[This transcript was generated automatically from audio using AI and hasn't been reviewed by a person -- it can contain mistakes, including plausible-sounding sentences that were never actually said. Treat it as a starting point, not a verbatim record.]

[0:33] Good morning, everyone. My name is Christine Olson. I will be the chair of the governance and priorities committee meeting for today, September 1st, 2026. I would like to welcome any of you that are joining us online listening in and good morning to administration and those in the gallery.
[0:55] Perfect. I will now call the meeting to order at 9 o'clock.
[1:01] I will now proceed with today's committee member attendance and note that Councillor Coocher Johnson, Councillor Kyle,
[1:08] Councilor McNabb, Mayor Shaggis, Councilor Jasperson, and Councilor Ducet are in attendance
[1:15] and chambers today,
[1:18] so we will state for the record who is present, and of course myself.
[1:24] Moving to the second item on our agenda today, item two, adoption of the agenda.
[1:30] I will ask committee members if there are any additions or deletions for today's agenda.
[1:37] Seeing none, I will ask administration, Ms. Swain, are there any additions or deletions
[1:43] to the agenda. Thank you, Madam Chair. Good morning, Council. No additions or deletions
[1:48] to the agenda from administration. Thank you.
[1:54] I will ask Councillor Kutcher.
[1:58] Chair, I'll be reading it. Thank you. I did have a notice
[2:02] emulsion coming forward today. I just wondering if I don't see it on my agenda.
[2:08] Thank you, Councilor McDonough. I do have it, so we will have that added
[2:12] to the agenda, please.
[2:15] Notice the motion for council.
[2:16] Madam Chair, we won't add that at the adoption of the agenda.
[2:19] Councillor McNabb can bring that forward as item 71 in the natural course of the agenda.
[2:24] Thank you so much.
[2:28] Okay, we have a motion.
[2:31] Could I get a motion to adopt the agenda, please, Councillor Coochardonson?
[2:36] That the adoption of the September 1st, 2026 governance and priorities committee meeting
[2:43] agenda be adopted as presented.
[2:47] Thank you. I will call on the motion. All those in favour?
[2:51] Thank you.
[2:57] Moving on to item 4.1, adoption of the governance and priorities committee meeting
[3:02] minutes from July 7th, 2026. I will ask Councillor Kyle to put that motion forward, please.
[3:08] I've
[3:12] been proposed that the July 7th, 2026, sorry, September 1st, 2026 governance, well, I'm all over the place.
[3:26] Adoption, or that the September 1st, 2026 governance providers can immediately agenda be adopted as presented.
[3:32] Thanks.
[3:35] Okay, so we'll just, the motion should read-
[3:40] Oh, sorry.
[3:41] That the July 7th, 2026.
[3:43] I'm blaming you, Sally.
[3:46] The July 7th, 2026 governance of priorities committees meeting minutes be adopted as presented.
[3:52] Thank you so much.
[3:54] The motion is on the floor.
[3:56] I was checking too fast.
[3:57] There are any amendments, changes, deletions,
[4:03] seeing none, I will call on the motion, those in favor.
[4:09] Thank you, that motion is carried.
[4:14] Moving on to item 5.1, public input, I do not believe that we have any registers.
[4:20] Third speakers this morning, thank you, and don't see anyone in the gallery for public input, so we will move on from that.
[4:32] At this time, I will move on to item 7.8.1 and notice of motion, Councilor McNabb, if you would like to go ahead with the first motion. Notice of motion.
[4:44] Thank you. When I wrote this up, I wasn't sure if there was enough time for a September 8th meeting to have Council have a conversation on this, but it is enough time, so I'm going to take notice that at a regular meeting of Council on September 8th, 2026, Council of McNabb will move, that's myself, that Council of Director of Administration to review Parkland County's Community Standards bylaw in conjunction with the Land Use bylaw and report back to Council with options to enhance the regulations and enforcement
[5:15] of unsightly properties and property maintenance standards with enhancements in other high density residential areas.
[5:22] Including your review of approaches used by comparable Alberta rural municipalities.
[5:28] And I have also have a second motion, notice a motion like to bring forward.
[5:33] And it would be the same date September 8th, that council direct administration to review Parkland County service levels and
[5:41] practices for gravel road maintenance, rehabilitation, and dust control, and report back to Council with
[5:48] options and impacts of potential changes, including a comparison with comparable Alberta rural
[5:54] municipalities. Thank you. Thank you, Councillor McNabb. So that was item 7 8.8.1 and 7.8.2. Thank you very much.
[6:05] All right, moving on to item 7.v.1, Human Resources Policy C468 update. Miss Wayne, will
[6:14] you please introduce the next item?
[6:17] Thank you, Chair Olson. So, we have Carol Wolsey, Director of Employee Services here
[6:21] to present the Human Resources Policy C.468 update for information. As Council is aware,
[6:29] often times administration will bring forward draft policies or draft policy overviews and
[6:35] government and some priority committee meetings to get feedback from Council prior to it coming
[6:40] to a Council meeting, so that's what we're doing today. Also, I'll pass it over to
[6:44] Kara to run through the presentation. Thank you. Thank you for the introduction, Ms. Swain.
[6:50] I'm here today to provide Council with an overview of the HR policies.
[6:57] So, to start, I'll provide
[6:59] some historical context. In 2020, Council approved an overarching human resources policy.
[7:06] The policy authorizes the CAO to manage county employees and human resources.
[7:13] So this structure aligns with the CAO bylaw, which delegates authority to the CAO to establish
[7:19] an amend employment-related administrative policies and procedures.
[7:24] It also does align with governance practices that have been adopted by comparable municipalities.
[7:29] So
[7:33] with that, the HR policy has not been reviewed since its initial approval back in 2020,
[7:39] so we are going to be proposing several amendments to ensure that this policy appropriately reflects
[7:45] council and administration's vision for human resources guiding principles.
[7:50] And so some of those amendments include integration of our core values, expansion of total rewards
[7:55] to reflect a broader employee experience approach, strengthen language to reinforce fairness, equity, and consistency in all employment practices,
[8:07] enhance governance through formalized administrative directives and procedures, including regular review and shared leadership accountability,
[8:15] and finally a commitment to ongoing review and continuous improvement of human resources practices.
[8:24] So, with the approval of the HR policy in 2020, the vision at that time was that other
[8:29] employment-related policies would then transition over to administrative directives and procedures.
[8:34] However, many still remain today as council policies, and so that includes employee compensation,
[8:41] benefits, vacation, hours of work and overtime, moving allowance, training and development,
[8:47] safety, and the whistleblower policy.
[8:49] Over
[8:53] the course of 2026, we've reviewed all current policies and we will be proposing
[8:58] a number of updates just to ensure consistent application clarity, transportation, and
[9:03] equity.
[9:04] So, looking at the compensation policy, the proposed directive would maintain the policies
[9:09] general principles of how we compensate employees, but there would be minor adjustments to align
[9:14] with current practice, one mainly being a common salary anniversary date of January 1st,
[9:20] which is currently in practice now.
[9:23] Benefits policy, the proposed directive
[9:26] would expand employee eligibility,
[9:29] primarily offering casual employees
[9:32] like in a critical casual position,
[9:34] the opportunity to participate in our benefit program.
[9:37] And that, of course, would boost our ability
[9:40] to attract and retain those positions.
[9:45] The benefits directive would also update cost sharing,
[9:47] which is currently outdated and not reflective of our current rates.
[9:53] The vacation directive would improve clarity and consistency in how we administer vacation,
[9:58] but there would be no changes to starting vacation entitlements or how vacation is accrued.
[10:04] Hours of work in overtime, the directive which we propose the title of work time and scheduling
[10:09] aligns with current practice and legislative requirements and improves clarity and accountability.
[10:15] Moving allowance, the directive again maintains our existing standards, however, it was
[10:21] highlighted for us that changes were required on the repayment terms to meet legislative
[10:27] requirements. Staff training and development, the directive again aligns with current practice.
[10:33] We recently shifted last year to decentralize the training budget, but the directive would
[10:40] support continuous learning opportunities for staff and improve clarity and
[10:45] consistency in how leaders are making decisions on what sort of training and
[10:49] development they approve for their teams.
[10:54] So while administrative directives do
[10:56] provide us with the flexibility to respond to changing workforce needs, they
[11:02] continue to be supported through the senior leadership team review and approval.
[11:06] With that being said though, there are two existing policies that we would like to
[11:10] to see retained as council policies.
[11:13] The health and safety policy, that reinforces our organizational accountability and commitment
[11:20] to health, safety, and wellness at the highest level of the organization.
[11:24] Maintaining this as a council policy, I believe demonstrates council's leadership and due diligence
[11:30] in supporting a safe and healthy workplace while ensuring ongoing oversight through annual
[11:35] review and acknowledgement.
[11:36] And this policy specifically was last reviewed and acknowledged in April of 2026.
[11:44] And the whistleblower policy by keeping this one as a council policy, it maintains council's
[11:49] direct oversight of any allegations involving the CAO.
[11:53] And this policy was last reviewed and approved by council in May 2026.
[12:01] And so finally, outside of council policies, we have created and updated a number of administrative
[12:08] of directives. This includes attendance management, employee health and recovery, flexible
[12:14] working arrangements, employee rewards and recognition, remote work, and then the newly
[12:20] created talent acquisition and onboarding directive which does address some previously
[12:25] expressed concerns regarding the direct hire. We remain committed to frequent review of all
[12:31] HR related policies and practices, market alignment and responsiveness to the needs of the community.
[12:38] And with that, I'm happy to address any questions.
[12:41] Thank you.
[12:42] Thank you, Ms. Wolsey.
[12:43] I will get committee member McNabb to put the motion forward, please.
[12:49] Thank you, Madam Chair.
[12:51] The proposed motions that human resource policy C-468 be received for information and as presenter.
[12:58] Thank you very much.
[13:00] Are there any comments regarding the motion on the floor?
[13:06] Okay, committee member Jasper Singh, go ahead.
[13:09] Thank you for the presentation. I have a couple of questions here. In here it says you guys
[13:13] compared from different municipalities. I'd love to know which municipalities you guys
[13:18] compared to. I don't want to let's go with that one for now.
[13:28] Anybody else? Maybe just to start while
[13:30] care grabs her notes. What we tried to do was look at comparable municipalities, kind of the larger
[13:36] and look at what HR policies were within Council's control and purview and so I'll pass it over to Karen to kind of run through that.
[13:47] You bet, so our comparators are outlined right now in the administrative procedure under compensation.
[13:54] So that City of Port Saskatchewan, City of Liduke, City of Spruce Grove, City of St. Albert, Liduke County, Rocky View County, Strathcona,
[14:02] Sturgeon, Town of Stony, Plain, Yellowhead County, and we did add in the city of Edmonton as we are finding that
[14:09] A lot of our employees are either coming from the city of Edmonton or departing to the city of Edmonton
[14:14] And so maintaining impeditiveness with the city of Edmonton was important to us and
[14:21] Councillor Jasperson just a question for clarification were you wondering when we're looking at compensation what we're comparing to or when we're looking at the overall policies
[14:28] overall policies. We looked at the larger rural comparators, so I think the Duke County,
[14:35] Rocky View County, Sturgeon County, and looking at what they had for overarching HR policies.
[14:41] And so all of those larger rural municipalities either just had kind of that overarching HR policy
[14:48] or no policy that speaks to HR at all. And you can maybe clarify that, but yeah, yeah.
[14:54] Okay.
[14:55] Sure.
[14:57] Okay.
[14:58] Another question.
[14:59] So if I'm reading.
[15:00] We're sending this right out of the eight policies. We're resending six of them to kind of just say, an administration that's operational, you guys go for it and then we're kind of keeping two.
[15:13] Yes, so actually would end up being three in total if you consider the overarching HR policy, which is still a council policy. So the HR policy whistleblower and health and safety. And one last thing, I don't think we can get that now, but maybe down the road. I'd love to see the policies that we're deleting.
[15:30] Yeah,
[15:33] absolutely. I can send those. And just for council's information, I also provided
[15:38] all the administrative directives via email. They're not in the package, but council
[15:42] has them to review. Thank you. Committee member, does that?
[15:48] Thank you again for the presentation. For administration, could you provide your thoughts on,
[15:56] just to describe the impacts if this were to remain status quo, please?
[16:00] So,
[16:04] the impact would be that it doesn't allow us to respond as easily to changing workforce
[16:12] dynamics.
[16:14] When they are administrative directives, we can stay very in touch with the market,
[16:19] neighboring municipalities, legislation, and we have the ability to update the directives
[16:25] and get in front of the senior leadership team, seek their feedback, make those revisions,
[16:30] and relaunch them to the organization.
[16:32] It is a slightly easier process for us.
[16:39] And just one more, you may not have it at this point in time, but do you know the financial
[16:43] impacts of giving or adding benefits to the casual labor force?
[16:50] Please and thanks.
[16:53] So I don't have the exact numbers, however we did speak with the leaders of the impacted
[16:59] departments, and it is certainly something that they would be able to absorb within their
[17:03] our current budget without asking for additional funding.
[17:06] It's pretty minor.
[17:10] Mayor Chagas?
[17:12] Thank you, just one comment.
[17:15] So when this does come forward for Council's approval,
[17:19] looking at under authority and responsibilities
[17:21] for the CAO under item seven,
[17:25] it identifies seven different specific pieces of legislation.
[17:30] Recognizing the changing landscapes we have,
[17:33] I would suggest we cover off any potential changes, so we don't have, you know, just this coming back for minor tweaks and adjustments to changes in legislation name or new legislation, and just including that the COO is accountable for ensuring compliance with all applicable employment, labor and safety legislation.
[17:58] I can provide that later.
[18:01] Thank you.
[18:03] Okay.
[18:04] Any further comments?
[18:05] Questions?
[18:07] Seeing none, I'll call on the motion.
[18:09] All those in favor?
[18:13] The motion is carried.
[18:15] Thank you.
[18:22] Move to item 71, Economic Growth Update.
[18:25] Ms. Swainley, please introduce this item.
[18:29] Thank you, Madam Chair.
[18:31] Joining us for the Economic Growth Update this morning are Denise Carlson, Acting Director
[18:36] Director of Strategic Growth, Jordan Tidy, Economic Growth Specialist, and Kay Lee Haines, Economic Growth Advisor, and they'll be happy to answer any questions Council may have.
[18:50] Good morning. Good to be back.
[18:54] So since our July 7th update, our teams had multiple points with different stakeholders in the province.
[19:02] Oh, there we go. We've met with the University of Alberta.
[19:05] We've explored partnership opportunities to align with our economic growth priorities.
[19:10] Some of these have included work with Anastasia Limb.
[19:14] So that's put us into contact with U of A priorities such as research, funding, community
[19:21] development, and partnerships.
[19:23] We've also had some connection with the Botanic Gardens and was able to look at some ways
[19:28] to promote them through Explore Parkland and working together on the tourism file.
[19:33] We've also had two now meetings with the tri-region with Stoney and Spruce to look at some
[19:39] collaboration opportunities and workforce development, as well as tourism and business
[19:45] supports. That's just leveraging our small team to do more business retention and expansion
[19:50] here in the tri-region. So success on both those fronts. Next slide.
[19:59] So a big event is coming up with
[20:01] the ABA on September 26, this is the 25th awards gala celebration, so we will be supporting
[20:08] this initiative, not just with sponsorship, but with our support and participation in
[20:14] the event. We're also looking at a number of different opportunities with the ABA, including
[20:19] a defense procurement event, they're sending out a survey to all their members to look at
[20:25] interest. Another one is procurement of major projects here in the region, and I mean
[20:30] in Edmonton region, not like the Metaproject and Surgeon County, supply chain and helping
[20:35] companies to get engaged in that ecosystem.
[20:39] We'll be starting up the connecting with your county, both in Wobbeman, Antwistle, and
[20:45] in Atchison to meet directly with the businesses, again, starting in the fall, because there's
[20:49] a bit of a break here in the summer.
[20:53] And yeah, just passing along good news on some of our members through the ABA in newsletters
[21:00] and updates and working closely with them to share good news stories as well as any kind
[21:05] of advocacy issues that we're hearing from members.
[21:12] The next one was a conference that we attended in Edmonton on July 19th to 23rd.
[21:18] This was the Penwar event, which looks at Western Canadian provinces and Western United States.
[21:26] So we attended a number of excellent sessions focusing on critical minerals, agriculture,
[21:31] culture, both primary and value added as well as some data center pieces, there was
[21:38] also export, there was a lot of different initiatives and we learned a lot and made some
[21:42] excellent connections. We were able to attend both a Heidelberg Concrete
[21:48] plant tour as well as a Y-E-G airport tour. So both of those were really good for making
[21:53] connections and learning in our region.
[21:57] With the government of Alberta, we did the tour
[22:00] that was organized by MLA Getson was canceled due to some issues in the spring, but we have
[22:08] provided support to his office for some film scouting later, sorry, last month, now
[22:14] it's September, at the end of August.
[22:17] As far as invest Alberta, we've been working with them on a number of different projects
[22:22] directly, and we have responded to one RFI since the last update.
[22:27] other notable ones would be Travel Alberta.
[22:30] They'll be visiting next week.
[22:32] Wobbeman as well as looking at some other meeting in
[22:36] Wobbeman with our team, looking at some opportunities
[22:41] in the region.
[22:42] And then we also continue to work with the ERDA,
[22:45] which is the Edmonton Regional Defense Alliance,
[22:48] looking at business capabilities in
[22:50] Atchison and throughout the county, if interested.
[22:56] I'll pass it over to Jordan.
[23:01] Hello, so we've got some programs, issues, and projects coming up over the next few months.
[23:06] So, as well as our Explore Parkland website, which continues to showcase businesses, tourism,
[23:11] and experiences across the county.
[23:13] And local events are submitted through the website as well.
[23:15] Two of the upcoming ones are the Pioneer Art Club show and sale.
[23:20] And the Key Pills Fall Festival, as well as the Winter Fest date has been confirmed for
[23:25] December 4th.
[23:26] and we're working with community services
[23:28] to build sponsorships and packages
[23:29] and community business that we begin began,
[23:32] sorry, the week of August 17th.
[23:38] As well as the business revitalization program
[23:41] has been going very well.
[23:42] So we've had five applications approved for businesses
[23:45] in a lot of women.
[23:46] So a luxury daily scoop in Beach Corner,
[23:49] yellow sub, home hardware,
[23:51] women hotel and bar.
[23:52] So great to see that program getting a lot of uptake
[23:54] and really making a big difference in the community.
[23:56] We
[24:01] also have the Economic Diversification Committee meeting coming up.
[24:04] Sorry there was one completed on July 23rd and the first committee meeting is scheduled
[24:09] for later this week on September 3rd and the committee will review the updated terms
[24:13] of reference and refresh work plan for this fall and provide feedback on the economic growth
[24:18] strategy.
[24:23] Okay, great.
[24:24] So on to land readiness, these are pretty familiar from the last time.
[24:28] So the pictures taken above were taken a few weeks ago.
[24:32] So this is one of the first buildings that are going up in Ranch Lands, which is York's new industrial subdivision along Highway 16A.
[24:40] We're anticipating construction of two more buildings to begin right away, including their spec building, which will be for lease.
[24:49] Next slide.
[24:51] Moving on to Tower Industrial, our business park. This is by Remington. This is their spec building showing in the top picture there. That was also taken on the same day a few weeks ago.
[25:00] So, they're also making good progress there, that is a spec building for lease, that's also an industrial subdivision that is for sale.
[25:08] We aren't aware of any other proponents that are moving forward or in agreement, but we have heard that there is some interest in the area for other bill to suit opportunities.
[25:19] Next slide.
[25:21] Okay, and then this is our third industrial subdivision that is going forward at the same time, so we're quite busy in Ashison.
[25:26] This is Wessling Business Park. This is by Panatoni Development. They have a 300,000 square
[25:33] foot user that is not yet announced. We are expecting an announcement mid-September,
[25:37] but the Earthworks program has been under way stripping and grading to prepare the site,
[25:44] and there's a permit for the actual building itself that is being reviewed by planning at
[25:48] this time.
[25:56] Any questions?
[25:58] Thank you very much, I will ask mayors to put the motion on the floor please.
[26:05] Thank you so I'll put the motion that the Economic Growth Update be received for information as presented.
[26:11] Thank you so much, are there any comments, questions?
[26:17] Okay, well with that I would definitely be interested in seeing a summary or even just having a conversation about the highlights on the egg value pieces as well as any data center innovations from your conference.
[26:29] And that can be at your convenience.
[26:33] Sounds like any bits of information there that we can add or use are important for sure.
[26:40] Okay.
[26:41] Okay.
[26:42] Mayor Shagas.
[26:43] I just want to thank the team for your work and focus on attracting additional business to Parkland County.
[26:52] I think we're seeing the fruits of that being borne out.
[26:55] So thank you very much.
[26:57] Can committee member Kutra Johnson just wanted some more information about the business
[27:05] revitalization program.
[27:06] What does that include and what is it?
[27:10] Sure.
[27:11] So we call it business revitalization but it's really a store front improvement grant available
[27:16] to all businesses in the county so it's up to 3,500 in cash back, so reimbursement program.
[27:25] For things to enhance user experience, beautification, anything of that nature.
[27:34] So we have now, I think, seven, although when we submitted these materials, there was
[27:40] five.
[27:40] We do have seven now, and two outside of Wobbeman, and it closes October 14th.
[27:47] So there's still time, and we're hoping to get at least another three or four applications.
[27:54] Okay, thank you very much.
[28:01] We will now move to item 7D2 closed session.
[28:05] I will ask that committee member, Jasperson.
[28:09] Oh, did we not vote?
[28:11] I'm sorry.
[28:12] We'll move, go back to the motion on the floor and all those in favor.
[28:17] Thank you very much.
[28:18] That is carried.
[28:20] With that, we will now move to item 7D2 closed session.
[28:24] I will ask that committee member, Jasperson, put the motion forward.
[28:26] I
[28:31] propose the motion that the committee convene in closed session pursuant to section 197 of the Municipal Government Act to meet in private to discuss matters protected from disclosure by sections 19 and 29 of the Access to Information Act.
[28:48] Okay, are there any comments regarding the motion on the floor?
[28:52] Seeing none, I call the motion all those in favor.
[28:56] That is carried.
[28:57] We committee will move into close session at 11.20, excuse me, 9.28.
[29:02] They're doing lots of work.
[29:20] Welcome back to regular session.
[29:22] I wish to confirm that the only motion made in close session was the motion
[29:25] put forward by a committee member.
[29:28] Do set to return to regular meeting session at 9.58.
[29:34] And that motion was carried unanimously.
[29:39] Move to the next agenda item.
[29:42] close of meeting.
[29:46] No excuse me just
[29:52] got a little ahead of myself we're certainly
[29:54] not at the close of the meeting excuse me we will now move to item 7 F1 planning and
[30:00] Development Services Update. Thank you very much, Chair Olson. With us today from the Planning and Development Department is Justin Young, Director of Planning and Development, Holly Hardbave, Supervisor of Planning and Development Advisory, Amon Joal, Senior Planner, and Jessica Harden Manager, Subdivision Planning. They're here to present an update on the Department. And just to echo CEO Swains earlier comments around opportunities for alignment between the growth strategies team and the planning team.
[30:27] I'm really excited to bring that group into the division and to foster more opportunities
[30:34] for collaboration, so I welcome the team today.
[30:36] Thanks.
[30:40] Good morning, Madam Chair and committee.
[30:41] Nice to see you all again.
[30:43] So we have a couple of updates for you today.
[30:46] We have a general department update and some planning coordination projects, and then we
[30:50] have some further detail for closed session.
[30:54] So we are seeing one of the busiest years in recent memory.
[30:58] We are trending to have high volumes in permits, subdivision applications, and by-law applications as well.
[31:08] Despite that, though, we have been aggressively pursuing some enhanced updates for the department.
[31:14] So, as of yesterday, a new landing page launched for the department, it includes links to the applicant toolkit.
[31:24] So there's a handbook available now which has a comprehensive customer focus.
[31:28] I'd encourage you all to take a look.
[31:30] We might be also able to get some printed copies for everyone on Council.
[31:35] That also includes guides for our applications and video guides on how to interact with the planet portal and it's continuing to be expanded.
[31:45] The website will be updated all this week with all the sub pages and hyperlinks continuing to be updated,
[31:51] refined and appropriately linked. So expect to see those updates throughout the week but you can
[31:56] interact with the Lanny Page on the website today. So that would be great. I'd also note that our
[32:03] applicant survey has launched. So when you make an application to the applying department, once you're
[32:08] complete your application, you're prompted with a feedback survey and we're monitoring those responses.
[32:14] We haven't seen a huge uptake and people wanted to complete the survey just yet but it's something
[32:19] we're continuing to monitor, initially response we've received have incredibly positive so we're
[32:24] very happy with that. We did also receive a STAR customer service just compliment from one of our
[32:32] applicants who was very thrilled with the service they received so that's something that we're very
[32:36] happy about as well. We also like to note that we're currently in discussions of third-party provider
[32:45] to prepare a white paper study on hyperscale data centers.
[32:49] So this would provide a very in-depth technical overview of the impacts that we,
[32:55] or that communities might see, would relate it to data centers,
[33:00] would provide recommendations about any setback distances or things to consider,
[33:04] areas of the county or the jurisdiction that might have better feasibility rather than others.
[33:09] And this could also help to inform future policy decisions of council
[33:13] with respect to those data centers.
[33:16] And I just one more note that our development activity reports are also posted and live on the updated website.
[33:24] So that's another thing we're really happy about.
[33:28] I'll turn it over to Derek to provide some updates on our projects.
[33:32] Thank you, Justin, and welcome back.
[33:34] Good to see you.
[33:35] So we've got a couple projects that I'll just provide a brief update on.
[33:39] First, the area structure plan projects wave one of our implementation plan.
[33:43] plan, so we'll start with the river's edge area, which is in division one, and this
[33:48] project involves rescinding the Woodbanger-Miniya area structure plan and replacing it with
[33:53] development area policies within our municipal development plan.
[33:57] We conducted the stage two or second open house, which presented the draft policies to the
[34:02] public on October 25th last week.
[34:04] We had a great turnout of over 50 people, and the feedback receipt was generally positive
[34:09] and supportive of the work that we're doing, so we're really looking forward to now final
[34:13] analyzing our draft policies to be able to present to you later this year or at the beginning of 2027.
[34:20] We also had enforcement services present at that open house, so we had officer Tobar there to be able to support any residents with their concerns on safety or other community by law issues.
[34:30] And we had the opportunity for residents to provide that feedback on the proposed draft policies so that we can then refine them before we're finalizing them.
[34:37] Second, we have our second part of the Wave 1 Area Structure Plan project, which is
[34:42] the rescinding of the Antwistle Area Structure Plan.
[34:45] So the proposed rescinding is going to be brought forward for first reading at Council next
[34:49] week on September 8th, with the proposed scheduling of a public hearing and second and third reading
[34:54] on October 13th.
[34:56] We did have public engagement run until the middle of August here in connection with the
[35:01] connector of the county initiatives over in Antwistle.
[35:04] We haven't received much feedback regarding any concerns or any comments regarding the
[35:09] Amazon Area Structure Plan at this time, but we'll provide any further updates as well
[35:14] in our presentation.
[35:16] Next, we have the Action Area Structure Plan update, so we have been working on two technical
[35:21] studies as our economic growth team did mention.
[35:24] One is the oil and gas infrastructure analysis and the other is the market analysis.
[35:28] The oil and gas infrastructure analysis, we now have the draft report and are working on
[35:32] finalizing that land that is under part of the scope of that project includes the tidewater
[35:39] lands as well. So we also then have the market analysis that we are working on finalizing
[35:44] that draft report as well and we'll be able to review that and get both to you for presentation
[35:49] on October 13th. And then I'd also like to just introduce Holly here. Holly supervises our front
[35:56] counter service and I just want her to come today to speak to some of the current trends that she's
[36:00] seeing and what she's hearing from applicants on the day-to-day.
[36:03] Hi, good morning.
[36:04] Thanks for taking a minute to hear all things advisory group.
[36:07] So our advisory team has received an abundance of positive feedback from the residents
[36:12] since they have access to our planning services.
[36:15] They frequently tell us how much they appreciate being able to walk in, ask questions
[36:19] or call us directly.
[36:20] We have sustained an achievement of 100% response rate within 24 hours,
[36:25] combined with direct access to our planning resources through our planning channels.
[36:29] This reflects a service model that directly supports the vision for accessible responsive
[36:33] and public-focused community excellence.
[36:36] This time last year, most people were seeking application updates or timelines.
[36:40] The transfer this year are more targeted towards complete applications and new development.
[36:45] As we see these trends continue, we remain well positioned to support our applicants moving
[36:50] forward.
[36:51] Thank you.
[36:56] We're happy to answer any questions, of course.
[37:01] Thank you very much.
[37:03] Could I have committee member Kutcher-Johnson put the motion on the floor, please?
[37:09] That the planning
[37:13] and development update, just
[37:17] sorry, sorry about that everyone.
[37:22] That the planning and development services update be received for as information as presented.
[37:28] Thank you very much.
[37:30] Any comments or questions?
[37:37] Mayor Shagas?
[37:38] Thank you.
[37:39] Just a question.
[37:40] Appreciate always good to hear positive feedback from the residents.
[37:44] a bit of a outlier this year with record rainfall that we have and certainly a lot of concerns
[37:53] and issues regarding flooding on properties.
[37:57] I'm wondering if there's an analysis that's being done on the impacts or the number of concerns
[38:04] that this might not be just specific to feedback to planning development, so I guess this would
[38:11] this way. If we're tracking the complaints based and identifying those complaints that
[38:18] occur post permit application, whatever that is, whether it's noise concerns, whether
[38:26] it's drainage issues and flooding because of fail that's been brought onto properties.
[38:32] I wonder if we're tracking that so we can be addressing those through policy changes or
[38:37] or procedural changes?
[38:44] I think we addressed through the chair to the mayor.
[38:48] We look at general trends.
[38:50] I wouldn't say we look at specific permits.
[38:53] I know you brought up the concern about fill.
[38:56] Is that something you want to be elaborate on today, just in terms of issues with the way
[39:01] fills brought in or the number of trucks or how the county monitors that?
[39:05] Well, that's certainly an issue on concern, but I'm just speaking more broadly.
[39:10] What are the impacts of some of these permanent approvals and so are we tracking to determine
[39:17] whether there are trends in patterns, and if there is need of adjustments to any of council
[39:23] policies or administrative procedures or directives?
[39:30] Through the Chair to the Mayor.
[39:32] I do believe that our enforcement group checks complaint data and the content of the
[39:37] substantive matters of the complaints. And if they're aware of a specific trend related
[39:41] to a certain type of development, that is something that I would speak with that group about.
[39:46] They haven't brought any to my attention as of yet, but that's something that my self and
[39:50] Mr. Chase can take away and make sure that we're speaking with the enforcement group about.
[39:58] Councillor Kailn. Thank you. Speaking of that, a lot
[40:03] grating I think that was something that I received some information on. I'll likely be moving
[40:07] for with a motion down the road because I do share some concerns about from some residents
[40:12] about how that's been conducted and how that there seems to be lack of definitions within
[40:20] that policy. So that would be one. I guess my point would be is that thank you for this update
[40:27] today. Prior to we were receiving updates or not prior just recently we brought updates on metrics
[40:34] on where we're at, where our turnaround times are, how long we're taking, et cetera, et cetera.
[40:40] So the general public can see where we're sitting in comparison to neighboring communities.
[40:44] I'm wondering when is that coming back through
[40:50] the Chair to Councilor Kyle?
[40:52] So that's publicly posted on our website as of today.
[40:55] So you should be able to see a monthly report.
[40:57] Right now posted is May, June, and July, and then we will continue posting on a monthly basis.
[41:03] Okay. I guess in future as several of the items that brought forward here have been brought
[41:09] forward before. Maybe it's good to hear recent updates, but they're not. I guess they have
[41:17] some added value, but I think that that would be value brought right to the council table.
[41:21] Here not everyone goes on the website. I think it's something that we should be highlighting
[41:26] here for the public to see where we're sitting, etc.
[41:32] Food for thought.
[41:34] If I can just jump in on that one, Councillor Colle,
[41:37] I think we can include that in our go-for-it updates here,
[41:39] just including those stats that you can see them,
[41:42] the public can see them, and they're addressed here at this table.
[41:46] That would be great. Thank you.
[41:54] Mayor Chagas.
[41:55] Thank you.
[41:56] One of the questions specific to the Actress and Area Structure Plan,
[42:00] and some of the mark analysis and studies that are being done.
[42:03] specific to the oil and gas, will that report identify, I guess, the lands that we would
[42:12] see greatest return on, if those constraints are cleaned up, or reprioritizing areas based
[42:21] on that report.
[42:23] Through the Chair to the Mayor, the technical studies are focused right now on the area
[42:29] structure plan update, and those areas within the area structure plan that are currently restrained
[42:33] through policy. So, yes, I believe it provides a huge benefit and it provides a lot of clarity
[42:41] to developers when they're coming in. It will give them an understanding of what is the true
[42:45] cost in remediating those lands, but I'll let Mr. McDowell supplement.
[42:52] Thank you and do the chair to the mayor. As Justin said, the intent behind the oil and gas
[42:58] infrastructure or study is to identify what the extent of restraints are in the lands that
[43:07] are currently shown as restrained in the Ashton area structure plan, and to identify the overall
[43:12] cost or liability to be able to understand, okay, if someone does want to come and develop these areas,
[43:19] here's the total amount of liability that is on that land based on the oil and gas sites that are
[43:24] there. So currently when we're looking through our draft which will then share the
[43:30] finalized findings to you on October 13th, we are going to be able to identify areas that
[43:35] have less liability or that have more or areas that are more technically complex to be able to fully
[43:41] remediate and areas that are maybe more ready to go.
[43:48] And of course again, when you're talking about
[43:50] working closely with ACDAV, I think that information is just invaluable, right? So yeah, I commend
[43:58] and that work for sure.
[43:59] Council McNabb.
[44:01] Yeah, thank you.
[44:03] I got a question in regards
[44:05] to the Antoscillary Structural Fund rescinding the ASB.
[44:09] And I know we're gonna have an opportunity
[44:11] to look more in-depth into what that means
[44:14] for the community as the community comes out
[44:17] to understand what that means also.
[44:19] But my question goes back to ECDAV also
[44:22] in regards to that area.
[44:24] And I think when we rescind these area of Structural Funds
[44:27] And right at the moment, I think I'm okay with rescinding the area structure plan.
[44:31] It's just what are we going to lose?
[44:34] So when I start thinking about the economic development of that area where it has my opinion,
[44:40] potential.
[44:41] And it just don't want to lose that potential through the loss of an area structure plan and
[44:47] the economic development perspective.
[44:49] We have a massive amount of superior infrastructure in the area with an overpass.
[44:54] We have rail access, we have land, we have a community that has ability to grow.
[45:00] Go and provide services in, I guess, an entrepreneurial type perspective out there. And massive amount of activity going along with oil and gas and the at-go line that's going through today, there's a pile of truck traffic and people and infrastructure that possibly needs to be improved. Just don't want to lose that perspective by losing the area of structured plan. And I'm not too sure if we would be.
[45:29] And the conversation goes back to in our economic development perspective of that region.
[45:36] How do we incorporate that into the future, I guess, benefits of Parkland County?
[45:44] We have an atrocious and uneased, is there something that we could have on its own scale in the West?
[45:50] And I think that's where the community would like to have that conversation.
[45:56] I don't know if they know how to go about asking those questions, especially when it comes to
[46:01] what are we losing, we're going to be rescinding an area structure plan, do we lose something or do
[46:06] we gain something? And I guess those questions could be answered in the future when we come forward
[46:11] with what's going to be presented. I just wanted to plug that today to that's what I'm thinking,
[46:17] and I hope you guys could come up with some answers and questions in the future.
[46:21] And
[46:24] just further to that, it may be important to engage, you know, highly engaged groups
[46:31] like the Chamber.
[46:32] I think you said that there were 66 members in that area currently.
[46:37] You know, those are the people that, those are the businesses and people and families
[46:41] who have made a commitment to that area and I think would be a great starting point.
[46:49] Anything further?
[46:51] Councillor Coocher-Johnson?
[46:52] Well, so I would think because Evansburg is right there that we have to be highly aware of what they offer and what we offer, possibly we don't want to be offering the exact same thing, I might be off base here, John, let me know, but we don't want to be offering the same thing and we want to have a competitive advantage over Evansburg so hopefully we can provide that if somebody is going to move into that area, why move into Parkland County?
[47:22] to rather than yellow heads. So those are questions that needs to be answered.
[47:28] Councilor McNabb.
[47:30] Thanks, Councillor Couture-Johnson. And I'll just change the word competitive to cohesive.
[47:39] And the region needs to look at themselves as one entity and not being connected with yellow head
[47:46] It all had likes to, they're quite proud of Heavensburg area.
[47:51] We should be proud of Antwistle area, somehow making a cohesive type entity.
[47:57] There's a massive amount of businesses and individuals within that two regions that could work together.
[48:06] Thank you.
[48:08] Yeah, we may be a word like complimentary cooperative, those kinds of words, for sure.
[48:13] anything further? Okay. Regarding the motion on the floor, I will call the motion all of those in favor.
[48:23] And that is carried. Thank you.
[48:28] We will now move to item 7F2, closed session.
[48:33] I will ask committee member Mugnap to put the motion forward, please.
[48:37] Oh, excuse me, that would be committee member Kyle.
[48:41] Thank you. The proposed motion is that the committee convene in co-session pursuant to section
[48:45] 197 on the municipal government after meeting private discussed matters protected from disclosure
[48:49] by section 20 and 29 of the access to information act. Any comments on the motion?
[48:58] Seeing none,
[48:58] I call on the motion those in favor.
[49:02] And that is carried. The committee will move into closed session
[49:05] at 1019.
[49:32] Welcome back to regular session. I wish to confirm that the only motion made in closed session
[49:36] was the motion put forward by committee member McNabb that the committee revert to the regular
[49:41] meeting session at 11.29.
[49:45] The motion was carried unanimously.
[49:47] We will now move to item 7F5, business arising from closed session.
[49:58] Miss Wayne, is there anything for that?
[50:00] One.
[50:01] Thank you, Madam Chair.
[50:02] There is no business arising from closed session.
[50:04] Thank you.
[50:06] We will now move to the two items under communications, item 8.1, communications, committee
[50:13] reports. I will ask that Mayor Shagas put the motion forward, please.
[50:26] Okay. I'll put the motion that wants the committee reports or presented they've received
[50:31] for information.
[50:35] Thank you.
[50:42] And we will just wait a moment for the committee reports to come up on the
[50:53] Thank you very much, kind of a late schedule for me, but August 18th was our special council meeting and the 25th was the River's Edge Development Area Draft Plan, so I was quite pleased to see 50 people in that showed up and did some work.
[51:14] August 27th, I attended a virtual town hall meeting with Danielle Smith regarding AI development.
[51:22] And that's it.
[51:23] Thank you.
[51:26] Okay, and as soon as it comes up on the screen, we will go with Councillor Kylee, please.
[51:33] Thank you.
[51:37] Yeah, Kennedy, Breakfast at the Old Bird Hall, Camp You Hall tours, Premier's Breakfast.
[51:42] But I guess more importantly, my committee's tri-leisure center.
[51:48] We had a couple board meetings, but it was also on the tri-leisure center scholarship committee.
[51:54] And myself and two others reviewed quite a number of video applications.
[52:02] And they had a fairly extensive application process.
[52:05] us, and we awarded five individuals from the try with each $1,000 scholarship.
[52:12] So that was, they were very excited, and then the 10th of the Antoisal
[52:17] Rodeo and the North Central Co-op CDS celebration.
[52:19] That's it.
[52:20] Thank you.
[52:26] Councilor McNabb?
[52:30] Yeah, thank you very much, as I've identified on my, my handard in sheet there that you can
[52:35] see.
[52:36] I attended a few items, a couple of highlights out of that, I would, you know, the 100-year
[52:42] your family farm presentation, which I think we talked about last time, the Pishky farm.
[52:46] That was quite nice to go out and rest of council, most of council came out.
[52:52] It was a beautiful day in a beautiful farm that we got to tour.
[52:56] A couple things that, other than what I have on there, a couple things I'd like to bring out.
[53:00] Is in our region out there, there is quite a bit of activity going on, which I don't attend.
[53:06] All of the activities going on there is quite a bit going on in our region.
[53:10] Antwerse 11sburg area, there's River Wamp that brings in hundreds and hundreds and hundreds
[53:16] of people that go to this music festival, there's this weekend coming up is what they're
[53:23] going to call the Renaissance Fair and I just want to highlight the Renaissance Fair.
[53:27] It's a first time they're having it in the Antwersele rodeo grounds, but the Renaissance
[53:31] Fair in Edson brought in over 2,000 participants, are not participants, customers, people showing
[53:38] up. That's a massive amount of people to show up for a Renaissance fair. I don't even know what
[53:43] the Renaissance fair is, but it's the first time. You are the Renaissance. But I'm looking forward
[53:50] to actually all kinds of different activities in our community that we get to go to and out west
[53:55] there. There's something every weekend and this Renaissance fair is as brand new to the community
[54:02] and it'd be interesting to see and hopefully it's successful for the group that's putting it on.
[54:06] Thank
[54:10] you, Councilor McNabb.
[54:21] Okay.
[54:22] Thank you.
[54:23] So, just a few highlights.
[54:25] For August, I attended the Waldemann Watershed Management Council,
[54:29] 20th Anniversary Celebration at Waldemann Park in Waldemann.
[54:33] They unveiled their show-your-lakes and love campaign.
[54:36] This is brand new for them.
[54:38] It's quite eye-catching, and I expect it to be really quite successful for them.
[54:44] Parkland County participated in this in terms of
[54:47] So the Ag Department had some weed inspectors there giving old information and other goodies,
[54:53] so that was really nice to see.
[54:56] I attended the town hall in Redwater with CAO Swain, where Minister Nate Glover has
[55:03] answered attempt to answer questions regarding the response to the AI data center being built
[55:10] in Sturgeon, very lively affair.
[55:14] And then if you could just scroll down a bit,
[55:20] I just noted here that I had the opportunity
[55:23] to speak with many residents across my division over the summer, the hot topic, of course,
[55:29] was the weather, the wetness, a lot of egg producers, quite concerned with the outcome
[55:36] of their crops.
[55:37] And then lastly, yesterday, August 31st, I attended the Yellowhead Regional Library Executive
[55:44] of meeting. And we were involved largely with the draft budget for 2027. And that wraps
[55:53] up my report for August. Thank you. And we will move on to Councillor Jesperson once
[55:59] the screen comes up.
[56:03] Thank you. So here's the list of all the
[56:07] fun I had in the last couple months. A couple things I will point out. July 15th to 17th,
[56:13] Councillor Doucette and I, we actually went to Steinbach, Manitoba to do the Alice National
[56:18] Field Conference and it was actually an amazing experience and great to see the differences
[56:23] from what we deal with here in Parkland County compared to Manitoba and even the projects
[56:30] that they're approving there is different than what we're dealing with here so it was really
[56:35] good experience and I was very happy to go another thing July 29th Meridian housing special
[56:41] board meeting, you know what, it's a lot of excitement there in what Marie and Housing
[56:48] wants to do over the next 10 years, and we went over a little plan, so I'm really excited
[56:52] that once that finally gets completed, that we're going to see a presentation to Council
[56:58] and that everyone will be able to see it.
[57:00] And the last one that I'll point out, August 5th, the Community Sustainability Committee meeting,
[57:06] you know what, that was the first meeting I got to attend, and it was nice to meet everyone
[57:10] and it was good to go through all the grant applications and to see all the good that Parkland County is spreading around, so that was a great meeting.
[57:20] That's it for me.
[57:22] Thank you very much, and then we will just have Councilor Dussett as soon as the screen comes up.
[57:27] I appreciate that apologies to admin.
[57:33] There wasn't a lot of activity in August, so I didn't really have a report, but I'll
[57:38] just verbalize some things over July and into August.
[57:42] So as Councillor Jasperson shared, we did travel to Steinbeck, Manitoba, for the Alice
[57:49] Conference, and I share Councillor Jasperson's sentiments.
[57:54] It's one of the things that resonates with me about our trip to the Alice Conference
[58:00] there.
[58:01] We did a number of site tours and just the importance again of natural capital, natural
[58:08] infrastructure for things like holding water and wildfire safety.
[58:17] if you've got water on the landscape, you've got a way to mitigate, you know, wildfire potential,
[58:25] wildfire intensity. So these are the things. And just in Manitoba they fight, like we've discussed
[58:35] this summer about our drainage, we see the drainage complaints and whatnot. In Manitoba,
[58:41] by this is more of like an annual item for them
[58:44] and they deal with such flat land
[58:47] and they really have to think outside of the box
[58:49] when it comes to managing water on the landscape.
[58:54] So it was just a good perspective
[58:56] to get during the couple days
[58:59] that we spent with the Alice Group.
[59:03] We did the Campi Huha tour as well, most of council,
[59:08] A good perspective of what we have here in the county available to our residents.
[59:17] Lake Isle is a beautiful location, and it's an incredible facility with a lot of potential
[59:27] to do good, so appreciate the opportunity to attend that with, again, most of council.
[59:36] In August, there weren't a lot of committee activities for myself, but what I did do during
[59:46] the month of August was visit a lot of our communities, have a lot of site visits
[59:52] with residents using that time to discuss with residents the concerns that they have again.
[1:00:00] Drainage was number one, saw a lot of lot grading concerns, and some issues out there that I'm starting to see conversations about residents having concerns with builders and developers, something that seems to be of growing importance and may need to be discussed in future. So, I don't want to go into that.
[1:00:29] I know it's just committee reports but I just wanted to share that experience through the month of August
[1:00:35] so thanks very much for the opportunity. Thank you Councillor Jesperson. We do have a motion on the
[1:00:43] floor. Any comments or questions regarding committee reports? Seeing none, I call the motion all those in
[1:00:49] favor and that is carried.
[1:00:55] Next item, 8.2 communications, mayor's report.
[1:01:01] Thank you very much.
[1:01:02] Since our last council meeting on July the 14th I've only had one committee meeting and that was yesterday and that was the West Interlake District or Wild Water Commission meeting and at that meeting we did approve a
[1:01:21] the adventure boring bylaw and Parkland County's share of that will be roughly $260,000.
[1:01:29] We have the opportunity to pay in one lump sum or the adventure period is over 25 years.
[1:01:36] There will be another adventure that will be coming forward.
[1:01:40] It's hoped to be funded through water sales.
[1:01:44] What we did learn is water sales are down 10%.
[1:01:48] over the last year, we have asked the administration there to identify whether this is an anomaly.
[1:01:56] Some of the water users or purchasers are summer villages and with the heavy rain,
[1:02:04] it was suspected that perhaps a lot of the owners of those lots on the summer villages
[1:02:11] weren't out there, so it didn't have as much water.
[1:02:13] But it was 10% roughly across all consumers, municipalities included.
[1:02:21] So again, I've raised this before it's potentially a red flag because we do need to build up restricted surplus
[1:02:32] for both operating in capital for the inevitable replacement and the contributions to those restricted
[1:02:40] affected surpluses, restricted accounts, part of me, are lower than anticipated or hope
[1:02:46] forward because of the decrease in water sales. Also, once the Wild Commission receives
[1:02:54] the updated cost of purchasing from the Capital Region Parkland Water Commission, they'll
[1:03:00] finalize their water rates, then inform all of their members moving forward. So that's
[1:03:06] The only committee report I have, I just want to also acknowledge and it was mentioned previously by one of our staff members in these Carlson about the introductions that was made by the University of Alberta's Director of Engagement and Strategic Partnerships, Anastasia Lim, and so we have had a few meetings with different departments in the U of A looking at possible alignment.
[1:03:35] and partnerships in moving our respective interests forward.
[1:03:40] We do have another meeting coming up this week.
[1:03:43] And also had an opportunity to meet over the summer with provincial ministers,
[1:03:51] our MP, Dame Lloyd, and a number of regional and provincial mayors as well.
[1:03:58] So that's my report. Thank you.
[1:04:02] Thank you, Marisha.
[1:04:04] Is councilor just for similarly put the motion on the floor, please?
[1:04:09] Oh, wouldn't you do it after the motion?
[1:04:16] Propose motion that the mayor's report be received for information as presented.
[1:04:20] Thank you, councilor just for some.
[1:04:22] Are there any comments or questions?
[1:04:24] Councilor McNally?
[1:04:25] Councilor McNally?
[1:04:26] Yes, thank you for the process.
[1:04:28] Just want to make a comment on the perspective of Marisha gets to report 10% down and I guess
[1:04:35] sales or consumption of or water. You know it kind of makes sense in a
[1:04:40] recreational perspective that we have a massive monosato population in Parkland
[1:04:44] County that would utilize this portable water in regards to the truck fill
[1:04:48] stations or whatever there might be out there. You know as I'm involved in a
[1:04:52] recreational world in Campground Association of Alberta and Canada we're the
[1:04:59] activities down 30% across Canada and in the province of Alberta we're probably
[1:05:04] 15 to 30 percent down. I could understand why we're everything else is down. If the consumption
[1:05:13] of water is down, that would make sense in those type of industries that are hurting
[1:05:19] and in a recreational perspective, and people just not going out to possibly their lake
[1:05:24] lots and or camping activities which utilize that resources. But what I'm trying to get at is
[1:05:31] is that that impact is crossed the board, if water is down and sales is 10% and recreational
[1:05:37] camping is down 30%, and what else is down?
[1:05:40] The impact on our economy is extensive and it's multiple of reasons.
[1:05:49] We have flooding, we have weather effects, we have gas prices that are astronomical, we
[1:05:54] have the price of just existence.
[1:05:56] You know, so our community or society has to figure this out, and maybe you're right,
[1:06:02] Mayor Shagitz is, maybe this is an anomaly, an anomaly, a one-off.
[1:06:07] But it's probably going to be a new trend over the next couple of years,
[1:06:12] and it'll be interesting to see how this all shakes out.
[1:06:14] You know, of course we don't know what the economy is in the south of us,
[1:06:19] and how that's going to work out on our national perspective.
[1:06:21] But I imagine we have to brace for some sort of an impact where there's 10% down or 15% down or 30% down.
[1:06:30] The future will tell, but I think we should be aware of it.
[1:06:34] Thanks for your report.
[1:06:38] Councillor Gisette.
[1:06:40] Just adding on to Councillor McNabb's discussion there and some great points brought up.
[1:06:46] Just again, conversations with a lot of residents over the month of August.
[1:06:50] just spending a lot more time at home and the RV units and whatnot are sitting on the
[1:06:56] driveway because, again, the price of fuel is preventing people from doing a lot of
[1:07:02] things and the word staycation came up a lot. So yeah, the impacts will be far reaching
[1:07:09] just from the fuel. Sorry if I'm getting a little off topic as we're just doing committee
[1:07:13] reports but just wanted to share that perspective. Thank you.
[1:07:17] Thank you.
[1:07:18] Thank you, Councillor Dussette. Anything further?
[1:07:22] Okay, I call on the motion. All those in favour?
[1:07:26] And that is carried.
[1:07:31] Okay.
[1:07:33] We are now at the end of today's governance and priorities committee meeting.
[1:07:38] The next council meeting is scheduled for 9 a.m. on September 8, 2026.
[1:07:43] And the next governance and priorities committee meeting is scheduled for 9 a.m. on September 15, 2026.
[1:07:49] I will call the meeting to close at 1149.