipment if we can get
[47:11] an extra year or two out of the
lifespan. I don't know if we'll make
[47:14] three years or I guess two years to the
end of the term. [laughter]
[47:20] We'll see.
>> Yeah. And [clears throat] you know, I
[47:22] think that is a good comment, Reeve. Um,
you know, in in large part to council's
[47:28] planning and preparations in previous
years, the the fleet is in pretty good
[47:33] shape. So, you know, if we do hit a few
wrinkles, I think we can withstand them
[47:38] and and wait them out to see what what
the landscape looks like uh moving
[47:43] forward. Um, but certainly it could be
painful depending on how it plays out.
[47:51] » Thank you. Is there any further
questions? If not, we have a motion on
[47:55] page 95. Uh, councelor Nixon,
>> I would move that council receives the
[48:00] corporate services quarterly report as
information and that no further action
[48:04] be taken.
>> Thank you. Is there any discussion? I'll
[48:08] call to question. All in favor? And that
motion's carried. And we'll move on to
[48:11] 8.3 LEG Community and Agriculture
Services Querly Report. Christopher,
[48:15] please.
>> Thank you, worship. I'm on page 105 of
[48:17] the agenda package is where my report
starts. A couple things I'll highlight
[48:21] for you here on the first page under our
economic development strategy. Uh quite
[48:24] busy uh doing a lot of marketing right
now uh with all of our local businesses.
[48:28] We really focus our marketing endeavors
internally this year uh and trying to
[48:33] showcase uh all of those uh great
businesses that uh people can uh
[48:37] utilize. Getting a lot of good feedback
on that process. So certainly interested
[48:40] to hear from council if you've heard of
anything uh from any of your local
[48:43] businesses or residents on that. Film
office has also uh been uh pretty busy.
[48:49] If you recall during my last quarterly
report, we updated that we received a
[48:52] grant through the Northern and Regional
Economic Development Program to support
[48:56] investment attraction. Uh we have
proceeded with those grant dollars to do
[49:00] a lot of uh publications around the film
office. uh and it also gave us the
[49:04] opportunity to participate in the BA
world media festival which we have done
[49:08] for the last couple of years and that's
a great opportunity for our economic
[49:12] development and marketing officer as
well as those from DDsbury and Sundry uh
[49:17] to meet with various uh industry
partners uh as you can see in the report
[49:21] had over 20 meetings highlighting our
area uh and what we can offer uh to
[49:25] folks. So that's a great uh return on
investment especially because we were
[49:28] able to do it with grant dollars I
believe. As far as airports are
[49:32] concerned at the bottom of page 106 uh a
lot of work going on at the airports uh
[49:37] over the summer uh specifically looking
at internet connectivity issues that
[49:41] we've had. I've updated previously that
we're looking at some Starlink
[49:44] capabilities. So those are proceeding
and are proceeding uh currently in
[49:48] various different forms. We expect that
in 2027 that project will be completed.
[49:53] And then you'll note uh that we've done
a few things at the Sunundry airport as
[49:57] well after uh some discussion from the
aviation and advisory committee uh
[50:01] specifically on the terminal building at
the Sunundry airport. Uh a roof
[50:05] inspection was done, some repairs were
done in June and then there was also
[50:08] some upgrades made internally there uh
to the electrical system as well as to
[50:12] smoke and carbon monoxide uh alarms.
Into the communications uh report, a lot
[50:19] going on in communications. very very
busy time of year for uh both Shelley
[50:23] and Sydney uh producing a lot of great
documents that our residents have come
[50:27] to rely on. The 2026 annual tax brochure
which outlines uh the uh deliberations
[50:33] from council around property taxes and
uh where those tax dollars are going.
[50:38] Uh, one of the bigger campaigns that we
have put forward uh, this year is our
[50:43] service level video series which I think
has been a great addition to our overall
[50:47] communications um, portfolio where we've
started to highlight, you know, a lot of
[50:52] the work that happens around the county
specifically within operational and
[50:56] agricultural services that lots of
residents might not understand, might
[51:00] not understand how um, how the process
actually works and that's where a lot of
[51:05] those budget dollars are ultimately
going. So, we've started to get some
[51:08] great views on those which are updated
within the [clears throat] report there
[51:11] and those are continuing to be uh
released. They're all also available on
[51:15] our website if council wants to
distribute to any residents that may
[51:18] have questions on those various service
levels or if any residents just want to
[51:21] look at the entire package. Uh they are
offered there as well. The community
[51:27] budget report is uh I would say likely
our biggest publication we do annually
[51:31] in collaboration with corporate
services. uh that is the document that
[51:35] we put out that outlines the entire
budget uh package where all all the
[51:40] dollars are going to where they've been
allocated
[51:43] uh some of the main projects that we're
looking at uh within 2026. And so that
[51:48] report was released within this quarter
as well. Combined with that is the 2026
[51:53] budget video which then walks everybody
through that budget package in uh more
[51:57] of a plain language, easy to understand
um campaign. uh and that usually gets
[52:03] some very good views as well. So again,
that's also available on the website for
[52:06] council to distribute or if any
residents are interested.
[52:10] One of the bigger events that council
participated in and communications was
[52:14] uh was key in hosting there as well uh
was the Canada Day pancake breakfast and
[52:19] our stars logo unveiling which was a
great event. Uh we estimate we had about
[52:24] 500 residents that attended and we also
produced a video uh that was released in
[52:28] July of that opportunity which uh was
the uh recognition of our milestone of
[52:33] hitting that $500,000 mark of uh
contributions to STARS and having the
[52:38] county's logo placed on the helicopter.
Moving down into uh public
[52:44] participation, a lot of workshops being
hosted over the summer months. Uh
[52:47] obviously um the Eggy Days is is our
largest one that we have had, but we've
[52:52] also had uh some participation in the
ARAR roundup of 2026 uh where there's
[52:57] about 300 participants there as well. A
couple coming up here in the next little
[53:02] bit. Uh the uh Reed Ranch Country Fair
is coming up uh in the middle of
[53:07] September. And then we're also doing a
talk, ask listen workshop uh with do
[53:12] more egg. Uh and the details on that are
still to be decided on uh but likely in
[53:16] November.
The mobile app continues to be a very um
[53:23] uh important way of getting information
out there. You'll note in this quarter
[53:26] we had a large amount of downloads and
submissions coming out of it. Had over
[53:30] almost 150 new downloads, which is is a
lot for an individual quarter
[53:34] considering that we already have 2,200
downloads uh prior to the quarter. So
[53:40] continues to be a way that residents are
using to get information as well as to
[53:43] submit information. You'll note the
right hand column there is the form
[53:46] submission. So that tracks how many uh
residents have submitted through the app
[53:52] uh service requests or uh general
inquiries that the county tracks
[53:58] for legislative services. A few uh
programs still uh after this quarter are
[54:03] are in the implementation phase now. So
the remotely piloted aircraft system
[54:08] operations policy council approved
that's the drone policy is easier to uh
[54:12] understand that policy was approved by
council and is now being uh worked
[54:17] through with ledge and uh communications
as well as with our IT team looking at
[54:23] producing a video there on what that
looks like for residents. Uh that was a
[54:27] request that came out uh from council is
to do a short little video similar to
[54:30] our service level video uh that we'll be
able to distribute to residents. So, I
[54:33] know they were just doing some filming
here in the last couple of weeks. So,
[54:36] that video should be available within
the next month, I would say, for
[54:38] distribution. Privacy management
program. Uh, this was approved by
[54:43] council within the quarter. Huge, huge
project, uh, that William undertook here
[54:47] on the privacy management program for
the county, bringing all of our
[54:51] documentation up into compliance and
putting it all in a one-stop shop for
[54:55] residents uh, to be able to access. A
lot of now the action items coming out
[54:59] of that privacy management program we're
now seeing such as things such as the uh
[55:03] development of the personal information
bank that's required and some privacy
[55:07] management assessments. So you'll start
seeing those uh being available within
[55:11] the next couple of months as well.
>> Councelor Luck, do you have a question?
[55:15] » I was just going to say it was a
pleasure to see the drone in action on
[55:18] the Acme Road. That sure opened it up
for for me personally and I assume
[55:23] others to to see what's going on there
and the massiveness of that project.
[55:29] » Yeah, absolutely. And I think that's
where the value is that we see it uh as
[55:32] well. So, it's good that you were able
to identify that as well.
[55:35] » Thank you, Christopher.
>> Uh governance review had a very large
[55:39] governance review in June of this
quarter. You'll note our stats there. Uh
[55:44] the far right column is the one that I
track the most. that is the one that
[55:47] highlights the percentage of documents
that are still left to review. Uh so by
[55:51] the end of 2026, I would like to see
both of those numbers at least at 75%.
[55:56] So you'll note that we have met both of
those thresholds with 75% of bylaws
[56:00] still to review this uh term and we only
have 60% of our policies left to review.
[56:05] So well in line to be able to accomplish
that uh within council's term. Our egg
[56:11] stats service level uh reports is at the
bottom of page 111. Uh not a lot to
[56:17] identify quite yet. These are the
beginning of the um of the egg stats. So
[56:22] our big quarter for egg is Q3. That's
where you see most of our service level
[56:26] will get uh obtained. Uh but a couple of
the stats are starting to roll through
[56:30] there. You'll note that at the time of
this report, 17% of our service level
[56:35] was completed uh for mowing. Uh we
expect that that will be able to uh hit
[56:39] that 100% threshold before the end of
the year.
[56:44] Uh, one other thing I would update
council on is at the bottom of page 112.
[56:48] Uh, an egg plastic roundup day is
scheduled for November 19th over at the
[56:52] county egg shop. That's the opportunity
for residents to bring in grain bags,
[56:56] bor twine, etc. Uh, between 9:00 and
3:00 where we will have staff available
[57:01] uh to be able to be able to assist uh
with preparation of that. Uh, so we'll
[57:06] be communicating that to residents as
well.
[57:09] our grant programs uh very much uh are
in the process of being uh fully
[57:14] allocated. Uh so you'll note that the
difference between the approved funding
[57:18] and the allocated funding may be a
timing based on the specific program or
[57:22] just may be that the organization hasn't
requested their entire funding that was
[57:26] approved for them this year. But you'll
note that almost all of our grant
[57:29] programs are fully expended now uh and
are in the process of being fully
[57:33] allocated as well.
emergency services. Uh a lot going on
[57:39] there um in the uh in the second quarter
here. Some vegetation fires, you'll note
[57:44] uh started to pop up there. A large
amount uh within the Sunundry area. Uh
[57:49] and and then uh some motor vehicle
collisions and traffic traffic
[57:52] collisions also uh mixed in kind of
across the board there as well. Not
[57:56] inconsistent with what we would expect
in quarter two uh of any given year.
[58:03] our patrol stats. Some very high stops
of the quarter once again. A 65 over in
[58:08] the Bergen area uh and a 62 uh over in
the Hantock area. So those are obviously
[58:13] uh limits that are
very very fast and our team is out there
[58:17] looking at uh trying to uh trying to
find those ones specifically, but uh
[58:22] looking at lots of violations as well
this quarter at 154 95 total warnings
[58:28] were issued within this quarter.
Councelor Nixon, just a quick question
[58:32] on that Bergen stop. Was that at a
transition or was that
[58:36] » I would have to look into that specific
situation for you and get back.
[58:39] » Could you maybe because that's quite
high.
[58:40] » Sure. It is.
>> Thank you.
[58:45] » And then I'll pop all the way down to
the very end of my report on the bottom
[58:48] of page 117. This was information that
council asked uh during the last
[58:53] presentation of my quarterly report
around the transition between two peace
[58:57] officers and three peace officers. So
this occurred in 2023.
[59:01] Uh so we were able to go back and pull
some information um based on what was
[59:06] available to us on what was the typical
uh expectations in prior to 2023 and
[59:12] then what do we see today. So you'll
note that first uh first box there is
[59:17] around how many days did we not have an
officer on duty in 2020. So before that
[59:22] 2023 mark uh we had 104 days without an
officer on duty. That was under the
[59:27] two-piece officer system. And then under
the three-piece officer system, last
[59:31] year there was only nine days where we
didn't have an officer on duty. And
[59:35] that's typically because of a holiday or
a vacation uh day where, you know, there
[59:41] just wasn't somebody available to go on
there. We do try to get 365 days minus
[59:46] uh some of our statutory holidays uh
covered. So likely aiming for that 355
[59:52] mark is what we would be looking at in a
typical year. As far as the kilometers
[59:57] patrolled, I think a question.
>> Sorry, councelor Lutz.
[59:59] » Sorry. Um, so we there's more than nine
stats. So, they are working stats.
[1:00:04] » We do have uh officers that do work
stats. Specifically, the summer stats
[1:00:07] where we see uh lots of traffic on the
roadways uh will be working those stats.
[1:00:11] We don't work, you know, days like
Christmas, for instance, where there's
[1:00:14] not lots of activity.
>> Sorry to interrupt you.
[1:00:15] » Yeah, no worries.
>> People are on their best behavior over
[1:00:18] Christmas.
>> Yeah, nobody does anything wrong on
[1:00:20] Christmas.
>> Thank you. Uh and then the last stat
[1:00:23] here that I provided as well, these are
the kilometers that are patrolled, which
[1:00:26] I think is a bigger indicator and if
council recalls was kind of our
[1:00:29] objective of trying to institute the
third officer is that we went from about
[1:00:33] 65,000 kilometers being patrolled uh to
160,000 km being patrolled. So really a
[1:00:39] success in being able to get officer
time out on the roads and getting um
[1:00:43] getting more visibility uh with our
officers out there as well. So those
[1:00:46] were the stats that council requested I
believe. Um but certainly I can answer
[1:00:50] questions on anything that I have
presented or anything that is contained
[1:00:53] within the report.
>> Thank you. Are there any questions for
[1:00:56] Christopher? Uh councelor uh Johnson.
>> Um thanks for your report Christopher.
[1:01:01] Um, if we look at page 112, it looks at
the pasture sprayer use and um, I know
[1:01:08] that [clears throat] communications has
done really excellent work and I'm
[1:01:12] wondering if there is time that we could
do a communication um, piece on the fact
[1:01:19] that we have pasture sprayers available
and also that we have a herbicide rebate
[1:01:25] program. um given all the good rain
we've got uh maybe a bigger problem on
[1:01:30] the west side of the county than the
east side as uh Ryan sort of uh referred
[1:01:36] to u most cultivated land is sprayed
anyway but um some of the pastures um
[1:01:42] are have hedges of thistles in and so
I'm wondering if uh I'm wondering if we
[1:01:50] could promote the fact that we have
pastor sprayers and a herbicide rebate
[1:01:54] program that uh farmers could use to
look after some of those thistles in
[1:01:58] their pasture.
>> Yeah, absolutely. We can continue to do
[1:02:02] that. I know both of those programs uh
Shelley and the team uh do communicate
[1:02:05] out through our channels. We can
continue to do that. Our herbicide
[1:02:08] rebate program specifically is usually
oversubscribed every year. So, it is a
[1:02:12] very popular program uh that our land
owners are taking advantage of um for
[1:02:16] sure. Uh but we you will likely see in
the next quarterly report that pasture
[1:02:21] sprayers number has increased
significantly over the summer months as
[1:02:25] well. Uh, councelor Harris.
>> So, Christopher, just for clarification,
[1:02:30] going back to page 114,
um, the fire department calls by
[1:02:35] incident type and and looking at
sunundry in the medical calls and here's
[1:02:40] where we're supposed to have an
ambulance. Do we keep a record of how
[1:02:46] many are first instance versus second
instance, ambulance not available, and
[1:02:52] then we're responding?
Uh so our stats would be able to show
[1:02:56] whether we have been dispatched
automatically or whether our our service
[1:03:00] was requested. Also tracks the um the
emergency classification level as well
[1:03:05] from alpha to echo so that we can track
whether you know these are emergency
[1:03:09] calls or these are you know just
somebody that's not feeling well type of
[1:03:12] thing. So we can certainly track all of
that. But yes, your comments are
[1:03:15] certainly taken that there's a large
part of AHS's service level that that
[1:03:20] department specifically as well as the
Cremona district emergency services
[1:03:23] department typically picks up for
Alberta Health Services.
[1:03:27] » Yeah, I I mean Cremona I understand we
we don't have an ambulance there. Um but
[1:03:32] it's indicative I think of ambulances
being redirected to places and then
[1:03:38] being not being there to serve our
residents. So I think one of the things
[1:03:42] that's difficult too is Sundry has now
been downgraded. It's no longer a
[1:03:46] priority ambulance um service in Sundry.
So the Sunundry Wellness Committee's
[1:03:51] been trying to figure out why that
change has been made and why Sundry is
[1:03:55] no longer um a priority ambulance um
center and so stay tuned for that. So
[1:04:01] we're trying to figure that out. Uh we
haven't gotten any answers yet, but I
[1:04:05] know that Sundry is always uh one of the
higher ones with uh with the medical
[1:04:10] assists from the fire department. Uh
even though Sundre's supposedly had a um
[1:04:15] an ambulance, it is very rarely in
Sundry. It is um it it's always being
[1:04:20] diverted to uh other communities, but I
think it's a great question.
[1:04:25] » Perhaps those stats would be helpful to
the committee then and highlighting the
[1:04:28] the change there. Yeah, we'll take that
back councelor Harris to the committee
[1:04:32] and councelor Johnson and I can try and
get a better answer for you um on that
[1:04:36] for sure. It's a it's a great question.
Uh councelor Lutz,
[1:04:43] no I thought sorry I thought before I
got councelor Harris I thought I saw
[1:04:46] your light come on. Thank you. Okay, any
other questions for Christopher?
[1:04:53] No. Uh then we have a motion way at the
top on page 104.
[1:04:59] Uh, councelor Harris.
>> Okay, I'll move to receive the report.
[1:05:03] » Thank you. Any further discussion? I'll
call question. All in favor? And that
[1:05:08] motion's carried. And we'll break till
10 uh 5 minutes past 10.
[1:15:48] All right,
>> we'll resume the regular council meeting
[1:15:53] of August 26th and we are on 8.4
Planning and Development Services
[1:15:57] Quarterly Report. Margaretta, please.
Margaretta with the uh cane, please.
[1:16:02] » Thank you, Ree. Uh so the quarterly
report starts on page 118 of the agenda.
[1:16:07] So what is included is our stats for the
second quarter which includes the
[1:16:12] individual months of April, May and June
which is from page 122 to 126. And then
[1:16:19] the last attachment is the second
quarter uh enforcement file report on
[1:16:24] page 128. So if it works for council,
we'll just go through the project
[1:16:29] updates which is on page 119. So for the
municipal plan and land use bylaw review
[1:16:35] process, we had two meetings on June
22nd and July 14th and the next meeting
[1:16:41] is scheduled for September 16th.
The agenda minutes as well as the
[1:16:46] recordings are all available on our
websites and for development and
[1:16:50] permitting there's no uh official
updates to provide.
[1:16:55] That takes us to the end if there's any
questions. Thank you.
[1:17:00] Wow. Uh, Christopher, you need to
shorten your reports.
[1:17:05] [laughter]
[1:17:10] » I'm think I'm thinking Christopher will
pass airports over to planning and
[1:17:13] development.
[laughter]
[1:17:17] » Sorry, Kessa Harris.
>> Margaretta, there does seem to be a a a
[1:17:22] general drop in in a lot of the
categories. Is is this another one of
[1:17:27] those just it's just a timing with this
quarter 2 report? Um cuz generally I
[1:17:33] think a lot of people it's that two
quarter two where they start submitting
[1:17:36] these things hoping to get in the
construction season. Um or are we just
[1:17:41] seeing a
a slower year?
[1:17:45] » It's a slower year relatively comparable
uh to the previous year. So again if you
[1:17:51] um take the you know on page 120 for the
second quarter. So if you look at the
[1:17:56] first table, the second last column, we
have the total amounts uh for 2026 to
[1:18:03] date. So that is 188 total of all of our
development permits, redesignation and
[1:18:09] subdivision. So if you compare that to
the column of the 2025 totals, you'll
[1:18:14] see that there's 334.
So again, uh you know, more or less uh
[1:18:19] you know, half of it at half of the
year. So very comparable to the previous
[1:18:24] year. And it is all dependent on applica
applicants bringing forward
[1:18:28] applications.
>> So you're good with airport. [laughter]
[1:18:34] » Thank you.
>> Okay. Is there any other questions from
[1:18:37] Margaretta?
>> No. All right. Then we have a motion on
[1:18:46] page 118. Councelor Lutz. I move that I
move that council receives planning
[1:18:51] development service quarterly report as
presented or as information.
[1:18:55] » Thank you. Any further discussion?
I will call to question. All in favor?
[1:19:00] And that motion's carried. And uh 8.5
CEO uh services quarterly report. Jeff,
[1:19:07] please.
>> Thank you, Reeves. Starting on page 131
[1:19:09] is the health and safety report. A
couple of statistics to highlight. Um,
[1:19:14] you will note we've had a a few uh more
asset related incidents, specifically
[1:19:20] uh damage to the light fleet. There
seems to be a rash of deer incidents.
[1:19:25] Three out of the five were were deer
related. Um, one of those being um
[1:19:30] rearended when stopping for a vehicle in
front of us that was encountering a
[1:19:34] deer. So, it's a wide variety of of
circumstances related to deer attacking
[1:19:40] county vehicles.
Um, on the health and safety side, also
[1:19:45] important to note this is our external
audit year and so that means we are
[1:19:49] being peer-reviewed by an external
municipalities health and safety team.
[1:19:55] Uh, so that audit actually kicked off
this week and they do documentation
[1:20:00] reviews. They will do um a sampling of
all of our our staff and interviewing on
[1:20:06] the health and safety program as well as
doing facility inspections um from a
[1:20:12] handful of selected facilities.
In exchange uh later in the year,
[1:20:17] Mountain View County's uh health and
safety team will end up uh doing a
[1:20:22] health and safety inspection for another
municipality and we'll be doing the town
[1:20:25] of Devon's health and safety audit for
2026. So, we look forward to the
[1:20:31] external uh health and safety audit
results which will probably uh come out
[1:20:37] maybe in another uh month or so is
probably when we'd anticipate those
[1:20:41] results. They usually come out kind of
in the early October time frame
[1:20:45] depending on when um Alberta Municipal
Health and Safety Association uh
[1:20:49] endorses and accepts the final report.
On the human resources side, that report
[1:20:55] starts on page 133 and you will note
some uh some some updates there. Uh
[1:21:03] notably, you were introduced to Bailey
today. Uh Bailey was our term employment
[1:21:08] that was completed uh for the
operational services Matt leaf coverage.
[1:21:12] Uh and as well the 2026 in-ear
retirement. Um you you don't see the
[1:21:18] development officer that has resigned.
Uh that was Jaden Rhyr who resigned.
[1:21:22] That'll be in the Q3 report and Bailey
is filling in that position.
[1:21:28] And also we had our uh an egg field
operator uh that um resigned following a
[1:21:35] maternity leave. So she won't coming
back to join our team and our manager of
[1:21:40] IT services and our community peace
officer retirement which I think council
[1:21:44] is well aware of. So with that, that is
the conclusion of the report and if
[1:21:49] there are any questions, I will try and
answer them.
[1:21:53] » Thank you. Any questions for Jeff? Uh,
councelor Harris,
[1:21:56] » not a question, Jeff, but just I I it's
years now and I continue to be impressed
[1:22:01] by how we are able to bring people on um
as relief or part-time and the
[1:22:10] organization is is such that it attracts
them to come back and work for us
[1:22:14] full-time. I think I think that's an
invaluable thing to recognize that that
[1:22:19] we provide a a real uh desired uh place
for people to be employed.
[1:22:27] » Thank you, Council Harris. I would I
would echo those comments and uh I think
[1:22:31] it is one of our our recruitment
strengths um that recognition from
[1:22:35] applicants.
[1:22:38] » Any other questions for Jeff?
>> No. Seeing none, then we have a motion
[1:22:45] on page 130.
Um, councelor, um, look,
[1:22:49] » I would move the council receives the
CAO services quarterly report as
[1:22:54] information.
>> Thank you. Any further discussion? I'll
[1:22:58] call question. All in favor? And that
motion's carried.
[1:23:08] Okay. So, uh, we will defer 9.1 until
after our close session. So, we'll move
[1:23:13] on to 9.2. Tax penalty cancellation,
Tanstone Energy Limited. Jeff, please.
[1:23:18] » Thank you, Ree. I will ask Mike to
introduce this item as it is in his
[1:23:22] business area.
>> Thanks, Jeff. Uh, so the RFD for the tax
[1:23:28] penalty cancellation is on page 137 of
the agenda package. Uh for background,
[1:23:34] on July 29th, 2026, administration
received a letter from Canstone Energy
[1:23:39] Limited requesting council's
consideration for property tax penalty
[1:23:43] cancellation as it relates to penalties
applied to the 2025 property tax
[1:23:49] balance. So the summaries uh of the
incurred penalties include nine roles
[1:23:55] with penalties amounting to $1,673.3.
[1:24:01] Penalties were applied as the 2025
property tax payment was received and
[1:24:05] processed on September 19th past the
September 15th date of 2025.
[1:24:11] Attached for council's uh review is a
request for Canstone Energy Penalty
[1:24:16] cancellation on pages 139 through 145.
administration included uh excerpts from
[1:24:23] the Canada Post website as well as uh
image from the envelope we had received
[1:24:28] that was postmarked and stamped. Um
those pages 146 to 148 for the Canada
[1:24:34] Post and pages 149 to 150 for the photos
of the envelope.
[1:24:39] Uh with that I'll turn it over to
council for your discussion and
[1:24:42] consideration of the request.
>> Hey uh councelor Nixon. Uh just one
[1:24:48] quick question. So, um just to confirm,
other than the um penalties, is their
[1:24:54] account up to date? They've been paying
their their
[1:24:59] um property tax portions on time
>> other than
[1:25:03] » the 2025 balance was paid in full.
>> Y
[1:25:06] » um so it was just the
>> previous years were good as well to your
[1:25:10] knowledge.
>> Yeah, to my knowledge, I don't don't
[1:25:13] have any concerns. Yeah.
>> Thank you.
[1:25:16] Is there any other questions or uh I'll
entertain a motion. Uh councelor
[1:25:20] Johnson.
>> Um taxes were due on September 15th. Is
[1:25:25] that correct?
>> That is correct. That's the deadline for
[1:25:30] [sighs] to pay taxes prior to any
penalties incurred. September 15th.
[1:25:36] » Ree, if I may just expand on that
question for Mike to answer. Um, just
[1:25:40] could you clarify if uh if if the
payment is postmarked by September 15th,
[1:25:47] does that meet the criteria of paying
your taxes on time even though we may
[1:25:52] not have received the money um yet?
>> Yeah, thanks Jeff. That is that is
[1:25:58] correct. If if it is postmark date of
payment due and we receive it later, we
[1:26:03] will accept it as on time without
incurring or applying any penalties.
[1:26:10] Okay. [clears throat]
Uh, looking for a motion.
[1:26:19] Uh, Council Nixon,
>> I would move that council that council
[1:26:23] cancel property tax penalties incurred
totaling $1,673.3
[1:26:30] for the nine property tax roles as
listed. 1 0 024
[1:26:36] 2- 26310500
080 27310
[1:26:42] 060
273 1 5 0 1 1 0 273 1 27 0 1 0 0 2732
[1:26:54] 160160
273320
[1:26:59] 030
27330 3070040
[1:27:05] and 2832190070.
[1:27:09] » Thank you. [clears throat]
>> Okay. Is there any discussion on the
[1:27:14] motion? Uh councelor look. Everyone knew
of the postal strike or impending postal
[1:27:20] strike and
businesses know that taxes are an
[1:27:26] important part and are penalized if
late. To send a check out 4 days before
[1:27:34] taxes are due, dated the day of claim a
postal strike
[1:27:40] begs me to question why they didn't just
send it out or deliver it if they were
[1:27:45] concerned with the postal strike.
[clears throat]
[1:27:48] » Okay. So, the motion is to cancel the
property tax penalties.
[1:27:54] So, is there any further discussion on
that motion? Councelor Harris,
[1:27:57] » I'm I'm looking at the um at their
documentation for uh cutting the check
[1:28:04] and I note it's done on the 8th of
September um in the full amount. I think
[1:28:11] the intent was there um to pay it um I
think three or four days late, three
[1:28:19] days late, the 18th. Um yeah, I'll
support the motion.
[1:28:27] Okay. So, Councelor Harris brings up a
good point. Uh, Jeeoff, did I
[1:28:33] misunderstand you then with the if it's
post-dated prior to the 15th? So, what
[1:28:39] am I missing here?
>> I don't think you're missing anything,
[1:28:41] Reeve. the the point that Mike clarified
was that uh if we receive mail that's
[1:28:48] postmarked by the due date, so se if it
had been postmarked September 15th,
[1:28:54] » even though we didn't receive it until a
day or two later because Canada Post has
[1:28:58] to deliver it, we would accept it as an
on-time payment. Okay?
[1:29:02] » But in this case, the letter does not
show a postmark date of September 15th.
[1:29:07] » Right. Okay. Okay. Now I'm
understanding. And for the record, we do
[1:29:10] not look at when a check is dated. We
would look at when it's received. Um,
[1:29:15] and it's deemed received when it it's
either physically in our possession or
[1:29:20] postmarked.
>> Okay. Thank you for that clarity. Uh,
[1:29:24] councelor L.
>> And just to confirm, it's postdated.
[1:29:27] That fine print means that it went to
the the post office September 18th.
[1:29:31] Correct.
>> That's what it looks like to me. I just
[1:29:34] want to make the assumption. Yeah. So,
I'm not going to support the the motion
[1:29:37] because they missed the deadline
completely. Okay. [clears throat] Uh,
[1:29:42] councelor Harris.
>> Yeah. Just what I'm basing it on is I
[1:29:46] see when they cut the check. Um what we
don't have is the date they delivered
[1:29:51] the post office and I think what they're
rising raising is the issue that mail
[1:29:56] was was and it's supported by the Canada
postup that mail was sometimes being
[1:30:02] left for longer than normal periods in
post offices before it was processed and
[1:30:08] put out for delivery. So um they've been
a good
[1:30:13] taxpayer so far. So, I I just don't see
any reason to penalize them because of a
[1:30:18] labor short uh disruption.
>> Okay. So, I have a motion on the floor
[1:30:22] to cancel the property tax penalties.
With that, I will call to question. All
[1:30:27] in favor?
>> And opposed? And that motion's lost.
[1:30:36] Okay. 9.3 2026 Rapier Harvest Lunch.
Christopher, please.
[1:30:41] » Thank you, Worship. Just seeking
council's consideration once again
[1:30:44] whether you would like to hold a rate
pair harvest lunch. We've done it for
[1:30:48] the last few years. Uh typically it's
held in October or November depending on
[1:30:53] uh the season and counselor's
availability. Uh and we typically have
[1:30:58] it catered by our local business as
well. Last year we had about 300 people
[1:31:02] that we believe attended the rape pair
harvest lunch. We have included in the
[1:31:06] RFD a list of possible dates uh that may
work for council. Uh, and but of course,
[1:31:12] council may choose an alternative date
if you wish.
[1:31:20] » Uh, councelor Nixon,
>> I would propose Friday, October 23rd
[1:31:25] because we're here.
[1:31:33] » Oh, I see. Gotcha.
>> Um, I have that from
[1:31:38] 9 till 4.
That's our budget meeting and normally
[1:31:42] um we don't have a time here. Um
>> that will likely be a full day meeting.
[1:31:48] Yes, it traditionally has been.
>> Yeah. So, um my question to Christopher
[1:31:52] is what is we don't have a date. We
don't have a time for the harvest lunch.
[1:31:57] Did I miss it in here?
>> I I believe it's usually from 11 to 1.
[1:32:01] Is that right, Josie? Yeah. Right. 11 to
1.
[1:32:04] » Yeah. And so council will remember we
used to have the budget meeting on the
[1:32:08] Wednesday but we flip-flopped with the
egg service board which is the now the
[1:32:13] 23rd date.
>> Yeah.
[1:32:14] » So I think I think that is going to be
too difficult for us to accommodate. So
[1:32:18] I think it's probably best if we take
that one off.
[1:32:22] » Um the one that I can make the easiest
is the 29th. Um but I don't know if that
[1:32:26] works for everyone. October 29th. Uh,
councelor Lutz,
[1:32:29] » I just think uh with harvest I think if
we want our farmers to be there 15th
[1:32:32] 16th it's a little early. I think
they'll still be in the fields.
[1:32:37] » Okay. So just looking if October 29th
would work for council. I'm seeing that.
[1:32:46] Oh, can you make a different date?
[1:32:52] » You're gonna be here.
>> Okay.
[1:32:57] Okay. If with regards to the 23rd, if we
have the budget meeting scheduled from
[1:33:02] 9:00 to 4 with our usual 1 hour break
for lunch, would council consider
[1:33:07] starting at 8 that day, allowing us the
2-hour break for the harvest lunch and
[1:33:13] then carry on with the the budget
meeting? I I think it's just too much.
[1:33:18] Um because we usually have people that
stay longer or that come earlier. So, um
[1:33:24] I think it's just better if council has
more flexibility to engage and we're not
[1:33:28] kind of trying to rush off to a to a
budget meeting. So, um I'm hearing the
[1:33:32] 29th would work.
Yeah.
[1:33:37] So, I'll move the council schedule the
2026 rate pair harvest lunch to be held
[1:33:41] at Mountain View County uh office on
October 29th.
[1:33:50] So we'll start with that and then I
think Christopher you had another
[1:33:52] question in here as to whether or not we
wanted to just status quo with the
[1:33:55] catering or whatever. If we don't
discuss that then that is the direction
[1:33:58] that the administration has.
>> Yeah. So that's what's been budgeted for
[1:34:01] in the 2026 budget. So unless council
wants to choose an alternative such as
[1:34:05] cooking lunch yourself uh then uh yeah
that's why we said status quo would
[1:34:10] would be uh what is being presented.
>> Okay. So we'll start with the date. Um I
[1:34:14] have a motion on the floor. Is uh any is
there any discussion on the motion? No.
[1:34:18] Then I'll call the question. All in
favor? And that motion's carried. And is
[1:34:22] there any discussion or does everyone
like the format of the way we've always
[1:34:26] done it?
Okay. Councelor Harris,
[1:34:29] » just curious at in the past we've used
it as an opportunity to highlight
[1:34:35] particular things that we're doing or
pass on information. Is there any plans
[1:34:39] to to do so this year?
We'll wait for final direction from
[1:34:45] council, but we anticipate it will be a
large MDPLUB public engagement session
[1:34:51] for the review. We'll further determine
that through the MDPLUB
[1:34:56] committee that will provide the
direction on the public engagement, but
[1:35:00] administratively, that's what we're
thinking. Similar to what we did in
[1:35:03] 2019, you may remember we'll set up this
room with all the boards and the
[1:35:07] information and have the people
available to have the conversations and
[1:35:10] the food and social activities out in
the main hall.
[1:35:14] » Two pigeons with one stone.
>> Uh, councelor look,
[1:35:20] » do we have a just on the MDP LUB, do we
have a proposed date or or where we're
[1:35:26] thinking for that survey to be out? So,
uh, we have the 16th that's coming up
[1:35:31] and then that will be part of the agenda
item to, uh, determine, uh, further
[1:35:35] discussions.
>> Okay? Because the harvest lunch, I
[1:35:38] think, is a perfect opportunity. When I
requested the 2019 survey results, it's
[1:35:44] kind of a gas to see that there were
only 56 replies.
[1:35:47] » Um, a lot. Well, but if we've got 300
people coming to lunch that know it
[1:35:54] might be coming up, maybe we could
increase that number to make it a little
[1:35:59] more reflective of what people are
thinking. Yep. So, we can have that
[1:36:02] discussion on the 16th.
[clears throat and cough]
[1:36:07] Excellent. Is there anything further on
this agenda item?
[1:36:11] Okay.
Um,
[1:36:15] look at um Mr. Chemies are joining us
very early. Thank you for coming.
[1:36:21] [clears throat]
Uh
[1:36:24] uh 9.3 2000. Uh no, we just did that
one. 9.4 council strategic priorities.
[1:36:31] » Did I miss one?
>> No, you were right on schedule, Reeve.
[1:36:33] And so on page 153, you will see the
updated visual layout of the strategic
[1:36:40] priorities for council for 2026 through
2030. And note that uh council did
[1:36:46] provide the one direction to modify the
wording under community well-being and
[1:36:51] that would be the third bullet point. It
has been amended to now read foster
[1:36:55] opportunities for people to age in their
communities.
[1:37:00] » Okay. [clears throat] Council any um any
discussion?
[1:37:07] No. So uh Jeff, what is the once council
approves this? what is the uh direction
[1:37:13] for getting it out there to the public?
>> So, I'll maybe defer some of that over
[1:37:18] to Shelley, but certainly we'll update
our website and uh replace the existing
[1:37:22] version with the new version if approved
by council. And Shelley can maybe speak
[1:37:26] to any of the other communication plans
for sharing the information.
[1:37:31] » Shelley, please.
>> Hi. Um if council desires, we can
[1:37:36] certainly do a social campaign on it.
update the website like Jeff said, um,
[1:37:40] put it as notice on our website.
Anything that you guys would like.
[1:37:44] » Okay. So, uh, councelor, let's just, uh,
I don't know if it's a typo, if it's
[1:37:50] meant to be, but people might think it's
a typo. Uh, the double dash between 2026
[1:37:55] 2030.
>> There is
[1:37:58] » uh, strategic priorities 2026- 2030.
>> Yeah, it is dash.
[1:38:05] » I only I only see one dash. on mine.
Mine's bigger.
[1:38:10] » It's dash dash.
>> Oh, violated it.
[1:38:13] » You can fix that. You can
[clears throat] fix that. Okay. So, we
[1:38:17] have a motion uh on page 152. Councelor
Harris,
[1:38:20] » I'll move the council approve the
2026-2030
[1:38:24] strategic priorities as presented.
>> Thank you. Is there any further
[1:38:29] discussion?
Okay. With that, then I'll call
[1:38:34] question. All in favor? And that
motion's carried. And we've heard the
[1:38:37] communication plan for this. Is there if
there is anything in addition that
[1:38:41] council would like the opportunity I
again um probably the uh the rate payer
[1:38:47] lunch is a good opportunity to have
maybe the board um with the strategic
[1:38:52] priorities in the one pager uh for
public consumption.
[1:38:56] » I assume we're changing
>> uh we'll change all of that. Yeah. So uh
[1:39:00] is there anything special that council
would like to see as communications?
[1:39:04] Otherwise, we'll leave it in the
competent hands of Shelly.
[1:39:08] Okay.
>> Maybe just a quick comment that um I I
[1:39:14] [clears throat] think that people um
maybe wouldn't realize that the
[1:39:19] strategic plan hasn't changed, just that
the the um look look the layout and the
[1:39:26] the look of it has changed. So, I think
we might want to include the whole idea
[1:39:31] of of continuity. um as we have moved
from the last strategic uh priorities to
[1:39:37] the present one and I think that um that
in in a world of chaos having things the
[1:39:44] same is very useful.
>> Thank you [clears throat] for those
[1:39:47] comments.
Okay, so we'll move on to 9.5 town of
[1:39:52] olds funding requests. Jeeoff, please.
>> Thank you, Ree. Starting on page 154 is
[1:39:57] the RFD for this item and this is uh one
of our policy and procedure 806
[1:40:04] intermunicipal collaboration funding
requests brought to council. And so the
[1:40:09] Olds IC Committee last met on June 11th
and reviewed and discussed the Town of
[1:40:15] Olds projects and application for 2026
and did recommend that the projects be
[1:40:21] forwarded to Mountain View County
Council for consideration. So in today's
[1:40:25] agenda package, you will see the
background information from the town of
[1:40:30] Olds on the projects they are proposing
to complete. And the cumulative total
[1:40:35] for 2026 is is uh projects that would be
cost shared by the county in the amount
[1:40:40] of $188,000.
So council will note that exceeds the
[1:40:45] policy maximum of $125,000
that that's in our policy. However, when
[1:40:51] we reviewed this as an ICC, we discussed
that the sports electrical repairs is a
[1:40:57] carryover project from 2025 that was
approved by Mountain View County
[1:41:02] Council. And so you will recall when we
did our year-end financial transfers to
[1:41:08] reserves, we did transfer $68,915
into the carry forward reserve from 8006
[1:41:17] funding in 2025 related to the town of
Olds's projects. And so that's why the
[1:41:22] motion you will see in the
recommendation is only asking for
[1:41:26] council approval of $119,000
recognizing the balance of that 188 that
[1:41:33] the town of Olds is requesting is going
to be funded from 2025 carry forward
[1:41:38] amounts. And so that again is largely
related to uh changing uh project scope
[1:41:45] for the electrical repairs and upgrades
uh following some further investigation
[1:41:51] and engineering completed by the town of
Olds.
[1:41:55] With that uh I will pause and see if
council has any questions for myself or
[1:42:02] the town of olds ICC members.
>> Council any questions? Councelor Lutz,
[1:42:08] » just my only comment is it's good to see
our municipalities catching on to using
[1:42:12] the the u the fund more. I I think that
work that we did on communicating that
[1:42:18] it's available is is paying off and it's
good to see they're using it.
[1:42:23] » Okay. And then I'll look for a motion.
Councelor Lutz,
[1:42:27] » I move that council approve cost sharing
the municipal portion of the 2026 Town
[1:42:31] of Olds projects to the maximum of
119,455
[1:42:36] to be funded from the intermunicipal
collaboration reserve.
[1:42:40] » Thank you. Any further discussion?
Seeing none, I'll call to question. All
[1:42:44] in favor? And that motion's carried.
Uh 9.6 proposed RMA resolution. Jeff,
[1:42:51] please.
>> Thank you, Reef. So, in advance of our
[1:42:56] um September 2nd resolution deadline for
the upcoming central region RMA meeting,
[1:43:02] uh council is being asked to consider a
dissolution resolution. We have engaged
[1:43:09] uh the county of Clearwater inquiring if
they would be interested in seconding
[1:43:12] this resolution and they have indicated
there would be support for that should
[1:43:16] Mountain View County Council proceed
with uh endorsing this resolution to be
[1:43:21] sent to the CRMA meeting.
>> Thank you. And and again this resolution
[1:43:27] pretty much is in line with the RMA
[clears throat]
[1:43:30] um paper on the post dissolution uh
impact study. So if you are interested
[1:43:37] in any of that information, if you read
that, this um resolution pretty much
[1:43:41] mimics that and pulls out the important
components that Mount View County found
[1:43:46] uh with respect to the whole process. So
the dissolution paper is much greater
[1:43:51] and there's way more recommendations
within that, but we tried to condense
[1:43:54] the ones that we thought were the most
relevant to Mount View County and would
[1:43:58] be the most supportive moving forward.
Councelor Johnson. Um uh just one uh
[1:44:04] very picky suggested word change. Um if
we could go to page 158 under the first
[1:44:11] uh therefore be be it resolved. Uh the
last sentence says those that are beyond
[1:44:18] uh life expectancy.
Um oh sorry I should read the whole
[1:44:23] sentence. Uh reflect audited
infrastructure needs and those that are
[1:44:27] beyond life expectancy. And I think
where it says and providing funding, I
[1:44:32] think that should just be the word
provide.
[1:44:35] I think the content is excellent. I
think we just need to change that word
[1:44:38] to provide.
[1:44:42] » Okay, we can clean that up.
>> And I I would be happy to make the
[1:44:47] motion.
>> Okay. Uh [clears throat] no, you go
[1:44:49] ahead. We can we can move the resolution
and then still make changes. So
[1:44:52] » Okay. So I would move that council
endorse uh submitting the dissolution
[1:44:58] dissolution process resolution to the
2026 fall RMA convention.
[1:45:04] » Thank you for the motion and councelor
Lutz.
[1:45:06] » The one thing that stood out for me in
this one I thought coming from two
[1:45:09] counties the whereas most villages
already set very high mill rates I kind
[1:45:13] of wondered where I assume that came
from RMA but I I wondered if the county
[1:45:17] should be evaluating that or saying that
or or how we back that up. I thought it
[1:45:22] was a bit it just stood out to me as um
>> maybe not appropriate. But
[1:45:28] » so when I reviewed all of the
dissolution uh reports, if you look at
[1:45:32] all of the uh villages that have gone
under the viability review study, their
[1:45:37] mill rates are significantly higher.
Like I'm talking, you know, between 12
[1:45:42] and 18 mill rate. So is it most small
villages that have gone through the like
[1:45:46] it's not I read it is all small v most
small villages in the province of
[1:45:51] Alberta are already setting very high
mill rates. So it's just the way I read
[1:45:54] it. Um read maybe I read it differently.
>> Okay. Yeah. Um
[1:46:01] I I think what this was trying to
address is it's trying to address the
[1:46:05] fact that municipal affairs has come
back in our last district meeting to say
[1:46:09] if you take on these villages just
increase their mail rates. You you can
[1:46:14] you can do that by putting in a special
um what's it called? Like a special tax
[1:46:20] for serviced um communities versus the
rest of the rural communities. So, we
[1:46:26] just wanted to get across the point that
um increasing mail rates is not going to
[1:46:30] be um it's not going to generate enough
revenue because uh those villages have
[1:46:38] already um utilized that opportunity to
increase their mill rates to increase
[1:46:42] revenues. Uh and it didn't work. So, it
if council wants to change the wording,
[1:46:48] we can, but that was the purpose of
that. I read it the same way as
[1:46:52] councelor Lutz
>> and I'm wondering if some word smithing
[1:46:56] around most small villages facing
dissolution or considering
[1:47:02] um that we can narrow that down to those
and not all small villages in the
[1:47:07] province.
>> How about if we just take out the most
[1:47:09] » or if we say often
>> small villages because you have come
[1:47:14] across several that you use to to for
this point. So often small villages are
[1:47:20] already
>> okay. Is everyone okay with changity?
[1:47:24] » So is everyone okay with changing most
to often?
[1:47:28] » Councelor Harris,
>> I was thinking more along the lines of
[1:47:32] just after villages
uh
[1:47:36] undergoing review.
>> So
[1:47:41] » well I don't just think it's the ones
undergoing review though. I think that's
[1:47:44] the important distinction here is I
don't think it is just those undergoing
[1:47:47] review. Oh, I'm sure it isn't. But I
think the focus of the of the resolution
[1:47:51] is the review process.
>> Okay. So, we have a couple suggestions.
[1:47:56] Is everyone uh is everyone okay with
either saying often or is the preferred
[1:48:01] wording to go small villages uh
undergoing viability review?
[1:48:06] » Do you want to focus on that?
>> It was the um missing the undergoing
[1:48:10] viability review that caught me the
most. So, okay. But I'm not going to
[1:48:13] words it either. Just you point.
>> Okay. So um is is the direction then to
[1:48:19] to um kind of modify the whereas to
include or the focus on the viability
[1:48:26] review those those um
villages going through a viability
[1:48:30] review. Everyone's okay with that?
>> Okay. Okay. Uh so uh councelor Johnson
[1:48:36] if we could just add as amended to your
motion would you be okay with that and
[1:48:39] then and then we can capture those two
changes that council has brought to to
[1:48:43] our attention. Yeah.
>> Yes. Yes. Thank you. Okay. So, everyone
[1:48:47] is good with that. Is there any other
suggestions or is there any other
[1:48:50] concerns with moving this forward? No.
Thanks for that. Thanks for that. Those
[1:48:55] are good catches.
Okay. So, I have a motion to accept or
[1:48:59] to um move this resolution forward as
amended.
[1:49:04] [clears throat]
Any further discussion? I'll call to
[1:49:06] question. All in favor? And that
motion's carried. Thank you for that
[1:49:10] great discussion.
[1:49:16] Fine. And we'll go to 9.7 upcoming
special council meeting schedule. Jeff,
[1:49:19] please. Uh,
>> thank you, Reeve. So, for council's
[1:49:22] information, wanted to highlight on page
160 of your agenda some changes uh that
[1:49:27] the Reev and I have worked on and
coordinated for some special council
[1:49:31] meetings upcoming. Uh, this is a receive
as information item as the Reeve has
[1:49:36] approved changing the schedule. Uh so
for your information, council will be
[1:49:40] aware the October 7th meeting has been
moved to September 30th with a start
[1:49:45] time of 8:30 and the budget special
budget meeting that was set for October
[1:49:52] 21st was moved to October 23rd to
accommodate a change in dates of the
[1:49:59] regional egg service board conference.
>> And thank you very much to council for
[1:50:04] being accommodating. I um I know it's
always difficult, but there's a lot
[1:50:08] going on. So, I really appreciate
everyone's quick responses. And because
[1:50:12] we have council motion setting these
dates, I think it was important that we
[1:50:15] brought this back for council's uh
approval.
[1:50:20] So, is there any discussion or I'm
looking for a motion? Uh, councelor
[1:50:24] Lutz,
>> I um move that council receive as
[1:50:28] information the scheduled changes for
the special council meetings regarding
[1:50:31] 2027 budget and economic development
strategic plan.
[1:50:35] » Thank you. And also thank you to
administration for accommodating those
[1:50:38] changes for council. Always appreciate
we know how much work goes in uh to uh
[1:50:43] creating those agenda packages. So thank
you for all your work on that. Okay, any
[1:50:48] further discussion with that then I will
call the question. All in favor? And
[1:50:52] that motion is carried.
[1:50:58] Uh, and I see that we have our um 11:00
delegation. Are you waiting for anyone
[1:51:02] else to come to join us? Would you be
all right to start um earlier?
[1:51:08] Fantastic.
Oh, we still have 9.8. So, uh, we're
[1:51:12] going to get to that right after 9.8
because I have apparently forgot one.
[1:51:17] » Yes, but I have it written down. Uh bear
with us. We'll still get you in before
[1:51:22] 11. Uh so 9.8 RMA committee approval. Uh
Councelor Harris.
[1:51:27] » So as everyone has seen, the um RM has
reached out uh um a couple of months ago
[1:51:34] looking for [snorts] members to apply
for their justice committee. I was
[1:51:37] unable to at that time because of some
family issues I was dealing with. Those
[1:51:41] are now settled. They've extended the
deadline. So I would very much like and
[1:51:46] I've been encouraged to apply for the
justice committee uh appointment of RMA
[1:51:52] um and asking council's approval. It
would result in um because RMA won't
[1:51:57] pick up PDMS etc that pdiums and
transport or traveling costs would be
[1:52:03] borne and it should be ending in uh
spring of 2027.
[1:52:09] Uh yeah, so we uh it's actually in the
uh agenda package on page 163, but Laura
[1:52:14] actually also has it on the screen. Um I
think this is going to be an excellent
[1:52:20] uh thing for Mount View County to
participate in. I think councelor Harris
[1:52:23] has the um the skill set to make to make
this committee actually function really
[1:52:29] really well and get some great results.
So I think it's it's absolutely awesome.
[1:52:34] We have a motion that's been created in
order to address this. And councelor
[1:52:38] Harris, I think you said that uh part of
the application process requires that
[1:52:42] that you have the municipality support.
>> That's correct.
[1:52:45] » Yeah.
>> Councelor Nixon,
[1:52:48] » I would move that council endorse
councelor Greg Harris applying for RMA's
[1:52:53] justice committee and that the council
res assumes all costs associated with
[1:52:57] attending meetings should he be
appointed.
[1:53:00] » Thank you. This is a great use of
taxpayer dollars. I think our rural
[1:53:04] constituents would get a lot out of
having councelor Harris sit on this.
[1:53:09] Any further discussion? I will call
question. All in favor? And that
[1:53:13] motion's carried. Send it in. Get her
done.
[1:53:20] All right. Okay. Is anyone going to stop
me from moving to the delegations?
[1:53:25] All right. So, if I could ask our um
legacy land trust society to come
[1:53:31] forward. The mic will be live. Um I
believe everyone knows everyone, but
[1:53:36] just in the spirit of making sure that
you know who you're talking to, I'm just
[1:53:39] going to do a quick round of
introductions from our counselors. And
[1:53:41] I'll start with um uh councelor uh
Fulton, please.
[1:53:45] » Morning. Uh Dwayne Fultton, counselor,
division one.
[1:53:49] » Morning. Thanks for coming. Greg Harris,
division 2.
[1:53:53] » Hi, Angela Look, Division 3. Good
morning, Angela Alers, Division 5 and
[1:53:57] Reeve. Tiffany Nixon, division 4.
Good morning. Peggy Johnson, division
[1:54:02] six.
>> Jennifer Lutz, division 7.
[1:54:10] » Okay. So, what I'll do is I will turn
the floor over to you. Um, delegations
[1:54:13] have 10 minutes to uh uh to address
council and then we'll have loads of
[1:54:17] questions. If you need any uh any time
in addition, if you tell me now, then we
[1:54:21] can look at extending that. Do you think
you'll be able to fit within the 10
[1:54:24] minutes?
>> Uh, we think so.
[1:54:26] » Perfect. All right, then. I will turn it
over to you. So, I won't waste any more
[1:54:28] of your time.
>> Okay.
[1:54:32] Madame Reev and counselors, uh, thank
you for having us here today. Uh, I'm
[1:54:37] Doug Kollister. I'm Legacy's current
chair. And with me today is our
[1:54:42] executive director, Kevin Franovski.
So, we're here to update you on Legacy.
[1:54:47] We've done that a number of times in the
past, and ask for your support. And, um,
[1:54:53] Kevin will present the first part of
what we have to share today. and I will
[1:54:57] finish up. So, I'll turn it over to
Kevin.
[1:55:00] » Thanks, Doug. Morning, counselors. Um,
as you can see on the screen, um, our
[1:55:06] vision and mission is focused on working
with communities um, in the Mountain
[1:55:10] View uh, county and surrounding
environments uh, on conservation and
[1:55:16] stewardship of valued landscapes
including uh, ecological, agricultural
[1:55:21] and heritage values. Next slide. So we
were founded in 2013. We became a
[1:55:28] registered charity in 2015 uh with
support from Mountain View County and we
[1:55:33] signed our first conservation easement
or CE in 2015.
[1:55:38] Uh we currently have more than 3,800
acres on 21 CES and it helps um our
[1:55:46] stewardship helps maintain and improve
the health and biodiversity of uh these
[1:55:51] uh lands including rangeand. Uh 85% of
oures are working landscapes i.e. they
[1:55:59] include agriculture. Um 16 have eco gift
status from environment Canada. So,
[1:56:04] Environment Canada has certified them as
ecologically sensitive and we have four
[1:56:08] more in addition to the the 21 that are
listed there. We have four more in
[1:56:12] progress and we'll talk about term
easements in a minute.
[1:56:17] So, this is just some visuals of um some
of the CE donors and uh that's a the
[1:56:24] type of sign that we put on them to uh
let people know that this is a
[1:56:28] conservation easement property.
[1:56:32] Originally, the Alberta Land Trust Grant
Program, which was a provincial funding
[1:56:36] program launched in 2011, provided
funding to land trusts like Legacy to
[1:56:42] place permanent or perpetual CES on
private lands. In 2025,
[1:56:48] this program came to an end and it was
replaced by the private land
[1:56:52] conservation program, which focuses only
on term easements. So it is still
[1:56:56] possible to put a perpetual or permanent
easement on land but now that needs to
[1:57:01] be funded through private sources. The
provincial funding um is only for term
[1:57:06] easements now and those can range from
20 to 50 years.
[1:57:13] Um the unexpected cancellation of the
ALTGP program um was a significant
[1:57:19] impact to all the regional land trusts
in Alberta. um at the time that it came
[1:57:25] down last year, none of our existing
land owners who were considering putting
[1:57:31] um easements in place were interested in
moving from perpetual to term. And so we
[1:57:35] made no applications for term easements
last year. Um if you move to the next
[1:57:40] slide, we do have some um people who are
interested in now putting term easements
[1:57:46] on and so we will be submitting PLCP
applications um by the September 15th
[1:57:52] deadline and if successful those funds
will start flowing um sometime next
[1:57:57] year.
[1:58:00] So we're in a financially healthy
position. The year-end financials are on
[1:58:05] our website if anyone's interested.
Those 21 CES that I mentioned, they're
[1:58:09] valued at almost $10 million. We have
almost a million dollars in endowment
[1:58:14] funds that we managed through um a Mau
investment um professionally managed
[1:58:20] investment and the income that comes
from that pays for our annual monitoring
[1:58:25] and stewardship. So, for example, last
year $32,000 of income was generated
[1:58:30] from those endowment funds and we ended
the year with a surplus of $10,000 or 9
[1:58:36] $9 9,783.
Doug,
[1:58:41] » yeah, the next few slides um talk about
Legacy's future and what we've we've
[1:58:48] done uh in that regard. So, we hired a
fundraising consultant in late uh 2025
[1:58:54] to help us examine the feasibility of a
capital campaign going forward. And we
[1:59:01] early this year we held a uh a
professionally facilitated strategic
[1:59:07] planning session which identified uh
three options for us going forward. Um,
[1:59:14] option one
uh was uh what we called expand and
[1:59:20] evolve and basically it was business as
usual going forward and it was
[1:59:25] contingent on receiving uh a grant that
we'd applied for from the center for
[1:59:30] land conservation. We did not get that
grant. Option two uh was a protect what
[1:59:36] we call protect and consolidate which
was to withdraw into a a skeleton
[1:59:41] situation where we take care of existing
CES and and uh involve more volunteers
[1:59:49] and option three was merging with
another land trust. So legacy land trust
[1:59:56] ceasing to exist.
[2:00:01] Um
at our board meeting on June 3rd of this
[2:00:06] year, the board agreed to uh implement a
modified option two that would uh that's
[2:00:14] the withdraw and and take care of
existing C's and so on. um but uh also
[2:00:21] involve a
an operating fund donation campaign
[2:00:26] uh in an attempt to raise uh $100,000 to
help fund operations in 2027 and into
[2:00:33] 2028.
We have funds to operate through 2026
[2:00:39] into early 2027.
Um board members have seated that
[2:00:44] operating fund donation campaign with
$20,000. every one of our our directors
[2:00:50] has made a contribution.
Um our plan is to transition to option
[2:00:56] one. In other words, get back to a a
business as usual model over the next
[2:01:01] two to three years. Um and that would
involve a capital campaign uh to try and
[2:01:08] uh get a an operating endowment um fund
in place of somewhere in the range of$1
[2:01:14] to $2 million.
Um while this is going on, we'll of
[2:01:19] course continue to reassess our position
and if we feel like um what we're trying
[2:01:26] to do is not feasible, uh we will go
back and revisit the merger option.
[2:01:36] Our current executive director, uh
Kevin, is under contract until May of
[2:01:41] next year. Um, we also have a part-time
conservation coordinator who does who
[2:01:47] pretty much does our monitoring and
stewardship
[2:01:50] um, at the moment. So that's on an
hourly basis. Um in the winter coming
[2:01:56] up, we anticipate having an intern work
with us through the winter. Um mentored
[2:02:02] by Kevin and uh hopefully gaining
sufficient experience and organizational
[2:02:08] knowledge that that person can take over
when Kevin um has to give up his
[2:02:14] position. So that's our successional
plan. Uh additional staff are very much
[2:02:19] dependent on successful implementation
of a capital campaign.
[2:02:25] This is just a picture of one of our
CES, West Hawk Farms. Um, and it's a
[2:02:32] working landscape.
Uh, what matters. This is what we've
[2:02:37] heard from the community and our
constituents and and we agree with these
[2:02:43] values. They're very much our values as
well.
[2:02:51] So, so what we're coming to you with is
an opportunity to support what you care
[2:02:56] about and the constituents in Mountain
View County uh care about. We very much
[2:03:02] appreciate the support that that
Mountain View County has provided to
[2:03:07] Legacy. Um, I don't think it's far off
to say that Mountain View County is a
[2:03:12] founder of Legacy and we're hopeful that
Mountain View County can support us
[2:03:17] again at this important juncture with
with the donation of operating funds for
[2:03:21] 2027.
[2:03:26] Uh, this is our value proposition um
that we're that we're presenting to
[2:03:31] potential donors. Uh some important
points are we're the only land trust
[2:03:36] working exclusively in West Central
Alberta.
[2:03:40] We protect landscapes that matter to the
people of Mountain View County and
[2:03:43] surrounding areas.
Uh we really value and try and build
[2:03:48] lasting relationships with our land
owners, communities, and partners to
[2:03:52] protect places that define Mountain View
County.
[2:03:55] and the members of the board and our
staff
[2:04:01] all live and work here and we understand
the land and we understand the
[2:04:05] conservation challenges that Mound View
County faces.
[2:04:09] Your support will provide operating
funds obviously help us transition to
[2:04:15] the new funding environment that was
forced on us by the change in programs.
[2:04:20] allow us to establish an operating
endowment fund. That is, it'll give us
[2:04:24] breathing space to implement our capital
campaign and uh and hopefully get an
[2:04:31] operating endowment fund in place. Uh
it'll help us achieve our target, which
[2:04:36] is $100,000
and it'll build on the $20,000 that our
[2:04:41] board members have contributed already.
[2:04:46] And that concludes uh our presentation
and we'll we're happy to to answer any
[2:04:52] questions or
discussion that you might like to have.
[2:04:57] » Thank you for [clears throat] your
presentation. I will open it up to uh
[2:05:00] council to ask some questions. Councelor
Johnson,
[2:05:02] » thanks for your presentation. Can you
tell us a little bit more about the
[2:05:07] merger option you talked about? Um uh
what would that look like if it goes
[2:05:12] forward? How would that affect uh the
the um land that you already have um
[2:05:19] easements on? Can you tell us a little
bit about what a merger option would
[2:05:22] look like?
>> Sure. Sure. I'll be happy to do that.
[2:05:25] So, we've had preliminary discussions
with another land trust, Western Sky,
[2:05:30] and and they're quite interested in in
in us merging with them if if that
[2:05:36] becomes the thing that that is the most
rational uh to do. um
[2:05:43] we're required if if if we wind up to
move our assets to a similar uh
[2:05:51] organization and Western Sky obviously
would be that. Um I think that it would
[2:05:57] be it would be pretty seamless for the
current CES and the owners of those
[2:06:03] lands that that we have right now. Um,
but having said that, clearly clearly
[2:06:11] Western Sky would not have the same
focus on Mountain View County that that
[2:06:16] Legacy does by virtue of it being a
Mountain View County entity. So, we
[2:06:23] certainly uh the board uh I'll refer
back again to that meeting we had in
[2:06:27] June, the board meeting we had in June
when we came up with this plan that
[2:06:31] we're that we're trying to implement. Um
uh the board the board really doesn't
[2:06:38] want to go that way. However, we're
we're sensible enough to realize that we
[2:06:44] may not have a choice depending how
things go. And so and so we're keeping
[2:06:48] communications with Western Sky open and
keeping them updated on how we're doing
[2:06:53] and what we're trying to do so that so
that uh if that option becomes the one
[2:06:59] that we have to pursue that it's still
there.
[2:07:03] Thank you. So, who is Western Sky?
>> Um,
[2:07:09] good question. Well, they're a land
trust. Uh, and they've been around a
[2:07:12] little bit longer than we have. Um,
they're not a whole lot bigger than us.
[2:07:20] Uh, there's they're uh their offices in
Calgary.
[2:07:24] Um, they've stolen two of our people
over the years.
[2:07:30] um which is I guess a compliment but you
know a loss to us and u uh they're a
[2:07:37] good organization I think that's my
that's my impression with them knowing
[2:07:42] them and and having had some discussions
with them I think they would they would
[2:07:47] do a good job by our existing CES and
and and the assets that we have but uh
[2:07:53] our board doesn't really want to go
there if we if we can avoid it.
[2:07:56] » Okay. Um, councelor look.
>> Thank you. Um, how many of the 21
[2:08:02] easements that Legacy holds are in
Mountain View County?
[2:08:07] » Yeah. Do you want
>> I can look that up. Just give me a
[2:08:09] moment. We can move to the next
question. I'll come back.
[2:08:11] » Thank you. Not being totally familiar
with CES. Um, from a financial p
[2:08:17] perspective, where does the bulk of the
the financial obligation lie? Is it in
[2:08:23] filing the legal documents? How how is
this money being spent? I didn't have
[2:08:28] time to um look into your financials
today.
[2:08:31] » Yeah, the operating funds that we're
asking for.
[2:08:33] » Um
yeah, I'll speak a little bit just to
[2:08:37] how uh what our business model is. So we
apply for for grants for in you know if
[2:08:45] a land owner comes to us or or we
establish a relationship with a land
[2:08:49] owner and the land owner would like to
put a CE on their land then we work with
[2:08:54] the land owner to make an application to
the to the existing program which now is
[2:08:59] the PLCP the private land conservation
program and uh so there's money uh all
[2:09:06] of the costs associated with putting a C
in place are contained within that grant
[2:09:12] if we get the grant and the grant is
segregated. It's a separate fund and it
[2:09:17] uh that money can only be spent on that
particular conservation easement project
[2:09:22] and there's monies within that uh that
envelope to to uh fund our people our
[2:09:30] activity in developing the agreement and
organizing the baseline and organizing
[2:09:38] the appraisal and other and other things
that go with the C. But there is um and
[2:09:44] and I think it's a typical thing with
nonprofits. There there are there are
[2:09:49] monies needed um just to operate our
business and operate our organization
[2:09:55] that that are not provided in those
grants and we need to fund you know we
[2:10:00] need to come up with that money in other
places. And why we have found ourselves
[2:10:05] in a bit of a pinch here is because is
because as Kevin mentioned, none of our
[2:10:10] our prospects
when the change occurred between the
[2:10:14] programs and it was only a month or six
weeks before the deadline. So it was a
[2:10:21] very short term. I think the only land
trust that actually got any applications
[2:10:26] in last year was in fact Western Sky and
they just happened to have a big project
[2:10:30] that was just sitting there waiting. So
um so because we didn't make any
[2:10:36] applications last year, we had no new
projects come in this year. The previous
[2:10:41] year we'd only received one project from
the old program and uh so as a result uh
[2:10:48] our our business slowed down and there
wasn't and so we needed more non-project
[2:10:54] money to to fund our internal
operations. And so so we found ourselves
[2:10:59] short from that from from that
perspective.
[2:11:03] » Councelor Harris,
>> Doug, couple questions. Um,
[2:11:08] » is there anything I'm not familiar with
this new private land conservation
[2:11:12] program? Is there anything to prevent
people with a a trust on a private land
[2:11:18] at its end reapplying and
continuing with a new trust on the same
[2:11:25] land?
while the old trust is in place.
[2:11:30] » Well, no. If I say I put a 50-year trust
on in my family, then at the end of that
[2:11:35] 50 years, of course, we won't know what
a government will do. And then, but is
[2:11:39] there any thing in the legislation or
the program that says you can't reapply?
[2:11:45] In other words,
>> no.
[2:11:47] » Continue. Okay.
>> No. No.
[2:11:50] Um, is there any indication or maybe
it's too early to see if some of the
[2:11:54] people who were interested in a land
trust uh and now with a term through the
[2:12:00] province um maybe looked federally to
the Nature Conservancy or I have a
[2:12:06] couple of those in my area that have
been out your way that have been there
[2:12:09] forever.
>> Yes. Um I'm wondering if that would
[2:12:14] redirect people to to that program away
from uh Legacy. It's possible uh
[2:12:22] counselor, but um
one of the real needs that Legacy has
[2:12:28] filled is that and and and let's just
use Nature Conservancy as a a good
[2:12:33] example because they're the biggest land
trust um in Canada is that uh Nature
[2:12:39] Conservancy got to a point where they um
couldn't see themselves dealing with
[2:12:46] small parcels, quarter sections. And I
have personal experience with that
[2:12:49] because when I wanted to put an easement
on my property near Water Valley, um I
[2:12:54] contacted Nature Conservancy and they
were very nice, but they said, "Sorry,
[2:12:58] we just we just can't do that. We're
doing these big projects in southwestern
[2:13:03] Alberta and elsewhere all over Canada
and so on. We can't do that." And
[2:13:06] fortunately, um it was about that time
that Legacy with Montre Countyy's help
[2:13:12] and others
>> got going and and uh and that's how I
[2:13:15] ended up with, you know, an easement on
my property. So, I think it's possible
[2:13:19] what you say, but I but it would be
going back um in a direction that we
[2:13:25] were pushed away from not that long ago.
So,
[2:13:29] » I I agree with you, Doug. I I'm just
trying to highlight that that there
[2:13:32] isn't an alternative,
>> right?
[2:13:34] » Um that if legacy goes away, um
other than a merger, there's nothing to
[2:13:42] to pick up where legacy leaves off. I
just
[2:13:46] » Thanks.
>> That's right. Uh uh councelor lights.
[2:13:49] » Yeah, I was just I don't know the
differences uh real greatly on the two
[2:13:52] different programs, but I I I know that
the the money the financial benefit
[2:13:56] isn't the same as it used to be under
the new program. Um is there any um work
[2:14:03] with the government to try and get that
inequity financially?
[2:14:07] Um
>> you want to speak to that
[2:14:09] » so uh people are more uh apt to put land
under the conservation easement? Yeah,
[2:14:15] that's a very good question. Um, so
under the ALTGP program, especially with
[2:14:20] the EcoGift, um, you would get a tax
receipt from CRA for the value of the CE
[2:14:26] and then the EcoGift, um, component of
that, um, allowed you to extend the
[2:14:32] amount of time that you had to use that
tax receipt and it gave you a break on
[2:14:36] capital gains. under PLCP because it's a
term easement not a perpetual easement
[2:14:40] all of that disappears and instead what
the um provincial grant provides as a
[2:14:45] onetime cash payment for the value of
the CE and so you know you're left with
[2:14:51] full capital gains you know impact on
that sort of stuff you can't use it for
[2:14:54] estate planning etc etc so it is it is a
pretty significant um change
[2:15:00] going back to councelor look's question
17 of the 21 are in Mount Buchanan
[2:15:06] Okay. Uh, councelor Johnson.
>> Um, because, uh, I guess I'm I'm
[2:15:13] concerned that what we've built in
Mountain View County stays in Mountain
[2:15:16] View County. So, um, question to Jeff.
When I look at the, um, the alternative
[2:15:24] um, uh, option for a motion. I'm
prepared to make the motion. So, um,
[2:15:29] councelor Johnson, let's finish with
the, uh, um, it's important that we
[2:15:32] finish with the delegation first and
that we have, um, the opportunity for
[2:15:36] council to ask more questions and gather
more information. So, is there any other
[2:15:39] questions for um, uh, councelor? Look,
>> I just have one more. Does legacy
[2:15:44] actively um, pursue land owners or
opportunities to offer this to? um how
[2:15:53] how does a average land owner for
example out there know um that this even
[2:15:59] exists or is an opportunity for them?
>> Yeah, that's a good question. Um you
[2:16:04] know and that's one thing we have uh
struggled with. I guess all
[2:16:08] organizations do to try and uh increase
our profile so people know we're here
[2:16:12] and and and know what they do if they if
they do want to uh do something, you
[2:16:20] know, along the lines of what we provide
for for their legacy. Uh but we're you
[2:16:25] know we have our radar up and um uh if
we run into somebody uh
[2:16:33] uh and and and see that you know you
know they have land and they're thinking
[2:16:37] about their how they're going to pass it
on and so on. Uh you know we'll mention
[2:16:41] that to them. So we we you know we act
as ambassadors ourselves and and and the
[2:16:47] folks who know know us do that and we
have people who call in. Uh certainly
[2:16:52] that's what I did with Legacy was I just
called into the Legacy office back back
[2:16:57] when I was interested in putting a CE on
and and asked for it. Yeah. And I'll
[2:17:02] just add to that um we obviously have a
website that includes information for
[2:17:06] landowners. Um Sally Banks um maintains
a Friends of Legacy um email list and
[2:17:12] there's a newsletter that goes out and
uh you know we've got calendars and
[2:17:16] other promotional material that that we
do. we hold events and so we we do the
[2:17:20] best to sort of make people aware. Um
word of mouth obviously and referrals,
[2:17:25] personal referrals are are sort of the
the core thing that that allows people
[2:17:29] to understand who we are and what we do.
>> Thank you. Uh councelor Lut just trying
[2:17:35] to figure out the financial position. So
your endowment um um that's that's
[2:17:40] pretty substantial. That's a a really
nice endowment. So, are you looking at
[2:17:45] the shortage like the the 32,000 of
income that was from the endowment funds
[2:17:49] withdrawn in 2025? Was that just a
accumulation of um investment revenue or
[2:17:55] is is that kind of an annual expected
revenue from that? And uh what's the
[2:18:00] difference on um what what's the gap for
you guys in operations?
[2:18:06] » Yeah, that's endowment.
>> That's another good question. So the
[2:18:10] critical um challenge with our
particular financial model is that um
[2:18:15] whether it's the ALTGP or the new PLCP
um grants when they come to us um the
[2:18:21] endowment that comes as part of that is
what we call restricted funding. And so
[2:18:26] when it goes into the endowment the
investment income that comes off of that
[2:18:29] annually can only be used to monitor and
steward the existing CES. it can't be
[2:18:34] used for operating costs, right? And so
that's the challenge is that
[2:18:39] [clears throat] um under ALTGP there was
a certain amount of money that was
[2:18:43] available to us for sort of you know
doing the necessary operations and and
[2:18:49] bringing in um you know advertising and
stuff bringing in new CES that
[2:18:54] disappeared under the new program. And
so the gap that we're looking at is not
[2:18:59] for funding to do monitoring and
stewardship and maintain the existing
[2:19:02] CES. it's to do the the necessary
operating costs. So, you know,
[2:19:08] bookkeeping, advertising, um you know,
reaching out to to land owners, holding
[2:19:13] events, that sort of stuff. Those are
the costs that aren't covered under the
[2:19:16] restricted funding.
>> Okay.
[2:19:20] » Thank you. And uh just you call it a
capital campaign, but do you do you
[2:19:25] actually spend any capital or is it
mainly just operating?
[2:19:29] » Yeah, maybe I confused things there. So,
we have this uh you know, our campaign
[2:19:34] that we're we're we're on now until the
end of this year is is to raise $100,000
[2:19:40] worth of operating funds that we think
will will allow us to operate through
[2:19:45] 2027 and 2028.
Um once that's done and hopefully we're
[2:19:50] successful on that, then then that
consultant that we hired back uh in late
[2:19:56] 2025
that that did a study on the feasibility
[2:20:01] of a capital campaign, we'd like to try
and implement that and go uh and look
[2:20:06] for uh potential
endowment funds that would provide us
[2:20:12] with operating funds through the income
in the longer term. So, we're looking
[2:20:18] for, you know, the $100,000 campaign
we're on right now as a short-term fix
[2:20:23] for the next year and a half or two
years. And and then during that time,
[2:20:30] uh, we would endeavor to build an
endowment fund that would provide us
[2:20:34] with operating funds in the longer term
>> that would be unrestricted.
[2:20:37] » Correct.
>> Yes. Okay.
[2:20:39] » Yeah, that's the key. Yeah.
>> Right. And maybe just um u elaborating
[2:20:43] from counselor um Lex's question. What
is your annual operating costs?
[2:20:50] » Speak to that.
>> Um yeah, that's a tricky.
[2:20:54] » Yeah, it's it's a bit under 100,000 per
year.
[2:20:56] » Yeah.
>> Bit under 100,000 per year.
[2:20:59] » Yeah.
>> Okay. And that's including everything.
[2:21:01] That's including your monitoring and
stewardship and and as well as the other
[2:21:06] advertising and administrative
>> cost. the monitoring and stewardship is
[2:21:09] covered by the endow the restricted
endowment returns and so this would just
[2:21:13] be the unrestricted so it's office rent
it's it's you know it and and
[2:21:18] » and that's 100,000 roughly per year okay
>> yeah maybe if if I can just add
[2:21:23] something to that so an important thing
to be aware of is Kevin so Kevin's our
[2:21:27] executive director right now and and uh
uh his remuneration is as an executive
[2:21:33] director an experienced executive
director and so on he's on he's on
[2:21:36] contract until May of next year. Uh I
mentioned in my remarks that we're that
[2:21:42] we're going to bring an intern in over
the winter and try and get her or him up
[2:21:47] to speed such that they can take over.
Not as an executive director, though. It
[2:21:52] would be a lower position. It would be
it would cost less. So, so um we're
[2:21:58] looking at reducing our operating costs
over the next year, one to two years, uh
[2:22:05] by virtue of that because it's a big
part of our annual operating cost is the
[2:22:09] salary for whoever is leading the
organization from an operational point
[2:22:13] of view.
>> Right. And my last question is really
[2:22:16] kind of like a high level. So founded in
2013, uh it it's crazy to think how much
[2:22:23] the world has changed in the last 13
years. Um land values, I don't think
[2:22:29] anyone could have ever anticipated they
were going to go as high as they are. Um
[2:22:33] sustainability moving forward, uh what
are the biggest challenges for the
[2:22:39] sustainability moving forward? You've
got provincial grant changes, you've got
[2:22:43] um land value changes, you've got a
different demographic out there right
[2:22:47] now. I see a lot of large farms uh
children don't want to take them over
[2:22:52] anymore. They're selling them off peace
meal. What is the sustainability in your
[2:22:56] opinion of a land trust moving forward
given all of the challenges that have
[2:23:01] happened over the last 13 years?
>> Do you want to speak to that or I can
[2:23:06] follow? You you can follow up. Um
the the important sort of foundation
[2:23:12] that we have with the perpetual CES that
that we have lays the foundation to make
[2:23:18] us somewhat resistant to to sort of
these changes because there's a there's
[2:23:22] legal documents in place that you know
allow these CES to continue on. Um the
[2:23:28] you know what's going to happen with
people being willing to put term
[2:23:31] easements on that have a sort of defined
end date. um you know the land values as
[2:23:37] you mentioned are keep going up and so
I'm not going to you know put a CE on
[2:23:41] because I can subdivide it and become a
millionaire and and all that sort of
[2:23:44] stuff. It it's definitely a challenge
but I think the the other side of the
[2:23:49] scale is that people are becoming more
and more um aware that preserving the
[2:23:54] agricultural and and ecological
character of the county is super
[2:23:58] important. And the simple fact of
putting a CE on a quarter section or
[2:24:04] more to say, you know, this will be used
for sustainable agriculture going
[2:24:09] forward allows them some comfort that
despite the pressures of, you know,
[2:24:14] everyone wanting to move out here and
buy their own acreage and whatever that
[2:24:17] at least, you know, their children,
their grandchildren or, you know, others
[2:24:21] who can take on that land will, you
know, that it it contributes to sort of
[2:24:26] the the overall vision of what, you
know, our local landscape should look
[2:24:30] like. Our biggest sort of immediate to
medium-term challenge is figuring out
[2:24:35] those unrestricted funds. You know,
that's why Doug talked about if we can
[2:24:39] set up an unrestricted endowment that
provides us that would solve sort of
[2:24:43] that that sort of, you know, immediate
headache. And then longer term, I think
[2:24:48] we need to look more strategically and
how we work with the county or, you
[2:24:53] know, other land trusts or whatever to
sort of stitch these parcel to parcels
[2:24:57] together into something that that works
for sort of all the all the uh
[2:25:02] stakeholders in in the county.
>> And maybe one last question just
[2:25:06] following up on yours, how do the
existing CES
[2:25:09] contribute to the financial viability of
the land trust moving forward? Do you
[2:25:15] continue to get funds from from those?
Is that part of the grant program?
[2:25:19] » Uh the endowment that we got on day one
is all that we get for any existing CE.
[2:25:24] And so that's why appropriately managing
that investment is critical. Um we have
[2:25:29] put an application into a um a financial
organization that's based out of the
[2:25:35] University of Alberta to take a look at
our the strength of our endowment fund
[2:25:39] and give us some advice on is there
anything we need to do to strengthen
[2:25:42] that.
>> Okay. So, it's just a one-time
[2:25:44] contribution to the the restricted
endowment funding.
[2:25:47] » Correct. And that now we need to manage
that appropriately because we can only
[2:25:50] live off the the income.
>> Right. Okay.
[2:25:53] » But they're on our list to approach for
our operating fund campaign this fall.
[2:25:57] So, um um I' I' I'd just like to loop
back just for a second if I can take a
[2:26:02] bit more time on the sustainability
question you had and and um I'm not sure
[2:26:07] it came out of our presentation that
clearly, but uh um
[2:26:14] coming out of the change in programs, we
uh this year we had a portfolio of of 15
[2:26:21] potential new CES. Um uh and and Kevin
mentioned that when the program changed,
[2:26:28] they were all thinking perpetual CE and
there wasn't enough time or at least not
[2:26:33] for them uh to change their thinking and
come around to maybe considering a term
[2:26:39] CE. Well, you know, some have, and as
Kevin said, we're going to make
[2:26:43] applications on September 15th, but some
are staying with the perpetual idea, and
[2:26:48] perpetual CES are not uh illegal. Uh,
you know, you can do them. You just
[2:26:53] can't, you know, use provincial funding
for it. So I think um an important part
[2:27:00] of that sustainability question is that
we're just you know we're just early in
[2:27:06] figuring out other ways to do CES going
forward without without those government
[2:27:13] uh you know without that government
support. So and and and that seems you
[2:27:16] know people seem to be be uh coming
around to that idea and and there are
[2:27:22] some solutions. We won't go into them
here today because they're not totally
[2:27:26] formulated yet, but but I think that uh
you know there are going to be some ways
[2:27:30] to do that going forward and that will
contribute to our sustainability.
[2:27:35] » Perfect. Thank you. All right. Is there
any other questions from council?
[2:27:39] » I just have one. Sorry, I don't mean to
drag this out, but um um you know, you
[2:27:44] don't know what you don't know. Um, have
has the uh conservation community
[2:27:49] thought of um I'm just thinking of the
health regions where you know there's
[2:27:53] task one health foundation and they do
all kind of the nitty-gritty um
[2:27:58] logistics stuff on behalf of a lot of
different um uh fundraising committees
[2:28:03] for health just to make it more
efficient. Um, I think there's like 10 U
[2:28:08] land trusts in Alberta. Have you talked
about forming an umbrella organization
[2:28:13] to kind I'm sure they're all in the same
boat, right? Same situation.
[2:28:17] » Yeah, we have something called the
Regional Land Trusts of Alberta. It's um
[2:28:21] it's an umbrella organization. So,
that's um working quite well. So,
[2:28:25] there's six regional land trusts that
are conservation focused. There are
[2:28:29] other land trusts in Alberta, but the
the six that are focused um just in
[2:28:33] Alberta and and mostly on conservation
are part of the RLTA. Uh we meet
[2:28:38] monthly. Um we have um engaged with uh
the provincial government. We have a
[2:28:44] meeting next week with Minister Hunter
to explain um
[2:28:49] encouraged them to to reconsider adding
perpetual back into the toolbox. Term is
[2:28:54] great, but perpetual is is a is a
valuable tool. And so we'll see where
[2:28:59] those those discussions go. Um the idea
of sort of having the umbrella
[2:29:04] organization raise funds is an
interesting one. I'll bring that up at
[2:29:08] the next RLTA meeting.
>> Thank you. Well, thank you
[2:29:13] [clears throat] very much for your time.
We really appreciate the presentation
[2:29:16] and all the excellent information you've
given us. Um and I'm sure council will
[2:29:21] have further discussions.
>> Thank you, K.
[2:29:23] » Thank you.
>> All right. So, we do have a motion on
[2:29:27] page 44. Councelor Johnson.
>> So, I would move uh that council direct
[2:29:32] administration to bring back the legacy
land trust society donation request to a
[2:29:36] future council meeting for
consideration. And can I ask a question
[2:29:41] as [clears throat] well?
>> Sure. So, my question Jeff would be um
[2:29:45] in regard to the process. So, um, uh, as
part of the motion, would the process be
[2:29:53] that, um, that administration would
bring back a project sheet for the 2027
[2:29:59] budget? Uh, in this regard, um, or would
the process be different than that?
[2:30:07] » It would be at council's direction. It
could be a project sheet for 2027. As
[2:30:11] you're likely aware, there is nothing
within the 2026 budget which would
[2:30:15] contemplate providing a source of
funding. However, council always has the
[2:30:19] ability to pass a resolution to fund
something from the tax rate
[2:30:23] stabilization reserve if it's more
imminent in nature or ideally you would
[2:30:28] defer a funding request to a future
budget deliberation. So, a project sheet
[2:30:33] would be um an appropriate way to
advance that. So because we don't make
[2:30:39] any decisions based on delegations, we
don't make any decisions on the day as
[2:30:43] part of our process. When we went to the
when we went from the policy and
[2:30:46] priorities meeting, uh, which was a a a
committee of council essentially that
[2:30:51] made recommendations back to council, we
don't have that anymore. So as part of
[2:30:54] our policy, we don't make decisions on
the day of the council meeting. So
[2:30:58] that's why the alternative option is
there. Um, if council chooses to pass
[2:31:03] this motion, then we can have all of
those discussions at a subsequent
[2:31:06] meeting.
Thank you.
[2:31:08] » Okay, so we have a motion on the floor.
Is there any further discussion on the
[2:31:12] motion?
No. And I'll call question. All in
[2:31:16] favor? And that motion's carried. And
maybe um because it's standard practice,
[2:31:21] uh we will I'll ask for a motion to
receive that. Um the delegation is
[2:31:27] information uh moved by council f
council councelor Bolton, sorry. Uh any
[2:31:33] further discussion? I'll call question.
All in favor? And that motion's carried.
[2:31:39] Okay. Um, you know what? Let's just take
a five minute break before we go into
[2:31:43] our last delegation.
[2:38:15] All right,
I'm going to cut all the conversation
[2:38:19] short because I want to make sure we
have time for lots of great questions.
[2:38:23] [clears throat]
So, we will resume the regular council
[2:38:27] meeting of August 26th and we are on our
delegation, the Olds College. Um, would
[2:38:33] you like to do introductions? I think
everyone knows everyone. So, um, I think
[2:38:37] we're good to proceed. So, I will just
hand it over to yourself, um, Mr. Camry.
[2:38:42] » Yeah. Well, and thank you. And I do
believe everybody has been introduced in
[2:38:45] the past. So, um, thank you for this
opportunity to, um, to present in front
[2:38:50] of council. I know, um, we have our our
regular gatherings at different stages,
[2:38:55] but this is a gathering with a
partnership request, and so I will turn
[2:39:00] that over to my cohorts here right away.
But um I just wanted to give a few
[2:39:05] opening comments on the relationship
that has been cultivated over many years
[2:39:10] with Mountain View County and the
college. And um it goes back to in my
[2:39:15] time being on council was I started in
2004. We developed a lot of different
[2:39:20] partnerships and one of the highest
profile ones is the CLC. So the
[2:39:24] community learning campus. It's put Olds
College and the Olds area including
[2:39:28] Mountain View County on the map. It's
created an environment that only other
[2:39:32] others only wish they could have. And
then along with that, there's been the
[2:39:36] more direct donations that we've had
from the partnerships to the um
[2:39:41] processes of developing the meat shop
years ago. And then um more recently the
[2:39:46] Workland um building and now we're here
to talk to you about another um
[2:39:52] opportunity to um to enhance the
partnership between us through a
[2:39:56] request. So, I'm I'm going to turn it
over to to Todd and Christopher, but I
[2:40:01] just wanted to say thank you on behalf
of the board. Um the board really really
[2:40:06] relishes the relationship, relishes the
fact that you're willing to advocate for
[2:40:10] us at the same time, and we've had
conversations about um developing a
[2:40:14] joint advocacy approach for for the
county and and the college. So, those
[2:40:19] those works are in the in the thought
process right now. So, with that in
[2:40:24] mind, I'm going to turn it over to Todd
and Christopher and um let them run
[2:40:28] through the the package that you already
have. And thank you.
[2:40:33] » Thanks, Al. Um so, I don't have I'm not
going to go through any slides or
[2:40:37] anything. I'm just going to speak to
you. We've uh produced the book for uh
[2:40:40] future reference. Right off the bat, I'm
going to tell you on page eight, there
[2:40:44] is a error. You will see on page eight,
we have ATB in there. We're significant
[2:40:50] donors. We put together uh brochures
like this and even with seven sets of
[2:40:54] eyes on this, we missed that. So, I'm
just going to call that out right now.
[2:40:58] Um, but first off, thank you very much
for allowing us to come and to Al's
[2:41:02] point, thank you very much for
supporting the college. It has been a
[2:41:05] very strong partnership and it's been a
very noticeable partnership and today
[2:41:09] we'll talk about uh the potential for
one more. So, the book that you got in
[2:41:13] front of you talks about and showcases
what will be our signature building. So,
[2:41:18] we have a new trades building coming up
on campus and while that building will
[2:41:23] house the trades program. Uh, it will
also be a significant place for events,
[2:41:29] it also has offices and classes as well.
So, while the trades program will be in
[2:41:33] there, others will use it as well. And I
do see especially in the summertime
[2:41:38] leveraging that for events and other
activities. Now the trades program
[2:41:44] itself as you know is a significant
program that we have on campus. It is
[2:41:50] about 1,500 individuals a year go
through that including 500 uh uh bas
[2:41:57] dual credit students. So students that
will get credits both in high school and
[2:42:01] at the college as well. So it's of the
programs we have the college that one is
[2:42:05] the largest and most significant for
dual credit. Now the program itself
[2:42:10] today houses a mechanics, heavy duty
mechanics, welding, motorcycle repair,
[2:42:17] but we also do have two other programs
that we'll be looking at. So right now
[2:42:21] we're very close to having an electrical
program and there will be going forward
[2:42:25] a program for plumbing as well that will
be coming into that or the plumbing's
[2:42:29] trade. And the nuance and the uniqueness
is when we bring programs into old
[2:42:34] college they always have a bit of a bend
for agriculture. So when you are doing a
[2:42:40] program around electrical are you doing
a program potentially in the future
[2:42:44] around plumbing use cases will look at
what we do in a rural community. So the
[2:42:50] program still focuses very much on the
what you're going to find with in any
[2:42:53] trades program but again the uniqueness
of Olds College is that we focus on an
[2:42:58] egg and rural and that is our unique
special sauce. Now um also as you guys
[2:43:05] know Old's College is a bit of a unique
postsecary. So most postsecondaries as
[2:43:10] you understand are kind of in a region
and develop their jobs and they develop
[2:43:14] their programs around that region. Now
within this area within say an hour and
[2:43:20] an hour and a half drive we have 10
postsecaries.
[2:43:24] So comprehensive
postsecondaries old's uniqueness is that
[2:43:29] we focus very m much on agriculture and
rural. Our uniqueness is the fact that
[2:43:35] we are in a rural area and that we have
3,000 acres of farmland, 135 head of
[2:43:42] cattle, thousand head of feed lot and
that ability where there's not cement.
[2:43:46] So that allows us to basically execute
and drive both on research and education
[2:43:52] agriculturalbased pieces. Now, this
particular program that we're looking at
[2:43:58] in terms of the uh trades is probably
the most significant program to support
[2:44:04] what happens here in the county. Now, if
you look at the county itself, we have
[2:44:10] here from an a equipment perspective,
Brandt, Rocky Mountain Equipment,
[2:44:15] Future, Future Egg, Alberta Egg, Noble
Equipment, and a number of other
[2:44:20] independent shops. On top of that, there
are about 15 to 20 different welding uh
[2:44:27] locations and shops here in the county
and almost every member that has an
[2:44:32] acreage or a farm is going to be
utilizing the people that come out of
[2:44:37] this program. So, of all the programs
that we have at Olds College, this one
[2:44:41] probably has the most significant
economic impact here [snorts]
[2:44:46] at the college. So our hope is that you
uh look at supporting the college and
[2:44:53] look at supporting this program and what
we have uh wrote in the letter and what
[2:44:58] we have proposed is similar to what you
have done in the past with the workland
[2:45:03] and that is a 5-year $100,000
uh donation. And then on page nine of
[2:45:09] your book, you'll see that what we're
also proposing because again, I think
[2:45:13] this program is much more relevant
specifically to the county. Now, subject
[2:45:19] to board approval, we would be looking
at placing the county logo and looking
[2:45:26] at how we would place your guys's name
in that building itself. And there are
[2:45:31] some spaces that we look at. So, one
would be a common area. So as you come
[2:45:35] into the building, there's a main area
where the food is going to be and the
[2:45:37] students are going to be. That's a very
prominent area. There is also a patio
[2:45:43] and there is also specialy labs. So for
example, one of the labs that's really
[2:45:47] unique in the program is hydraulics. So
it's a it is I don't say a very
[2:45:51] significant thing in the rural community
that skill set around how to manage
[2:45:54] hydraulics and there is a specialy lab
just for that. So that is another
[2:45:59] potential naming pieces. As I said, you
will also have the recognition on the
[2:46:03] donor wall and then we would also allow
you to access that space for your own
[2:46:09] personal use twice a year. So if you
were going to look at hosting activities
[2:46:13] or looking at engaging uh within the
piece, we would allow the col the county
[2:46:18] to basically leverage that space as well
and then also give you free access to
[2:46:23] the career side which could help things
like your uh on your mechanics side and
[2:46:27] your heavy duty equipment side uh as
well as for free. So, in conclusion, I'm
[2:46:34] hoping you see that this is a key
economic driver for the county, that a
[2:46:38] lot of the employers in our New York
County come to the college and work at
[2:46:41] the college, and that this is an
excellent opportunity for the county to
[2:46:46] support the college and to support the
local community. So, I'll leave it
[2:46:50] there.
>> Thank you. I will open the floor for
[2:46:56] counselors to ask questions.
Councelor Johnson,
[2:47:00] » thank you. Thanks for your presentation.
Um, I think I saw yesterday or the day
[2:47:05] before in popular media that the federal
government has come forward with a grant
[2:47:11] for trades. Can you speak to that and
and uh whether or not uh that would uh
[2:47:18] impact um your program and and this
lovely new building?
[2:47:24] » We'd have to look specifically at the
grants. There are grants and support for
[2:47:27] trades and um there is actually new um
funding models coming out and that does
[2:47:35] support the trades but usually those
tend to focus a little bit more on the
[2:47:40] student and the operating side not
necessarily the capital. So what I
[2:47:43] probably missed in the presentation is
the government gave us $63 million to
[2:47:48] build this uh building. Uh the overall
cost of the building is about 70.5
[2:47:54] million is what it's going to cost us.
So as a college we have to raise just
[2:47:58] about a little over $7 million to
basically finalize it. So these funds
[2:48:03] would specifically go to the capital
build of the building itself.
[2:48:09] » Uh Al,
>> yeah, thank thank you. And I I just
[2:48:14] heard about it last night on the on on
TV, so on the news. And um the part that
[2:48:19] I found really exciting about it Peggy
is the fact that it it talked about
[2:48:24] technology and agra food technology. So
we are on the cusp of of both of those
[2:48:29] being old college of agriculture and
technology. So to say there is
[2:48:34] opportunities would be presumptuous but
it is exciting to hear those words all
[2:48:38] in the same phrase that tie with us. So
I'm just going to say our people will
[2:48:42] have will be looking into it. that I
think it was a great opportunity that
[2:48:46] was just announced and I just caught it
last night and then again this morning.
[2:48:50] » Thank you. Any other questions? Uh,
councelor uh look.
[2:48:54] » Thank you. Um, I'm excited. I've always
been excited for the 29 years I've lived
[2:48:58] here to be in the county that that u
supports old schools college. So any
[2:49:04] support that now that I'm on council
that we can give excites me again.
[2:49:09] However, um, in what I read in our
agenda and in your book, you talk about
[2:49:14] student retention and and appealing to
the local. Are there any statistics to
[2:49:20] actually say what that retention level
is? Because there's so many foreign
[2:49:25] students, well, maybe less now with the
government change, but the foreign
[2:49:29] students that come in and there's rural
in every county around us. So, is there
[2:49:34] any are there any statistics to show
that those students who come from
[2:49:39] Mountain View County stay in Mountain
View County?
[2:49:42] » I can't speak about Mountain View County
specifically, but I can talk about a few
[2:49:46] of the stats that we do look at in terms
of uh employment and some other things.
[2:49:52] So, one of the challenges that we have
in agg and in general is that about 1.5
[2:49:58] to 1.7% of the population is rural. So
if you look at the students that we have
[2:50:04] um probably about 70 75% come from
Alberta and then the rest come from the
[2:50:09] other provinces. And the reason that we
have to recruit more outside of just
[2:50:14] here is there's just no one left. Do you
know what I mean? There's less and less
[2:50:18] people that really have a rural egg
background. And so it is also important
[2:50:23] because we're probably going to also
have to think about recruiting from more
[2:50:26] urban environments to have the
environment to basically showcase a real
[2:50:30] a world. I think that's the thing too we
have to recognize that the uniqueness of
[2:50:35] those colleges. We actually have
hands-on learning environments and these
[2:50:40] dealerships that I mentioned like
there's significant partnerships there.
[2:50:43] So our students get access to real
equipment and the newest things. So that
[2:50:50] X- series combine is $1.2 million. They
get access to now. Um 96%
[2:50:57] of our students have a job in six
months. Like our challenge is not
[2:51:04] getting jobs for these kids. Our
challenge is finding the kids. So that's
[2:51:08] a nice thing about this investment is
that we now have a learning environment
[2:51:13] that is first class and that allows us
to attract the right people into the
[2:51:18] industry because more and more like I'm
an Aggie myself. We are going to have to
[2:51:22] think about how we recruit people to
industry because they're just isn't the
[2:51:26] talent pool to drive to get from.
[2:51:31] » Um I'll shrink that down a little bit to
be more specific about this building
[2:51:35] though. Um, with the apprenticeship
programs, they typically are um meant
[2:51:40] for students or the policies are meant
for students that take apprenticeships
[2:51:44] in that province. They're not
necessarily transferable. So that means
[2:51:48] our students will generally be staying
in Alberta. But then when you narrow it
[2:51:53] down even further with an electrical or
a plumbing program, since there are
[2:51:58] programs throughout Alberta, our
students will generally be coming from
[2:52:03] localities that are much closer to Olds
College. So there's a higher probability
[2:52:07] they will be staying in the county if
they're taking their apprenticeship
[2:52:11] program at our at our school.
>> Thank you. Is there any other question?
[2:52:18] » No. Uh, councelor Lutz,
>> what's the next big capital project once
[2:52:22] this is done? What's what's on the
horizon for for next?
[2:52:25] » I haven't sold anything to the board
yet, Jennifer. So, we have to I have to
[2:52:28] be careful what I say, right? Um but I
do think that one thing that we do have
[2:52:32] to look at is our livestock facilities
because that's the other thing too that
[2:52:36] again our our uniqueness is um is the
fact that we are we have the fields we
[2:52:41] have the ability to deal with the
animals and so that's what makes us
[2:52:44] unique and new and there probably is
some need to start looking at that.
[2:52:49] » Okay. So I' I've got a few. Um so how
has the town of olds been engaged in
[2:52:55] this uh capital campaign?
>> Yeah. So, we've had similar
[2:52:59] conversations with them as well. Um, as
you probably know, they're not flush.
[2:53:05] So, we wouldn't expect uh this type of
um same type of ability to do this. More
[2:53:12] often, what we're probably going to look
at with the town of Olds is going to be
[2:53:16] uh inind kind of collaborations.
Okay.
[2:53:21] » And just our other part with the town of
old that is is so significant is is the
[2:53:27] residential part of of the process. You
know, we have there is a large number of
[2:53:31] our students that um are provided with
their housing through the community of
[2:53:35] olds too. So, it's a benefit both ways.
But when it comes to this project, um
[2:53:40] I'll let Todd's comment stand that way.
It's just that partnership is is there.
[2:53:44] It's just different than this
partnership likely.
[2:53:47] » Okay.
>> Yeah. Uh uh and um for my fellow council
[2:53:51] members who maybe weren't here when we
did the workland um contributions, one
[2:53:56] of the main focuses of the workland
contribution was the matching component.
[2:54:00] So I believe we had a large donor that
said they would participate if we could
[2:54:04] if the college could find matching
funds. So that was the big benefit and
[2:54:08] the big push for the contributions back
in the day for the workland.
[2:54:13] Is there any kind of uh mechanism to do
the same here where any county dollars
[2:54:19] would be matched or leveraged with
either a donor or some other way?
[2:54:23] » To be honest, I didn't think of that and
we haven't thought of that, but that
[2:54:27] there is possibilities of that. Um we do
have right now
[2:54:32] two other very significant conversations
that I think um they'd be open to that.
[2:54:39] [clears throat] I I just know from back
in the day that was one of the main
[2:54:43] focuses for the county to do the
contributions because of the matching
[2:54:47] dollars. So, we felt like we were
getting a a a bump up of 100% for all of
[2:54:52] our contributions and that that was the
big draw. So,
[2:54:55] » um I would encourage that if you could
find that sort of mechanism that may
[2:54:59] influence any of the decisions. But, uh
for my fellow counselors who weren't
[2:55:03] here in the in the time frame when that
was done, maybe that was an important
[2:55:06] bit of information.
[2:55:10] Uh, councelor Lutz.
>> So, because it's over five years, um,
[2:55:14] the request, how do you um how does the
accounting work now that the money that
[2:55:20] uh we that it's it's not going to a big
pot that the money we donate actually
[2:55:24] goes to the building? Because I'm um
sure just because it's stretched out
[2:55:29] over years and you're you're asking for
like what if you raise more than uh what
[2:55:33] you need? like what is there surplus
that is designated to improvements on
[2:55:37] the building or does it just go in
general?
[2:55:40] » Yeah, so there's a so the the building
itself is about $7.3 million but there's
[2:55:43] all the stuff inside. So what is inside
is also what we'll be raising money for
[2:55:48] and I'll maybe let Chris add a little
bit to that as well. But um what we will
[2:55:54] have access will go into engines and
we'll go into equipment that will
[2:55:58] basically support that. So right now
we're moving everything we can for the
[2:56:03] old building over but there is also a
whole list of uh other pieces that we're
[2:56:07] looking at now to some extent there too
we're trying to uh look at in kind. So
[2:56:12] there are various companies that are
going to potentially donate things on
[2:56:15] that front as well but at times we may
just have to also purchase things. So
[2:56:19] that's probably Jennifer where most of
this money would go to outside the
[2:56:23] building itself.
[2:56:27] Um, so like you've heard in the the
previous delegation, the difference
[2:56:30] between restricted and unrestricted
funds. Um, what we're looking at today
[2:56:34] or in this request is this 500,000 over
the 5 years would go towards restricted
[2:56:39] funds for that capital campaign. If we
are
[2:56:45] falling short or just meeting that 7.5
million that we need to raise for this
[2:56:51] capital campaign, we may even need to
bridge with other funds um that the
[2:56:56] college has. But this will be restricted
to that and it could be to the capital
[2:57:00] campaign to the capital building or to
elements inside that building and
[2:57:04] ongoing repair and needs over the next
five years.
[2:57:09] » Thank you. And can you give us a
timeline of what um because the the
[2:57:12] trades building is already
built and done. So can you give us an
[2:57:17] idea of what the timeline of this
project looks like and kind of the large
[2:57:21] components of the the project?
>> Well, the building itself to your point
[2:57:25] should be actually starting and
operational this fall. All right. Um,
[2:57:30] but there will be continually upgrades
and pieces for that. And for if we do
[2:57:35] not meet, to Chris's point, if we do not
find the $7 million, will be simply
[2:57:40] financing that uh independently. If that
that answers your question.
[2:57:45] » Okay.
>> Yeah. And just the furthers um we we
[2:57:48] looked at substantial completion um in
March of 2027. Rain, right now we have
[2:57:54] I'll use the tool room as an example.
that's already open because we are we
[2:57:58] had students housed out at the overpass
for the last year. So now they those
[2:58:03] students are moving back in. So we've
we've got some of that program open but
[2:58:07] the main substantial completion will not
really be I believe we're on schedule
[2:58:11] for uh March 2027 if that helps.
>> And then when does the programming start
[2:58:16] like all these great things that you've
just talked about like adding the
[2:58:19] plumbing u apprenticeship and all that
when does all that start? Okay. So,
[2:58:26] currently we're on pace for a grand
opening for a full student cohort to
[2:58:30] come back in September of 2027. So, with
the new school year, um between March
[2:58:34] and September is when we take ownership
of the building from PCL and we start
[2:58:40] filling it with classroom stuff, tables,
chairs, everything else. Uh we expect to
[2:58:45] have our first cohort for the electrical
program if it gets passed through um the
[2:58:50] Alberta um through AIT which is the
apprenticeship um
[2:58:57] and training. Yeah. Um we expect that to
start in September of 2027 when we
[2:59:03] reopen and then we'll be applying almost
immediately for that plumbing which will
[2:59:08] probably take about a year for us to be
able to implement that as well.
[2:59:13] Thank you.
[2:59:17] All right. Is there any other questions?
No. Well, I can't thank you enough for
[2:59:22] coming um and giving us all this
fantastic information and answering all
[2:59:27] of our questions.
>> Our pleasure.
[2:59:30] » Thank you. Thank you for the opportunity
to be here and to to share and look
[2:59:35] forward to the next time. So, we keep
you up to speed.
[2:59:38] » Excellent. Have a great day, gentlemen.
[2:59:45] Okay. So, um
we do have a council motion on
[2:59:53] page 65. Uh councelor Nixon,
>> I would move that council receive the
[2:59:57] Olds College delegation as information.
[clears throat]
[3:00:00] » Thank you. Is there any further
discussion on that?
[3:00:03] » Nope. Then I will call the question. All
in favor? And that motion's carried. And
[3:00:07] Jeeoff, can you walk us through um I
think we've missed an alternative option
[3:00:10] here.
>> Yeah, Ree. So, the the RFD um the
[3:00:14] alternative option should have been in
the background. That's not the
[3:00:16] alternative option, obviously. So, the
alternative option for council, similar
[3:00:20] to the previous agenda item, following
council's um procedural bylaw, decisions
[3:00:26] on delegations aren't made the same day
the delegation is heard. And so an
[3:00:30] alternative option for council would be
to pass a motion requesting
[3:00:34] administration prepare an RFD with uh
funding history and budget options uh to
[3:00:40] return to a future council meeting. And
we would go through and we would
[3:00:44] summarize the history of our partnership
with Olds College as well as lay out
[3:00:48] similar options what I had mentioned to
councelor Johnson in response to her
[3:00:51] question for the legacy um how we would
fund that through a budgetary
[3:00:56] perspective.
>> Thank you. Laura, do you have an
[3:00:58] alternative motion or alternative motion
for us yet? No.
[3:01:02] » Okay.
>> Wing it.
[3:01:04] » Councelor Nixon's gonna wing it.
>> Further move that uh administration
[3:01:08] prepare and bring back to a future
council meeting um some history and
[3:01:13] options for uh addressing the Olds
College request for funding for the
[3:01:18] trades program.
>> Thank you. Does everyone understand that
[3:01:22] motion? Is it necessary to put it on the
screen? Are we good? No. Okay. Uh,
[3:01:26] councelor Lutz,
>> just a question on that. So, they
[3:01:29] offered up some space and they offered
up some some things. I was wondering if
[3:01:32] if administration could also take a look
if there's any um win-wins for
[3:01:37] administration on training or or what
what would be most valuable um in return
[3:01:42] as in kind from the college to us. I'm
sure you probably do that anyway, but um
[3:01:49] » I would see that as part of the motion
um just with the request for options for
[3:01:53] the funding. Yeah, I just didn't want to
just take what they had offered as as as
[3:01:58] it maybe there's um more training rooms,
more whatever that would be more
[3:02:03] beneficial to Mountain View County.
>> So, uh councelor Les, do you want to
[3:02:06] deal with this motion? Would you like to
make a separate motion regarding that or
[3:02:09] do you feel like Jeff's got enough?
>> Jeff took a note, so I'm sure he'
[3:02:13] probably do it anyway.
>> Okay. Thank you. All right. Is there any
[3:02:16] further discussion? Look at Laura's put
it on the screen. There we go. Uh I'll
[3:02:21] just follow the process then, Councelor
Nixon. Does that reflect your motion?
[3:02:26] » Yes.
>> Okay. So, the motion is that council
[3:02:28] direct administration to prepare and
bring back history and options for
[3:02:32] funding the Olds College Trades Program
to a future council meeting for
[3:02:36] consideration.
All right. So, with that, I will call to
[3:02:39] question. All in favor? And that
motion's carried. Thank you.
[3:02:46] » Okay. Um my suggestion is that we if you
guys are okay we will finish all of the
[3:02:51] open session items and then we'll just
come back after lunch for the close
[3:02:55] session. So um we'll start with uh
council reports. I'll start with Dwayne
[3:02:59] please. Councelor Fulton.
>> Thank you. Y since the last council
[3:03:03] meeting uh on the 13th the final Corona
viability committee meeting. Uh you've
[3:03:09] seen all the the final report has all
been shared with you. And then on the
[3:03:13] 14th, uh, Mountain View Seniors Housing
had a special board meeting, uh, with
[3:03:18] the developer from Carsters to introduce
the board to them and and then begin the
[3:03:24] process of exploring possible partner
partnership opportunities for a carers
[3:03:30] project. And that is all.
>> Perfect. Councelor Harris.
[3:03:36] » Yeah, I won't repeat it because Dwayne
covered two of them. Um but on the 18th
[3:03:41] uh I had the pleasure of going in to the
MVSH seniors housing uh summer barbecue
[3:03:48] for their residents and families in Ols.
Um and it was a hoot. Is that an
[3:03:54] official word? Is that a hoot? And
>> it is.
[3:03:56] » Good time.
>> It it was a good time. uh the residents
[3:04:00] were were uh just enjoying the the
perfect weather other than that we had
[3:04:05] to scramble to get up sun shades to
protect them and uh that's it. Thank
[3:04:10] you, councelor L. Look, I um there was a
library board meeting, did Spurbury, and
[3:04:19] there was um I wasn't in attendance, but
I got a really wonderful detailed
[3:04:25] summary of the meeting from Britney,
which was really nice of her to do that
[3:04:29] for me. There was some discussion about
um the
[3:04:34] signing of the agreement and still some
questions raised about policy 8006 and
[3:04:41] how it can apply to the library. Other
than that, I've been fielding a lot of
[3:04:45] calls from residents on the fear of data
centers now moving rural on some changes
[3:04:51] in direction from E3 lithium and um the
airport. So, lots of resident calls
[3:04:58] coming in lately. Thank you, Councelor
Nixon.
[3:05:02] » Uh, as far as council reports go, um,
pretty quiet for me for meetings. Uh, I
[3:05:06] had a couple meetings that were
cancelled, so that kind of freed up my
[3:05:09] schedule a little bit, but I've had
numerous phone calls um and emails with
[3:05:13] residents over beavers and beaver dams,
as everybody else knows, because they've
[3:05:17] got some of those uh wetlands and
surface water as well as data centers.
[3:05:22] Um, and then we're also trying to uh
mitigate some concerns or issues
[3:05:26] regarding uh road concerns, safety
concerns. um more so around roads or
[3:05:30] edges of roads and then brushing and
visibility.
[3:05:33] » Thank you, councelor Johnson.
>> Thank you. Um I attended [clears throat]
[3:05:38] a virtual meeting with the Red Deer
River Basin Water Information
[3:05:42] Roundtable. Um really interesting uh
where they talk about current river
[3:05:48] conditions. Then a gentleman named
Brandon Lee from AAP presented uh their
[3:05:54] application process and Wernern Herrera
presented the AER application process
[3:06:00] for TDLS and I think it was um videoed
and if it was and if it's going to be
[3:06:06] shared I would share it with council
because there was a ton of good
[3:06:09] information uh in that in that onehour
meeting. um attended the egg service
[3:06:16] board meeting here. Uh very uh good
discussion uh from a resident point of
[3:06:22] view. Um again uh lots of um of drilling
still going on in division six and of
[3:06:30] course uh division five. uh our neighbor
um the most uh recent uh temporary
[3:06:36] diversion license um for white cap is
162,000 cubes uh put together with the
[3:06:45] 90,000 cubes from September last year um
is a total of um
[3:06:53] uh 252,000
cubes uh which uh translates into um
[3:07:02] water that would uh supply 100 head of
cows for 114.47
[3:07:10] years. Uh and that's been used in 16
months. Um so huge concerns about the
[3:07:17] water coming out of the Red Deer River
between uh downstream from Sundry and
[3:07:22] upstream from Garington Bridge. Also,
um, uh, concerns in the last couple days
[3:07:29] about a large Telus landline outage. Uh,
a large part of our community is out.
[3:07:35] Um, Telus has indicated that may not be
repaired for as much as a month,
[3:07:40] although hopefully it would be less than
that. They haven't committed to less. Um
[3:07:45] big concern about our rural residents
that especially elderly people that only
[3:07:52] have landline connection and aren't
going to have any phone. Some of them
[3:07:57] don't have internet. Um so that are
going to be uh without a phone for a
[3:08:03] large uh large chunk of time. Uh we
continue to work on that.
[3:08:08] » Thank you, councelor Lutz.
I'm not going to say I was fully uh 100%
[3:08:14] there, but um I did uh do the egg
service board meeting for half of it and
[3:08:19] then my daughter had a baby, so it was a
little bit hard to focus, but I thought
[3:08:22] the conversation on annual payments with
Alice and maybe taking a look at that to
[3:08:27] encourage more Alice funding was a
really interesting start to a
[3:08:31] conversation because uh the Alice
funding is uh we're approving a lot of
[3:08:36] uh projects based on if funding
materializes.
[3:08:39] So, you know, how to stretch those
dollars out to encourage the
[3:08:43] conservation. I thought that was a
really good conversation to start. Uh
[3:08:46] the next day we did the um uh provincial
egg service board strategic planning
[3:08:51] session. That's hard to attend virtually
um when you're doing group work and
[3:08:55] stuff like that, but um the survey, they
got good participation on the survey.
[3:09:00] They're going to send that survey out,
the results, and um we'll keep uh the
[3:09:04] ASB um boards uh up to date on what's
happening there. Um I missed a meeting
[3:09:11] today. Um Olds Invest is um uh working
with their supply chain management team.
[3:09:17] They had a meeting this morning at 9:00.
They re received $27,000
[3:09:22] of federal funding to complete a market
analysis
[3:09:26] um for
um market analysis for foreign direct
[3:09:30] investment on the agricultural industry.
And there's an RFP coming out on
[3:09:34] Tuesday. So they're still doing lots of
work um to support business and
[3:09:39] agriculture.
And that's probably it for me.
[3:09:45] » Thank you.
Um, it was nice to see everyone's
[3:09:49] expense claims that we actually did take
a little bit of time off and
[3:09:52] congratulations to council for taking
some time off. I think it was a a good
[3:09:56] break I hope for every uh for everyone.
So, welcome back because things are
[3:10:01] going to get hectic
right up until the end of the year.
[3:10:04] though um
the ASB uh I was able to attend for the
[3:10:09] whole morning session and then I had
another meeting in the afternoon because
[3:10:12] the meeting was only supposed to go till
1:00 and I missed the discussion on the
[3:10:15] rural mental health. I was disappointed
that our AASB decided not to put um a
[3:10:20] resolution forward to support um a
review or a look at how mental health uh
[3:10:27] groups um
operate within Alberta. and um that was
[3:10:32] a bit disappointing, but perhaps there
wasn't enough information. So, I'm
[3:10:35] hoping the provincial board may consider
looking at a resolution. I think it's
[3:10:40] extremely important uh to to bring to
the minister's attention that this needs
[3:10:45] to be sorted and that there's there may
not be a lack of funding, but there may
[3:10:50] be a lack of collaboration and
communication between all those
[3:10:53] organizations that are doing such great
work, but just need a little bit more
[3:10:57] support to be efficient.
Um, [clears throat] and although the
[3:11:03] council has been fairly slow over the
last month, the environmental appeals
[3:11:06] board has been extremely busy. Um, and I
think one of the things the
[3:11:10] environmental appeals board is seeing is
just uh increased appeals uh and the
[3:11:15] increased focus on water, which is of
course um the the big thing across the
[3:11:20] province. And we are definitely seeing
that uh with the amount of appeals that
[3:11:24] are coming in and with the the reduced
success of mediations um in just that
[3:11:29] people are not willing to make
concessions anymore and come to
[3:11:33] agreements.
Um
[3:11:37] there was one oh the other thing that's
uh that I've been busy working with is
[3:11:41] um trying to put together the
presentation and the information for our
[3:11:44] October 7th meeting with all the elected
officials regarding the north uh the
[3:11:48] South Redier Regional Wastewater
Commission. Uh that's been really really
[3:11:52] great. Looking forward to that. Um we
have just found out that the other two
[3:11:56] commissions have also are also going to
receive a significant refund based on on
[3:12:00] the work that we've done. So, they'll
receive that refund in 2026 and then a
[3:12:05] further um refund in 2027. So, it's um
it's been a it's been a great month for
[3:12:12] SRD and for the commissions.
Uh and I hope everyone can make the
[3:12:17] October 7th if you're interested in
wastewater.
[3:12:21] That's it. Yeah, everybody everybody's
interested in wastewater. Uh all right.
[3:12:28] Uh is there any questions on any of
those verbal reports?
[3:12:32] No. Then I will ask for a motion to
receive all those for information by
[3:12:36] councelor Fulton. I'll call to question
all in favor. And that motion's carried.
[3:12:40] And then under correspondence, we have
two um contact newsletters. Is there any
[3:12:46] questions or any concerns regarding the
contact newsletters?
[3:12:52] Okay. Could I have a motion to receive
those for information? Moved by
[3:12:55] councelor Johnson. I'll call to
question. All in favor? And that
[3:12:59] motion's carried.
and we will break for um should I just
[3:13:03] ask for a motion to go in close session
now or we'll do that when we come back?
[3:13:07] Okay. So, we'll break for lunch and
we'll come back at 12:45. Five.