[1:48] Okay, good morning everyone. Um, welcome
to the September 22nd committee of the
[1:52] whole meeting.
[1:57] It is 9:00 a.m. and I would like to call
this meeting to order and that there's a
[2:02] lot of chatter happening in the gallery
today, which is always a good thing
[2:05] because it means our committee is here
ready to present in their delegations
[2:10] and are in good moods and so I hope that
we are all in good moods. Um, again, I
[2:15] have regrets from Mayor Bronco for
today's meeting as well as councelor Hy
[2:22] who's been unable to make it. So, I
would like to begin with open mic. And
[2:27] it's my understanding there's nobody in
the room for open mic.
[2:33] Nobody's saying Karen, you're wrong this
morning. So, great. We will move on to
[2:37] adoption of the the agenda. So, can I
please have somebody um move that,
[2:42] please? Councelor Nielson.
[2:47] » Thank you, Madam Chair. I'd actually
like to make an an addition to the
[2:51] agenda, please.
>> Sure.
[2:52] » In under close session
[2:58] 20, section 20 of ATIa.
>> Okay. So, I'll put that as 10. In our in
[3:03] my printed agenda, at least we didn't
have something from administration on
[3:08] this on this printed agenda. So we'll
have that one first from administration
[3:13] and then yours under section 20 is 10.2.
Is there anything else
[3:19] from anybody in the gallery?
Seeing none, um I will call the question
[3:26] for
>> Excuse me. Somebody put the put the
[3:29] motion forward.
>> Did you not Oh yeah, sorry. Thank you.
[3:33] Brushing this morning. All those in
favor of the 10.2, to you put the motion
[3:39] forward and then with the addition
>> all those in favor of moving the agenda
[3:47] with the addition of 10.2 to as amended
carried.
[3:54] I will catch up to my brain.
Uh so we will move on now to delegations
[4:02] and the first one I have is the brain
conference. So if you'd like um
[4:09] if you would like to come up is will it
be both Lori and Colleen?
[4:14] » Yeah.
[4:29] Your microphone is on. Okay.
Whenever you're ready.
[4:43] » I have to have my glasses.
>> Me, too. But the best part about not
[4:48] having any vision is you just wear them
all the time so you can always see
[4:52] something.
[4:55] » Well, good morning everybody. Uh Lori
and I are here to um represent the uh
[5:02] the brain conference that is happening.
Uh we in Hellkerk uh just south of
[5:08] Camero's ways. And um last year we had
the brain conference here in uh in
[5:16] Witasquin and uh it was at the Reynolds
Museum and was
[5:22] well presented. There were people that
came from basically all over all over
[5:27] Canada and some from the States and and
and this time we're even having a person
[5:32] come from uh from Australia uh to to
make their presentation uh or that I
[5:37] shouldn't say not their presentation but
they have a story in the in the book um
[5:42] of the uh the brain book. So anyway um
we'll just sort of carry on and uh
[5:55] I'll read you Lori prepared most of the
the the stuff here. So I will just uh um
[6:01] read it and um and both Lori and I were
also on the uh on the uh committee for
[6:09] for getting the uh conference running in
WTAN last year.
[6:14] Um
[6:20] the range of uh brain brain injuries is
larger than most people tend to know.
[6:27] stroke, brain, hemorrhage, injury,
accident, migraine, and more are of
[6:32] concern. you would likely know someone
who has suffered a brain injury and uh
[6:38] you can read some of their experiences
uh uh in the brain book and that's what
[6:44] that's what it looks like and there will
be a new edition of the brain book being
[6:49] um worked is being worked on at the
present time
[6:54] and uh brain with all its capital
letters stands for battle river arts
[7:01] innovation and neuroscience So all those
letters together make uh brain which is
[7:09] what it's all about in the in the grand
scheme of things. This is the first or
[7:13] the third conference the first being
held in Camros and then withas one last
[7:17] year. Uh we are part of a placebased
community of economic development, a
[7:24] practical education association
partnered with eight Canadian
[7:28] communities across Canada.
And more information can be found on the
[7:32] website and and you will have um
availability of of information regarding
[7:39] regarding that too. all the information
with the addresses that you can get a
[7:45] hold of people if you wish to do so.
The uh Battle River extends from the
[7:52] headwaters at Battle Lake to the
endaters of the river rivers at uh
[7:56] Battleford. It's a huge area of central
Alberta and Saskatchewan. And the
[8:02] conference 2026 will be held at the
Circle Square Ranch at Halkerk in the
[8:06] Battle River Badlands of Payer County.
A working group of volunteers
[8:11] representing several municipalities from
across the Battle River region is led by
[8:16] a competent board um the Brain
Foundation.
[8:21] And the conference this year is in
October from uh October the 23rd to the
[8:26] 25th with Friday evening and Saturday
morning extra events and one is even a a
[8:32] tour of the of the area.
The main conference is on Saturday
[8:38] and the uh brain foundation website has
more information on uh on that and again
[8:44] those addresses are all on this uh
enclosed.
[8:54] » Oh, okay. All right. That's that's the
one that's what the brain conference is
[8:57] and the request for funds. That's that's
what that is.
[9:02] And uh brain health differs from mental
health. Brain health is fundamental for
[9:07] mental health. While there is lots of
information about mental health, there
[9:11] is much less attention to brain health.
Rural Albertans or any Canadian for that
[9:16] matter uh should not have to travel for
treatment to faraway destinations like
[9:21] Florida, Denmark, Australia, even
Vancouver or Ottawa and not even
[9:26] Edmonton or Calgary.
We are working to bring brain
[9:30] rehabilitation and treatments to uh
central Alberta
[9:35] all throughout the uh throughout the um
area
[9:41] and sponsorships. the the way that we
are putting this all together is uh by
[9:48] sponsorships um the conference to
advertise what we're doing and and uh
[9:54] and inform people more of uh of of the
different ways to heal brain injuries
[10:02] and the brain book uh gifts all will
help uh you can attend the brain
[10:08] conference and hear speakers from across
Canada and the US even from from other
[10:12] countries. Leading scientists and
doctors offer insights into brain
[10:17] injuries. Artists understand the power
of all forms of art in recovery.
[10:24] So you can you can sponsor people to
attend the conference or you can
[10:29] contribute stories from your own lived
experience or from others you have known
[10:34] because we all have very likely some
connection to someone who has had a had
[10:40] a brain injury of of some kind. And you
can help us spread the word about our
[10:46] cause, our conferences and other
projects.
[10:50] The ultimate goal of this conference is
to attract resources and uh raise
[10:56] awareness about the need for a brain
education and rehabilitation center in
[11:01] Battle River region, enabling those
impacted to recover in familiar
[11:05] surroundings with ongoing support,
providing hope for their loved ones. The
[11:11] conference will examine and report on
recent breakthroughs and innovations in
[11:16] understanding the brain, neuroscience,
and the rehabilitation processes,
[11:21] especially neuroplasticity and therapies
through the arts.
[11:27] If you can add your efforts to bring a
world-class brain center to rural
[11:31] Alberta, your donations and your input
will be much appreciated.
[11:40] And um Lori has a copy there of the of
the brain the brain book and it is yeah
[11:47] it is made up of um of uh stories. There
are five different sections in the book
[11:54] and they are all written by by people
who have had some some
[11:59] connection to uh to brain injury and um
and so even the book itself is is
[12:06] education
and um you can also there there's
[12:11] something with the new copy that is
going to be coming out um there's going
[12:16] to be space available made available for
people to advertise their own
[12:22] businesses, you know, for supporting um
for supporting the the conference and
[12:26] and and the book. But it's but it is an
an actual advertisement for whatever
[12:32] business or whatever um organization you
belong to. And the fee for that is um is
[12:40] $1,000.
And um
[12:45] and that gives you there'll be pages
added to the book that have your
[12:49] information on your on your company or
your business or your organization. Does
[12:54] that sound right so far?
>> Okay.
[13:00] » Right. The smaller donations you can you
can um
[13:06] Right. I should tell you how much it
costs for the um for the uh attendance
[13:12] at the conference. The fees are $125 for
general admission only or $300 which
[13:20] include accommodation on the ranch uh if
needed and then caster and also have
[13:26] hotels and you can register online again
at the battle rivers.ca CA. And um
[13:35] we're looking for donations to help with
conference expenses such as uh paying
[13:40] for the speakers, many coming from far
away. Um, and I know there's people from
[13:46] Chicago um that that that came to last
year's conference and uh uh so they are
[13:53] literally from all over the the world
that that people have come to to um talk
[14:00] about what they do and how to help
others.
[14:04] and um a charitable donation. If you
want uh a receipt, uh you make your your
[14:10] check payable to the friends of freedom
society. Um if you wish to just donate
[14:15] to the founding organization, the check
is to be made payable to association for
[14:21] lifewide living. So everything is all
connected um at least
[14:27] and um
pretty much does it.
[14:32] » Yeah. Bottom line, we want
[14:38] we need to cover expenses and whatot
[14:58] of the information.
[15:15] So, any questions?
>> Yeah, thank you very much. I'll turn it
[15:18] over to council.
[15:23] » So, I'll ask just a couple questions.
Um, my first question is your book. I I
[15:30] know that there's the I'm going to I
might get the name right the wrong the
[15:33] Battle River Writers
>> Battle River Arts Innovation and
[15:37] Neuroscience
>> and I know the two of you are um
[15:41] connected to the writing group. So if
I'm to if I were to buy the book for
[15:47] example or read the book, am I looking
at stories local to the Battle River
[15:52] area to your or is it stories from all
over the world as well? They they they
[15:59] literally are stories from all over the
world. There's
[16:02] » there's uh I have
there's one by me in the at the very end
[16:09] of the book that is that associates the
arts with with brain healing and uh um
[16:16] and things like that.
>> Beautiful.
[16:25] » One from Saskatchewan.
[16:29] And again, the people that we were
talking about that that uh there's a
[16:33] there's a couple of articles in there by
people that are from Chicago.
[16:37] » So, it it does cover
>> lots of places. And there are some
[16:42] other, you know, like I say, or like
Lori says, the more local individuals
[16:47] from from Alberta.
>> Beautiful. Um I believe councelor
[16:50] Billingsley has a question.
>> I do. Excuse me. Thank you. First of
[16:55] all, thank you. I appreciate um your
hard work on and your passion on this
[17:00] issue. Um my question actually is to
administration. Um would something like
[17:05] this um be something that this
organization could then apply through
[17:10] the community grants um program
[17:16] or at least something that could be
investigated through that program?
[17:20] » Uh through the chair to councelor
Billingsley. I think it depends on the
[17:22] ask. Okay. um how much it is. Uh if it
falls within the parameters of the
[17:27] program, we could direct them that way.
Otherwise, um we would need a motion of
[17:30] counsel to consider further support.
>> So, my recommendation is to um talk with
[17:36] administration and to see if if um
this would fall into um something that
[17:43] we could sponsor through the grants
program that we currently offer.
[17:47] » Okay. Thank you.
And then following up on that is, am I
[17:54] correct when I saw your presentation
that this isn't just an ask of council?
[17:59] Um, part of the
benefits of presenting publicly is we
[18:04] know that now that we go um live that we
live stream and then tape that
[18:09] afterwards that many community groups
and people will watch this council
[18:14] meeting. So, I just want to give you a
chance right now for those interested to
[18:19] repeat um how to get in more
information.
[18:27] Would it be off your website? Would it?
>> Yes, if you if you would go to um
[18:35] the battle riverarts.ca.
So, it's https
[18:40] and then the
uh semicolon and two backslashes. WW
[18:49] rivers.ca.
[18:52] So, that's b a tt t i v a rts.ca.
and that will get you to uh uh to the
[19:03] website that will that will let you know
about the conference itself. And um
[19:11] and what else?
And I'm reading something here. The
[19:17] www.brainfoundation.ca.
[19:21] » Yes.
[19:24] » Excellent. And then my last question for
you, I'm not trying to um make this
[19:30] hard, is if I wanted to purchase the
brain book because I'm I am very
[19:37] interested in reading these stories,
where would I be able to do that?
[19:41] » Um
let you know when they are available.
[19:47] They are $4 each.
[19:57] through a whole bunch of
[20:01] » Okay.
[20:08] » Okay.
>> Thank you.
[20:13] » And Lori, I know that sometimes you're
at our Wasow Farmers Market at um the
[20:18] egg grounds. Do you sell this book as
well when you're there?
[20:22] » I I did last year. Okay.
>> Perfect. Yeah. Okay. If that's
[20:30] everything, I'd like to thank you very
much for your presentation and good luck
[20:34] with the conference. Maybe I'll see you
there this year because I think I'm in
[20:37] town. So
>> that's great.
[20:38] » Yeah.
>> To contact someone else.
[20:46] If if somebody on council decides to
make a motion, we'll do that later today
[20:51] and administration would contact you.
>> Okay.
[20:55] Who will I leave this book with today?
>> Yeah, you can. If you would like to
[21:00] leave that, I I'll take a folder and
then if you wanted to leave an extra
[21:05] couple, I think the legisl desk behind
me would be a great place and we can
[21:09] pick it up there.
>> And thank you very much.
[21:11] » Thank you. Thank you, Colleen.
[21:19] Thank you very much.
[21:32] All right. So I will move on to 5.2
which is the Q1 2826 27 community rep
[21:40] policing report with Inspector Humpkey.
Welcome.
[21:50] » Thank you, sir.
[22:02] » We give you the best.
>> Morning.
[22:04] » Good morning.
[22:11] Uh, first I guess uh I'd like to
I guess thank everyone and and I
[22:19] officially have been named your
detachment commander here now. So um I'm
[22:23] excited to be here and to work with
everybody and and see what we can do
[22:27] together. So
>> excellent.
[22:29] » Um secondly, I think maybe you've seen
around town, but we have police officers
[22:34] now wearing blue shirts. So, the RCMP
has now rolled out uh new shirts to
[22:39] update the gray ones and their blue
shirts. So, they're pretty much rolled
[22:43] out now. So, that uh was an ad or a
campaign that we ran here, I guess,
[22:48] starting in the end of July. And they've
got everybody outfitted. So, when you
[22:52] see guys in in blue shirts, guys and
girls, that is the new year.
[22:56] » Excellent.
>> Um we also have a new vest that'll be
[22:59] coming out here shortly. Um just
basically changing the the colors of the
[23:04] uh the police on the front and the back
and and putting a little bit more onto
[23:08] them.
>> Um we're currently into our pistol
[23:12] conversion. So the firearms that we
carry daily right now are from about
[23:17] 1995
and this has been in the works for quite
[23:21] some time and we're started with that.
So we have members going here right now
[23:25] and converting over to the new pistol. I
guess the big things with our uh
[23:31] organization right now and I'll move to
the uh the community report. So this
[23:36] community report encompasses April
through the end of June
[23:41] » um of 2026. That's quarter one of the
RCMP's quarter.
[23:46] So introduction uh 2025 annual
performance plan. Uh there were three
[23:51] items that were uh on there. community
engagement, community safety, and
[24:00] trying to remember the other, but I
don't remember off top of my head.
[24:02] Sorry. We'll get there. Um, crime
trends, crime stats, and crime severity
[24:08] index, which is a win, and then we'll
open up for questions.
[24:13] First slide there, community engagement.
Uh, community police officers have
[24:17] focused on several initiatives during
the first quarter. Uh again, this was to
[24:21] the end of June, so school was still in.
Uh the Breakfast Club of Canada, we were
[24:26] active with uh CB McMmero. We did some
internet safety presentations. Uh bike
[24:31] rodeo here in Macasin with the city of
Gaskman enforcement.
[24:35] Uh participated in the Rawhide Rodeo,
National Indigenous People's Day, coffee
[24:40] with a cop every uh first Thursday of
every month here at McDonald's that it's
[24:45] hosted. Uh they may start to change up
at some locations.
[24:51] Uh engagements with seniors uh the cadet
aircadet inspection annual inspection
[24:57] attended the youth conference mappy day
and partnership with our UVA and Grant
[25:02] Mchuan where we have students from the
criminal justice program uh coming into
[25:07] the detachment working with us. Uh we
actually have had two now that have gone
[25:12] on to our CMP depo. uh one graduated,
one's coming up graduating and we have
[25:18] one gal that decided she wanted to work
as the uh public service and friends and
[25:22] she started in August and we currently
have another student right now. So just
[25:27] a quick uh photo there uh Macappy day
and national indigenous people's day
[25:34] uh crime reduction. So our crime
reduction unit is focused on prolific
[25:39] offenders here during this quarter. So,
property crime, drugs, social disorder
[25:42] issues, crime hotspots. Uh, first
quarter saw several significant
[25:47] occurrences. Um, so we had total arrests
of 26,
[25:52] property charges, 13, drug charges, 13,
breach order charges, 19, and other
[25:57] criminal code charges of eight. Um, out
of those uh
[26:04] investigations are some of the photos um
with it there that they seized. So, some
[26:10] firearms, little uh clear bags of the
white powder, that's uh methamphetamine
[26:18] weapons there as well. Good getting
those off the street.
[26:25] Community safety uh to enhance community
safety visibility. Uh task implemented
[26:30] directive patrols hotspots which are
geographical areas of higher calls for
[26:35] service. Uh downtown foot patrols were
implemented this quarter. Foot patrols
[26:39] have been very well received uh by the
business and community members. So some
[26:44] foot patrols,
[26:48] human resources
uh municipal detachment has 27
[26:52] established police officer positions.
There's 23 officers during that uh April
[26:57] through June that were currently
working. Three of the officers
[27:00] temporarily absent. We had two graduated
return to work, so they're working on
[27:04] coming back and one leave without pay.
And there was one vacancy during that
[27:09] time uh which is our staff sergeant ops
NCO position which is open now and it's
[27:17] closes here the end of the month for
promotion
[27:20] uh provincial detachment has 18
established police officers 14 currently
[27:26] working there are four that are
temporary absent three again graduated
[27:30] return to work and one leave without pay
there are no hard vacancies on our
[27:34] provincial side and then the detachment
Support positions now are all full
[27:42] August.
[27:46] Crime trends overall crime trends have
increased when compared to last year
[27:50] January to March. I forgot to change
that. Uh the increase of B&Es are
[27:55] associated working with commercial. This
isn't the right page. I'm sorry.
[28:03] I'm just going to skip right to the next
page because it didn't say right.
[28:09] Um on the next page you can see our
April to June criminal code offenses. So
[28:14] again uh looking at it there breaking
enters were actually down 17% April to
[28:19] June. Uh theft of motor vehicle we had
an increase of 16% and theft under was
[28:24] down 22%.
Um so our break and enters began to
[28:29] increase in June and then I'll jump
ahead into July. Unfortunately, we had a
[28:35] pretty good uh increase in break and
enters in the month of July. I know it's
[28:40] not part of these stats here. Um we did
have one series where we actually have
[28:45] been able to identify an individual from
British Columbia uh who was responsible
[28:50] for smashing out a bunch of windows and
going into restaurants. So we had three
[28:54] here in Watasco and one in Millet and
then we linked it up with other
[28:58] communities throughout Leuk, Edmonton
and I believe Pinoa as well. So
[29:04] a big a big one there and then we've had
a couple others since
[29:13] looking at numbers there are uh
total persons crimes
[29:23] had it on the other screen if I would
have saved it right
[29:27] uh down 29% and our other criminal code
[29:34] showed a slight increase I think up
about 38% for this quarter.
[29:42] Uh prisoner counts um again used to
gauge the effectiveness of the hope
[29:47] mission while not fully reliable the
count can be compared to previous years
[29:52] and judged against previous year
strategies. So um year to date the end
[29:56] of June that's January to June 934 which
is a decrease of 226 from 2025. So 226
[30:06] less prisoners this year over last year.
Our April to June 246 prisoners which
[30:12] again was a decrease of 77 from last
year.
[30:18] Calls for service.
Um, our top 10 calls for service are
[30:24] disturbing the peace. So, 362 during
April to June. Well-being checks again
[30:30] are are high on there. 188 suspicious
persons vehicles 154, liquor act 14. Uh,
[30:38] breach piece 103 and moving down. So our
total calls for service were 255
[30:45] and that's in the city of Watasquin,
778 in April, May 870 and June 857.
[30:53] Uh the graph on the right there, the
chart uh shows kind of the uh top times
[30:59] of the days and uh and hours of the day
where our highest calls for service are.
[31:04] So between one and five are typically
our our highest calls.
[31:12] And the crime severity index uh 2025
uh crime severity index came out here in
[31:18] July. Let's added this in. So within CSI
dropped by.9%
[31:24] again not a a huge decrease but it's the
right trend. Um the overall Alberta RCMP
[31:30] jurisdiction is 100.6
and Alberta as a total is 90.6. So went
[31:36] down uh throughout the province.
[31:43] again with our crime severity index. Um,
break and enters accounted for 17.4% of
[31:49] our CSI value. Assaults 13.9,
uh, drug enforcement 8% and theft under
[31:57] 5,000%.
[32:00] 7.8% sorry. Uh, disturbing the peace
7.6, robbery 6.2, mischief property 5.7,
[32:07] fraud. defensive weapons and sexual
assaults to uh top 10 there.
[32:14] Uh the largest driver for the decrease
in our CSI from 2024 was a decrease in
[32:19] breaking enters even though we still
have a fairly high number there. There
[32:22] were 53 less in 2025 than 2024.
[32:31] » So any questions?
>> Uh thank you. Go ahead councelor
[32:36] Nielson.
>> Thank you.
[32:39] First off, congratulations on your new
position. Welld deserved.
[32:43] » And uh I would echo the community's
response to foot patrols. I see them
[32:48] often and uh I believe what they say to
the community is that we are here in the
[32:53] community and we're looking after your
best interest. So, thank you for that. I
[32:57] do have a number of questions though. Um
in in terms of calls for service, um
[33:03] I've got three here that I' I'd like
some clarification on. Um what is
[33:09] disturbing the peace?
>> Disturbing the peace uh that's enjoying
[33:15] the peace um of the community whether
it's by yelling, fighting, swearing,
[33:21] being intoxicated. Um so it has to be
out in an area where
[33:27] people are and they're disturbing their
activity.
[33:32] » That make sense?
>> Yeah. Thank you. uh in a residence or in
[33:35] a uh commercial site. Um it's mischief.
So that's an enjoying their or
[33:41] disrupting their enjoyment to property
or um
[33:47] their
shopping like that type of thing.
[33:50] » Okay. Um what is a well-being check?
>> Well-being check that we receive a lot
[33:56] of well-being checks. Uh lots of calls
for people to check on their health. um
[34:03] haven't seen them in a long time.
Whether it's check on mental health,
[34:06] check on physical health, check on um
anything to do with them. They haven't
[34:13] been seen. They were driving from
Cameros to a task one and they're late.
[34:17] Um
yeah, that's
[34:20] » So, so would some of that be individuals
that that are on your radar in terms
[34:25] like you said, you haven't seen them in
a while or is this just uh people
[34:28] saying, "Hey, I can't I can't find my
kid. I can't I don't know where grandma
[34:32] is or whatever.
>> Yeah. Um with kids and with elderly or
[34:37] vulnerable persons, that would be a
straight missing person's report, but um
[34:40] a well-being check would be just
checking on their well-being.
[34:44] » I would say
>> I I can't put a a total number to it,
[34:48] but the number of individuals that get
reported to us for a well-being check
[34:52] that we know them, it's probably a 50-50
split,
[34:56] » okay? of people that we know and people
we have no idea who they are and aren't
[35:00] um you know regular individuals that we
encounter.
[35:04] » Okay. Thank you. Um and there was 74
calls for service having to do with the
[35:09] mental health act.
>> Yes.
[35:11] » So what would that consist of?
>> That would be mental health crisises.
[35:16] Um, with that, people who are either
suicidal, wanting to hurt themselves,
[35:23] others,
um, potentially
[35:27] having a crisis where they're just
having a really bad day somewhere, uh,
[35:32] at home or in a business or in the
street. Um, we do have our ARPAC team
[35:38] here now and they're fully functioning,
so that's that's helping, but uh, we
[35:43] still have to respond to the call for
service on that. Uh we have had a fairly
[35:48] high call volume in regards to mental
health and um people wanting to hurt
[35:55] themselves or others here over the last
while. Okay. Thank you.
[35:59] » Um
and I'm curious about how your
[36:03] statistics get captured. So, does each
number that you've talked about here,
[36:07] number of offenses and so forth, is that
does that represent a charge being made,
[36:12] a file being opened, or simply a
complaint received?
[36:16] » Uh, every time a complaint is received,
a file is open. So, those are one and
[36:20] one. Uh, but this would be every time we
have a file or a complaint is what these
[36:25] are. Our stats for what our charges are
um isn't on this list. I can request
[36:32] that. Okay. what our clearance rates
are.
[36:35] » Yeah. No, I was just curious about
differentiating where they come from.
[36:38] And my last question, uh, Brandon, is in
relation to, um,
[36:45] they're called crime trends here. Um,
one's crime trends and one's crime
[36:49] stats. Mhm.
>> Uh, one speaks to family violence.
[36:52] » Mhm.
>> An increase of 13 cases.
[36:56] » Um, and the other speaks to spousal
abuse, a decrease of 18, uh,
[37:02] representing 14 and 17%. What's the
differentiation between a family
[37:07] violence and spousal abuse?
>> Uh, sorry, where did you see the spousal
[37:12] abuse at?
>> I don't know where I saw it now.
[37:15] » Okay. Um, so I apologize. the the crime
trends are actually January to March's
[37:20] crime trends. Those aren't the last
ones. So when I saved I saved it wrong.
[37:24] » Okay.
>> So those are incorrect. I and I don't
[37:26] have it off my head here what our family
violence rate is.
[37:28] » Okay. I'm I'm okay with not knowing the
trends. Can you differentiate for me
[37:32] difference between family violence and
spousal abuse?
[37:35] » So spousal abuse abuse is just that it's
spouse partner. Yeah.
[37:40] » Um
>> intimate partner. Actually they've
[37:42] changed the name of it now. Intimate
partner violence. Family violence would
[37:46] be amongst a family um member. So
grandparent.
[37:51] » Oh, okay.
>> Kid, stuff like that.
[37:53] » All right, great. Thank you very much.
I'm good.
[37:57] » Uh, councelor White.
>> Thank you. And congratulations. Also, I
[38:04] have just a couple questions and some
have already been answered. So, thank
[38:07] you, Councelor Nielsen, for your
questions. Um I I'd like to echo the
[38:12] positive feedback on the foot patrols.
I've seen as well as heard positive
[38:17] feedback on that and I wondered um that
I realize this report is looking in the
[38:22] past. Can you tell me a little bit about
plans for the future? Will there be
[38:26] continuing foot patrols this fall and
winter?
[38:30] » Yes, the foot patrols are going to
continue. I mean winter at times with
[38:37] weather and such like that. We did
actually put some bike patrols. We did
[38:40] have pilot on bike patrols here uh in
July and August. Um that actually was
[38:46] wellreceived as well and planning for
you know next year's nice season I
[38:52] guess. Um so we actually have specific
training. It's law enforcement uh bike
[38:57] training that you have to take. It's a
week long course to ride a bike and
[39:00] learn how to execute your duties while
riding a bicycle. So right now I don't
[39:03] have a lot of members that are trained
in that. Um, I think I only have four or
[39:08] five. So, looking at doing some more
training for next year and uh
[39:13] potentially getting some more bikes and
and increasing that. So, that went
[39:18] really well. I'm happy with that and
we'll continue with that and as well as
[39:21] the foot patrols um and foot patrols in
uniform. So, our crew team quite often
[39:29] works in plane clothes and they do do
foot patrols, but you wouldn't know who
[39:34] they were walking down the street,
right? Um, so we're actually going to
[39:38] get them to do some more increased high
visibility patrols, too, in uniform as
[39:42] well. And we're going to branch that out
into other areas of town as well.
[39:46] » Thank you.
>> Okay. Look forward to that. And my last
[39:52] uh question is around the um page that
said prisoner counts. I I just want to
[39:57] read a sentence and have you tell me
more. The first sentence says prisoner
[40:02] counts are one metric used to gauge the
effectiveness of enforcement efforts and
[40:08] utilization of hope mission. Can you
tell me a little bit more about that?
[40:13] » I'll try. Um that was from my
predecessor. That was his uh his gauge
[40:18] on it. Um, so I think the the use of the
hope mission and bringing our prisoner
[40:24] counts down strictly in relation to our
um nuisance
[40:31] intoxicated persons, nobody to care for
them is what that's referring to. So
[40:38] trying to bring that number down with
the use of the mission. So I wasn't here
[40:44] prior to and I don't know what it was
like specifically before that. Um,
[40:50] and then how many people we had to
lodge. So,
[40:54] does that kind of make sense?
>> So, bringing our numbers down because
[40:59] more people are utilizing the mission,
is that easier to make more sense? Um,
[41:05] » is is that what's happening? Do you
think that's what's happening or or are
[41:09] you confident that that's
>> I
[41:12] » an outcome or
>> don't know if that's 100%. So I think
[41:17] our
enforcement in regards to putting people
[41:22] in cells has gone down. Um
certainly the there is a percentage that
[41:31] the hope mission is um helping and
keeping out of that cycle of coming to
[41:37] cells
but not everyone. I I can't say for sure
[41:42] that it's 100% success and I can't say
that it's not a success either. I don't
[41:48] know what the
rate was before. I I see that our
[41:51] numbers go down. Um our numbers went way
up in July.
[41:55] » Okay.
>> So, um I think my my question wasn't I'm
[42:00] going to steer it a slightly different
way. Instead of a comparative question,
[42:04] history to present to future.
>> Um can you tell me a little bit more
[42:08] about the interaction of the two
services of the RCMP enforcement
[42:14] services and the hope mission services.
How are they interacting?
[42:19] » How do we interact?
>> How do you interact? How do your people
[42:23] interact with Hope Mission in a way that
might be reducing the number of
[42:27] prisoners?
>> Is is that a correlation I can bring
[42:31] from that sentence?
>> Yep.
[42:32] » Okay. Um, we have a pretty good
relationship with the hope mission and
[42:36] we have individuals who if we do pick
them up, we can take there. We talked to
[42:42] them and they will take them. Um,
they're pretty open to that with
[42:47] majority. Of course, there were a few
individuals that they
[42:51] wouldn't that were banned from the
shelter or whatever have you. Um, but I
[42:56] would say for the most part, uh, they're
pretty receptive to who we bring over
[43:02] there.
>> And individuals that are not accept that
[43:07] are picked up by RCMP but are not
accepted at home mission, do they maybe
[43:12] turn into this prisoner count?
>> Yes, they would.
[43:15] » For sure.
[43:20] » I have a lot of questions, but I can't
think how else to ask right now. Thank
[43:24] you.
time.
[43:27] » Uh, thank you, Councelor White. Uh,
anybody else?
[43:33] » Councelor Nelson,
>> following up a little bit
[43:36] » on that. So, if your staff were called
to service um with regard to uh a person
[43:44] under the influence creating a problem
in the neighborhood or whatever, um
[43:50] do your staff, do your officers
actually transport
[43:55] um these individuals say to hospital or
is is an ambulance dispersed?
[44:00] » Uh both um at times. So if we need to
take somebody for medical treatment or
[44:06] believe they need to meet medical
treatment if it's of a severity passed
[44:12] out unresponsive or not responding you
know whether it's breathing or not uh
[44:18] 100% that's ambulance. If the person can
communicate
[44:24] kind of um and function but they do need
medical assistance and we'll transport
[44:30] there if we're able to. But if we're not
able to transport, so we do utilize uh
[44:35] EMS and an ambulance,
you know, I can't say every day, but uh
[44:40] certain days like five, six times a day,
uh maybe more. And they actually call us
[44:45] a lot, too. So, a lot of those calls for
service actually come from the ambulance
[44:49] side of it. Uh where they'll get a call
of somebody who's unresponsive. There
[44:54] hasn't been a call to us. There's been a
call through 911, DMS. They get the
[44:58] call. Um they won't go to the call
without us. and then they call us to
[45:02] come.
>> And if your officers um were to take an
[45:07] individual to the hospital, um are they
required to stay
[45:12] at the hospital until they're actually
seen by medical personnel?
[45:16] » Only on mental health uh not on straight
medical reasons.
[45:22] » Okay. Thank you.
And
[45:29] » once they're released, do you have any
responsibility at that point to
[45:33] transport?
>> No.
[45:34] » Thank you.
[45:39] I have two um questions that are more if
you can just explain a little bit better
[45:45] for others
because it took my first question is
[45:50] about talking about your when you talk
about human resources and the two
[45:55] different detachments. Can you just
>> give me a quick rundown on what that
[45:59] means? because it wasn't really until I
was reading these more in depth that I
[46:04] understood totally the municipal and the
provincial.
[46:07] » Yes. Uh so ratascoin camel's detachment
is a postmod attachments that means that
[46:13] we have resources that are municipally
funded, city of watascoin funded and
[46:17] proincially funded. Um so provinially
funded is our rural uh some of our
[46:23] positions are actually provinially
funded but in the city of Wataswin and
[46:27] that means members respond to calls for
service in any of the area. So Watasquin
[46:32] County or city of Watasquin uh
regardless of what their position
[46:37] funding is. So it could be a proincially
funded member going to a call in town,
[46:42] could be a municipal member going to a
call in the county. Um that's how that
[46:47] works. We have cameros on there as well,
but cameros again is its own uh kind of
[46:53] side of it there. So that's a
proincially funded side as well. And we
[46:56] have members that are uh strictly
dedicated to camera rolls.
[47:00] » Perfect. And then you talked about
having the ARPAC um team back.
[47:06] » So can you again, we all know what that
means, but just clarify what ARPAC is.
[47:12] » Uh it's our mental health team. So, um,
the acronym always slips me there.
[47:18] » Yeah,
>> I apologize. Um,
[47:22] » so we have a police officer and a mental
health nurse that respond to calls and
[47:28] assess. So, the great thing about that
is having the the health side with the
[47:33] police officer side. So the police
officer allows us to go to the call and
[47:37] and be there and then the mental health
side can engage uh the individual and
[47:43] have access to Alberta health records um
can fasttrack them into
[47:49] um designated facilities to get them
help faster if needed where uh one of
[47:55] the questions asked about us having to
be at the hospital. So on a mental
[47:58] health if we don't have our pack here
and we take somebody who's in mental
[48:03] health crisis to a designated facility
which our closest is Centennial in
[48:07] Pinoa.
>> Um I think there's work on here.
[48:10] » Uh we go there
we have to wait until they admit the
[48:18] person have their security whatever um
CPO is there to take carriage of it. So
[48:24] wait times can be high. um
with Centennial right now we can't have
[48:32] anybody who and a lot of times this goes
hand in hand is addictions uh substance
[48:37] abuse and mental health if anybody's
under the influence of drugs or alcohol
[48:42] we can't take to Centennial uh so then
we have to take to Red Deer or Edmonton
[48:47] but typically it's Red Deer um and
that's deemed through the health side
[48:53] they tell us what designated facility we
can take the individual
[48:57] and we are required to transport them.
There will be times that we'll spend
[49:00] eight, nine hours or a police officer
will spend an entire shift waiting for
[49:04] the individual uh to be admitted
>> and and thank you. And I just I was
[49:11] excited. I guess it's the wrong word,
but very happy when I heard the team was
[49:16] back. And it's my belief that if we
could do more of this and have more our
[49:22] pack help um we could
>> so our team here is a regional team. So
[49:27] it's regional police crisis team. Um, so
they do cover an area and I'm sorry I
[49:34] don't know exactly where the border
ends, but it's uh all the way down to
[49:38] Stetler and all the way as far west as
we can go and then south to I think
[49:45] Masquis and just north to the Leuk
County line. So pretty big area but
[49:52] majority of their calls are around
around here. Um, and then talking about,
[49:58] sorry I mentioned the wait times of nine
hours. With our packact, if they're
[50:01] there to deal with,
>> they can take the individual, but with
[50:05] the nurse,
>> um, she can actually get them admitted
[50:09] faster and then there isn't those wait
times.
[50:11] » Excellent.
>> Get all that done.
[50:16] » So, all I wanted to do is again
congratulate you. Um, we're very
[50:21] excited. it does not necessarily matter
where you come from, but it's nice to
[50:25] have um somebody local and committed to
this community with his family. And I I
[50:32] will tell the joke of somebody us being
out at the barbecue and somebody you've
[50:36] known for a really long time not
recognizing who you were in uniform um
[50:42] cuz it was out of context. And that's
the brilliance of um having you here.
[50:47] We're really excited and for you and
your team. Thank you always for
[50:50] everything you do and putting our safety
first.
[50:55] » Thank you.
[51:15] » Excellent. So, I would like to move on
to um the next delegation 5.3, which is
[51:21] Watasin's community safety and
well-being strategy update. Welcome
[51:25] Carly and Emily.
[51:46] Perfect. Can you hear me? Okay.
[51:52] Good. Okay. So, good morning council.
For uh those who might not know, my name
[51:57] is Emily Thompson and I'm the managing
director for Watasquin Family and
[52:00] Community Support Services. And with me,
I have Kari Dolan, Wataswin's community
[52:04] safety and well-being coordinator. And
just for the purpose of this brief
[52:09] presentation, we will refer to the
strategy as its acronym of CSWB.
[52:14] And we're here today just to provide a
brief update on the progress that we've
[52:17] made with the strategy since the
coordinator position commenced in May.
[52:22] Um, and we're really looking forward to
all the amazing work that she's not only
[52:25] done, um, but has, uh, coming up really
quickly here. And I also do just want to
[52:31] mention quickly that the position is uh
continuing to be supported by the CSWB
[52:35] governing structure which is FCSS city
of the RCMP. And with that I will hand
[52:40] it over.
>> Thank you. You can hear me? Okay.
[52:46] Lovely. All right. Uh my name is Karly.
I've had the pleasure of meeting all of
[52:50] you formally. I just wanted to take a
moment to thank you for allowing me to
[52:55] come back and do this work that I am
extremely passionate about. I am excited
[53:00] for the opportunities for Watasquin and
all of the partners involved. Uh as
[53:05] Emily mentioned, our main three partners
are city of Watasquin, Watasquin FCSS,
[53:11] and Watasquin RCMP. So I have had the
opportunity to work with all three
[53:16] partnering agencies in differing amounts
on a number of different initiatives
[53:21] that we are working towards. There's a
lot of work in the strategy. So we are
[53:25] at the very beginning stages of it but
have seen some really exciting progress.
[53:30] We are four months in. So again getting
things rolling. Have taken a little bit
[53:35] of time to get things moving but we are
seeing some exciting outcomes already.
[53:41] And as Emily alluded to, we have some
great work coming up. I think I was say
[53:46] I think we have some slides. There we
go.
[53:51] Lovely. If you want to just advance to
number three, the next one. Awesome.
[53:56] Okay. So, I just wanted to take a couple
of minutes and just go over a very brief
[54:01] overview of CSWB.
I could literally talk for hours about
[54:05] this and I'm going to spare you that but
I just wanted to ensure that everyone
[54:09] had a basic understanding of what this
work is and how it works. So we are
[54:15] looking at crime reduction and improving
community safety from a number of
[54:21] different avenues particularly focus on
some of the social aspects and how we're
[54:25] able to come alongside our law
enforcement partners improve community
[54:30] safety. Community safety is not just
reliant on enforcement and we are really
[54:35] trying to dive into that and ensure that
they have the proper support and our
[54:38] community is equipped to be able to
address some of the pertinent issues. Uh
[54:43] so this visual just goes through the
fact that there are there's a huge
[54:47] continuent on a number of
components that are involved all the way
[54:52] from social development including
community education and awareness the
[54:57] prevention aspect risk intervention all
the way through to our incident response
[55:02] or or enforcement approaches. So there
is a lot of different avenues that this
[55:06] work can be done and I'm happy to say
that we've been able to tap into all of
[55:10] them already and can plan to continue to
do so as we do this work. Uh next slide
[55:16] please. Okay. So our progress to date um
we hit the ground running. I was super
[55:22] grateful to be able to have some
background knowledge of the strategy
[55:27] coming in which I think has been
extremely beneficial. Uh we have
[55:31] attended a number of community events
particularly with our three key partners
[55:36] which I think has been really really
helpful in getting the word back out in
[55:40] the community of what CSWB is. We did do
the consultative work back in 2023 so
[55:46] there's been a bit of a lull and we're
doing some re-education but people seem
[55:51] really excited and open to seeing what
the strategy is going to do and
[55:55] supporting the work done in the
community. So we have been like I say
[55:58] attended other community events to
support and to make awareness of CSWB.
[56:05] We have hosted a few community events as
well prioritizing again awareness of the
[56:10] strategy talking about this work and
answering questions which people often
[56:15] have and rightly so will continue to do
so. I've had the pleasure of doing a
[56:20] couple of community presentations and
actually have another one this week and
[56:24] another one lined up next month. If
anyone is interested in learning more,
[56:28] by all means, please contact me. I would
love to talk about this work, answer any
[56:33] questions, and see if there are
collaboration opportunities because we
[56:37] definitely are looking for community
involvement in this. It is for the
[56:41] community by the community. This is not
intended for myself or even myself and
[56:46] the three governing partners to take on
all of this work ourselves.
[56:50] My major role is bringing in the right
players and ensuring that we are able to
[56:55] work collaboratively and efficiently in
addressing these community issues.
[57:01] So, we're currently actioning seven
initiatives. I feel like that's likely I
[57:05] did these slides a few weeks ago, so I
think we've started on a couple of more,
[57:08] which is really exciting. Um the
recommendations in the strategy are
[57:13] quite robust and there is a lot of work
that will take some time before we see
[57:18] tangible outcomes but we do have some
that we have been able to see already
[57:23] that we have had movement forward. We're
doing some data collection uh if you
[57:28] were upright of programs we did some
there. So we have an ongoing data
[57:32] collection campaign just gathering
community input on what they see as the
[57:37] most valuable approaches to this work.
So, we're still working on compiling
[57:41] that data. We have one more collection
piece to do, but I'll be excited to
[57:44] share those results of what the
community has told us they value in
[57:48] terms of the approaches to this work
coming up. We have a website and a
[57:54] Facebook page that is live and updated
as often as I'm able to. I am running by
[58:02] myself, so sometimes it is behind, but
it does detail uh the CSWB approach. It
[58:09] has a link to the strategic document
which is absolutely lengthy but does
[58:14] have a lot of information in what it is
that we're trying to achieve, upcoming
[58:18] events, um upcoming initiatives, and
then ways to get in contact with me. So,
[58:23] if anyone does have questions or would
like to be involved, they can absolutely
[58:27] hit the website or the Facebook page to
get some more information.
[58:32] So education and awareness has been a
big piece whether that's through social
[58:36] media, community engagement, formal
presentations, and that work is
[58:39] continuing to go on. Uh met with at
least 20 local organizations formally
[58:45] and informally, some with one-on- ones,
some in group consultations.
[58:50] Really excited to reestablish the
relationships that I've had previously
[58:55] and create some new ones in this work. I
say we definitely do need the support of
[58:59] our local organizations and so far have
had really wonderful uptake and support
[59:04] from our community partners which is
really encouraging.
[59:08] One of the major focuses that we have
really been diving into is creating
[59:14] robust evaluation and data collection.
So this work is sometimes hard to
[59:20] communicate its value and its outcomes.
So we are prioritizing having as robust
[59:26] evaluation and data collection as
possible. We have been connecting with
[59:31] other communities doing this work to
ensure that we're able to learn from
[59:34] what they've done so far. What's been
successful in their data collection and
[59:39] in their storytelling of what has worked
well maybe what hasn't and then taking
[59:44] those learnings and applying them here
which we are really excited to do. And
[59:49] we've also been doing some research and
environmental scans. So again, the
[59:52] strategy is a couple of years old. There
has been some changes in trends um and
[59:57] in priorities of what we're seeing needs
to be addressed. That being said, we are
[1:00:02] ensuring that we are looking at what is
currently available in the community if
[1:00:06] we can help foster better utilization or
a change in methodology to improve
[1:00:14] outcomes and or fill gaps that exist.
And we know that there are lots of
[1:00:19] wonderful organizations doing really
great work, but there are still a lot of
[1:00:23] gaps existing. So if we're able to help
assist in filling those, that's been one
[1:00:27] of our priorities as well.
Okay, if we want to go to the next head.
[1:00:32] Thank you. So connection with other
communities, that has also been a major
[1:00:37] priority in the early stages of this
work. It is happening in a number of
[1:00:42] communities across Canada and across the
world as well.
[1:00:46] We have been very lucky that Canadian
Center for Safer Communities, which is
[1:00:51] the organization that assisted us with
creating our strategy, we are still
[1:00:55] connected with them and with some of the
communities that are working alongside
[1:00:59] them in doing this work. So being able
to learn from them, connect with them,
[1:01:04] utilize initiatives that have worked
well in those communities is extremely
[1:01:08] beneficial. So I am very grateful that
we have been able to connect with a
[1:01:12] number of communities and have
discussions on the broader approach of
[1:01:16] this work but then also some of the
specific pieces that we have been
[1:01:20] looking into for Watasquin to address
our unique needs. There is wonderful
[1:01:25] work happening elsewhere and a lot of
the challenges we're seeing are not
[1:01:28] unique just to Watasquin. So we have
been able to have some really great
[1:01:32] learning from the other communities of
what they're doing and how their work
[1:01:36] has evolved since implementation. So
like I said, we've consulted with at
[1:01:41] least 11 communities at this point and
we've been able to actually go and visit
[1:01:44] seven of them to actually see firsthand
what that work looks like and meet the
[1:01:49] people that are doing it. Okay, next
slide, please. Uh so this one obviously
[1:01:54] doesn't have a lot of words on it. It's
just some pictures of what we've been
[1:01:57] involved in to date, attending other
events in the community, hosting some
[1:02:03] events that we felt were really
important. We had a blanket exercise as
[1:02:08] part of welcoming week and were pleased
to see that we had a number a larger
[1:02:12] number of people than what was
registered show up. Um it was a packed
[1:02:15] house which was really lovely to see and
had some really great feedback from
[1:02:19] that. So we were super grateful for that
opportunity. Uh we had our overdose
[1:02:24] awareness vigil in August. Um also
wanted to thank I see a a few of these
[1:02:29] faces we also saw there and I'm again
grateful for your guys' attendance and
[1:02:33] support. Um really great feedback from
that as well. And we did host a service
[1:02:38] provider lunch and learn at Reynolds
which was better attended than they were
[1:02:43] expecting. Again we were really pleased
with the community's involvement and
[1:02:46] engagement in what we've been working
on. um and
[1:02:51] basically a boat of support from them to
continue this type of work and that
[1:02:54] they're asking to have more done in the
future. So that was a really positive
[1:02:58] piece of feedback to get on that work.
Uh next slide please. Okay, so on the
[1:03:04] horizon there is a lot of work coming
up. I think our big one that we would
[1:03:10] like to highlight is the pop-up
navigation center which is coming up on
[1:03:13] November 5th. It is a follow-up to the
one that happened in June 2025 that
[1:03:17] garnered a lot of really positive
feedback and attention from across the
[1:03:22] province. So, we are making it bigger
and better. We have had over 30 partners
[1:03:27] already confirm their attendance and we
are looking forward to it being a more
[1:03:32] robust offering of services to the
community. So, we're really excited
[1:03:36] about that one. Uh, we have a
partnership coming up with Norquest for
[1:03:41] National Day for Truth and
Reconciliation, which is happening on
[1:03:44] the evening of November 29th. So, if any
of you or anyone else watching would
[1:03:49] like to attend, it's from 4 to 6:00 p.m.
at Norquest and it is free. Sorry,
[1:03:55] September.
Apparently, my coffee hasn't kicked in.
[1:03:58] Uh, we are do also doing some really
great work with the youth justice
[1:04:02] committee. I was just in Calgary with
our local RCMP representation at a
[1:04:07] provincial symposium. We are in the
process of reinstating a youth justice
[1:04:12] committee in Wataswin. We have had some
wonderful people come forward being
[1:04:17] willing to sit on it. So we are
optimistic that by the end of this
[1:04:22] calendar year it will be fully
operational and accepting files which is
[1:04:25] really exciting. Again, wonderful
support from our community, which is
[1:04:29] much needed for this to be successful,
but really exciting to see it moving
[1:04:32] forward and a fairly quick timeline,
which is amazing. Uh, we will have a
[1:04:37] youth leadership council coming out
later in the school year. We are
[1:04:42] expanding our community education,
awareness, and engagement on CSWB and
[1:04:46] any specific initiatives. New
partnerships and collaborations are
[1:04:50] happening all the time, which is really
exciting. Whether it's us seeking out
[1:04:54] potential partners or people coming to
us and saying, "Hey, I read about this.
[1:04:57] I'd like to learn more. Can we help?"
Which is amazing and I'm super grateful
[1:05:02] for that as well. Um, our outcome
reporting, as I said, we are working on
[1:05:06] evaluations and data collection and
being able to communicate our the work
[1:05:10] that we're doing as well as the work
being done in the community that
[1:05:14] supports the strategy in the most
effective way possible and ongoing
[1:05:18] research and initiative development. So
I am pleased to say that we are also
[1:05:23] working on three specific initiatives.
You will see us coming back at PCET
[1:05:29] time. Um but we are also working on two
grant applications for provincial
[1:05:33] funding for specific initiatives that
will support Wataswin which we are
[1:05:37] really excited about as well. So hopeful
that we're going to see some really
[1:05:41] great work rolling out here in the next
few months. And I think
[1:05:47] that is it. Um, excellent. Thank you
very much. You bet. I will open it up to
[1:05:53] council.
>> Councelor Billingsley.
[1:05:57] » Thank you. Um, thank you for the report.
Um, it's good to see the the um
[1:06:04] organization out in the community.
Obviously, I've um been lucky enough to
[1:06:09] attend some of the things that you've
been doing and um the awareness in the
[1:06:13] community is starting to grow. So, thank
you very much.
[1:06:16] My question will is to do with going
forward um and reporting back to us.
[1:06:22] Have you thought about a timeline of how
often we're going to be receiving
[1:06:26] reports back?
[1:06:31] » Hello. So ideally when this came about
because the governing structure we do
[1:06:35] meet monthly so we don't want to kind of
strap it to
[1:06:41] quarterly or whenever it might be too
lengthy of a time that has gone since.
[1:06:44] So when there's like a bulk of momentum
that we made within the strategy, then
[1:06:48] we would just like to bring that forth
to council if there is a vacancy in the
[1:06:52] agenda to make it uh the information
available to you rather than it being
[1:06:55] every four months, which we feel like is
too long while also being conscientious
[1:06:59] of the fact that we don't want to take
up all of your agendas. So whenever we
[1:07:03] get some momentum, we would just like to
be able to bring that forth to you.
[1:07:06] » Thank you,
[1:07:10] » Councelor Nielsen.
[1:07:14] My question goes to administration Sue.
So
[1:07:19] these folks come back to us um for
budget deliberations is we've we've said
[1:07:24] it's time for their presentation.
>> Correct.
[1:07:28] » And so
to you two um thank you for the report.
[1:07:34] So you'll be coming back and sort of
peeling back the layers a little bit
[1:07:38] more and talking about uh CSWB as it
relates to budget as well. Is that
[1:07:47] correct? Is that how you foresee this?
>> Yes. So the presentation that we have
[1:07:53] planned next month is for a specific
initiative addressing specific issues.
[1:08:00] If you guys would like a more indepth
like overall presentation on CSWB, I can
[1:08:05] absolutely do that as well. My
understanding is that's not what is
[1:08:08] planned for our next opportunity to come
and speak to you. It will be for like I
[1:08:14] say a specific ask addressing specific
pieces of this work. Um absolutely it'll
[1:08:20] be more in depth. Like I say today we
wanted to just do a quick overview
[1:08:24] because we knew we were strapped on
time. Um, but when we come back, like I
[1:08:27] say, there will be more in-depth
information pertaining to the specific
[1:08:32] piece that we have an ask related to. If
that answers your question,
[1:08:36] » Carly, it does. Okay. You know, I I uh
[1:08:42] » I wanted to make sure that we as a
council understand that we'll have I'm
[1:08:47] assuming a presentation by FCSS for for
budget, but a CSWB
[1:08:53] budget request as well.
[1:08:57] Yes, I can say that for um I also
wanting to make sure that FCSS's
[1:09:02] presentation is separate from CSWB um as
we are still just only a third of the um
[1:09:07] governing structure. But the CSWB
specific presentation is coming forth
[1:09:12] for a proposal that will action
something that will hit the majority of
[1:09:15] all of the um priority areas identified
within the strategy. And then given that
[1:09:20] this position was um approved graciously
for two years then that is something
[1:09:25] that in the next budget sector we would
be looking to uh gauge interest as to
[1:09:31] whether or not um there's been
satisfaction from council on the
[1:09:34] progress that the work has made to be
able to extend the position to a
[1:09:37] permanent basis.
>> Thank you.
[1:09:42] » And I have one other question Carly.
um
[1:09:50] in in in your presentation you talked
about a lot of work being done on
[1:09:54] evaluation data collection. So, I'd like
you to sort of tie together for me
[1:09:59] because I'm an impatient person
um this business of collecting data,
[1:10:07] evaluation, documentation
[1:10:13] versus outcomes.
How do those tie together? Because I
[1:10:18] want to talk about outcomes.
Um,
[1:10:24] and I don't want to I'm only speaking
for one of a number of people around the
[1:10:28] table.
[1:10:32] I'm hoping that we don't get way more
reports than we get outcomes and and and
[1:10:37] I don't mean to be flip with that
response. So can you tie together this
[1:10:41] work you're doing on evaluations and
data collection
[1:10:46] and relate it to
ensuring outcomes?
[1:10:50] » AB: Absolutely. Um so there are a number
of piece of pieces in terms of outcomes
[1:10:56] and I'm I'm making an assumption and you
can correct me if I'm wrong. In outcomes
[1:11:00] you're looking for like tangible changes
in the community when you're saying
[1:11:05] outcomes. Okay. So we are hopeful that
obviously we're going to see outcomes in
[1:11:10] the community. I think where there's
sometimes a challenge especially when
[1:11:15] we're looking at prevention focused work
is it's hard to quantify what that might
[1:11:20] look like or be able tori to describe it
as opposed to yes we've seen a change
[1:11:26] but what does that look like or what
does that mean? We are looking to be
[1:11:30] able to the best of our ability be able
to also put some numbers or some some
[1:11:36] stats behind those changes so that we
are able to quantify them to at least
[1:11:42] some degree or to the best degree that
we're able to in terms of the changes
[1:11:48] that we're seeing as opposed to are we
happy with what we're seeing? Yes or no?
[1:11:53] Why are we happy with what we're seeing?
So, if we're seeing an increase in
[1:11:59] feelings of safety in our community, are
we able to capture that in an
[1:12:03] appropriate way and able to communicate
it to the community? Um, I know I shared
[1:12:08] a report with councelor Nielsen in one
of our conversations that came out of
[1:12:13] Edmonton in regards to their 247
diversion program. Um, if you haven't
[1:12:17] had a chance to read it, I'm going to do
a quick little plug because Reach
[1:12:20] Edmonton put out a wonderful report
describing the work that's being done in
[1:12:24] Edmonton and it was able to put some
numbers to outcomes that are sometimes
[1:12:29] really tough to describe. So, their 247
diversion is essentially outreach that
[1:12:33] goes out into the community primarily
dealing with social diversion. um the
[1:12:38] call or the types of calls that uh
Brendan spoke to in terms of disturbing
[1:12:45] the peace and mischief. That would be a
lot of the calls that they would be
[1:12:48] responding to and they were able to
quantify. So, I believe, and don't quote
[1:12:53] me because I don't know off the top of
my head, but they had a social return on
[1:12:56] investment figure that caught my eye
right away because they were able to
[1:13:00] state that for every dollar invested in
that initiative, the social return on
[1:13:04] investment was over $6, which is
extremely impressive. And it's nice to
[1:13:09] be able to quantify that you're
investing in this program, but here's
[1:13:13] what you're actually seeing back in
terms of dollars of return. And
[1:13:17] especially for a small community, that's
not something that's easy to do. And it
[1:13:21] does take someone who is able to
dedicate some time and some expertise in
[1:13:26] being able to do that. And that's one of
the roles that I foresee CSWB being able
[1:13:31] to assist with is we are going to have
people doing really great work in this
[1:13:35] community. When we hopefully get funding
for all of the initiatives that we're
[1:13:40] looking to implement here and we feel
will provide immense benefit, we will be
[1:13:44] able to assist on the back end of being
able to gather data to be able to
[1:13:49] quantify and describe in terms of
besides yes, we've seen this program
[1:13:55] functioning.
Is it helping to what degree? What could
[1:13:59] we change? So maybe what isn't working
as well so that we're able to ensure
[1:14:03] that as that program evolves, we are
it's evolving in a direction that is
[1:14:08] providing increased benefit as opposed
to just what someone thinks might be
[1:14:13] best. That's a really long-winded
answer. I hope that answered your
[1:14:17] question.
>> For now, it does.
[1:14:19] » Okay, I'm about to make it more winded.
Um, I do just want to add as well that
[1:14:23] being able to have this quantifiable
data that is then concretely documented
[1:14:29] is something that we haven't been able
to have, especially in addressing the
[1:14:32] CSSWB specific measures. So, not only
will it be incredibly useful for being
[1:14:36] able to relay to council and the
community that, hey, these initiatives
[1:14:39] are actually worth your time. they are
um whether they're showing that social
[1:14:44] return on investment, they are
contributing positively to the
[1:14:46] community, even if it's through changes
in RCMP stats, things like that that can
[1:14:50] happen. Um and being able to have that
proof essentially will be incredibly
[1:14:55] helpful, especially when it even comes
down to um tracking down potential
[1:14:59] funding opportunities as well.
>> Thank you.
[1:15:05] » I'm looking around the table and I see
nothing else. Um
[1:15:09] four months
It's incredible. And
[1:15:15] this is the
anytime you start a project, it's almost
[1:15:20] the scariest time, right? Because
there's so much that you can do. So, I
[1:15:24] just I want to thank Carly, and this
isn't not thanking Emily because Emily
[1:15:30] knows how I feel about her and the work
she does with FCSS, but I just want to
[1:15:34] thank Carly for coming in with your your
normal enthusiasm, but it's not just
[1:15:39] doing I don't think you're throwing
everything at the fan or everything at
[1:15:43] the wall or everything at to see really
what will stick. It looks like that. But
[1:15:48] I I think that you are taking your
knowledge and your background both of
[1:15:52] our community and of the projects and
and trying to compare those two, but by
[1:15:58] where do we start? And I had the
opportunity to hang out with you guys a
[1:16:02] little bit more on Sunday morning at the
barbecue. And
[1:16:07] you are working with businesses as well.
and you are working with um people
[1:16:14] not just when we say communities it's
not just community members it is that
[1:16:18] larger community and so I am encouraging
everybody to reach out and at least talk
[1:16:23] to Carly if they have the if they have
issues or problems to just so she better
[1:16:29] understands
what the environment looks like and when
[1:16:34] is the next time people are going to be
able to spend their $100 on the four
[1:16:38] initiatives
um because they made me do this $100
[1:16:42] spend my money thing and it was good.
>> Thank you Karen. Yeah, so one of the
[1:16:48] data collection that we're doing right
now um I kind of spoke to it briefly is
[1:16:52] gathering community input on how they
would like us to approach this work
[1:16:57] because as you said there is a lot to
it. Um I'm one human so obviously I
[1:17:02] can't do everything right away but we do
want to also be mindful of the fact that
[1:17:06] we want to approach this in a way that
the community would like to see this
[1:17:10] work done. So we have been doing uh the
same exercise at a few different
[1:17:14] community events and so we will be
posting kind of the outcomes of that
[1:17:19] data collection but it is available on
Facebook right now through uh a Google
[1:17:24] form. So essentially we are providing
you the opportunity to have $100 to
[1:17:31] invest in community safety well-being.
It has some information on the four
[1:17:35] different approaches of this work and it
obviously simplifies it but we are
[1:17:40] trying like I say to just better
understand the community's desires and
[1:17:43] needs. So it gives you the option of
education, prevention, intervention or
[1:17:49] enforcement. And it's asking you to
think about if you had to invest in
[1:17:53] CSWB, where would you like to see that
investment put? And it could be across
[1:17:58] all four, it could be all-in-one. There
is no wrong answer to this because this
[1:18:03] work does work across all four of those
realms, but it does give you the
[1:18:07] opportunity to have your input. And the
online one also gives you the
[1:18:11] opportunity to explain why you invested
the way that you did. It is anonymous,
[1:18:15] so we don't know who wrote what, but we
are compiling all of that information
[1:18:20] and it will be utilized both for what
we're going to prioritize, but also as
[1:18:25] we engage our partners so that they're
also able to be aware of what work the
[1:18:30] community would like to see done. Um, so
the in-person ones, I believe we've kind
[1:18:34] of wrapped up that unless we decide to
push it further, but if you go on the
[1:18:39] Facebook page, there is a link to the
Google form that's open right now. So,
[1:18:42] if anyone would like to invest $100,
imaginary of course in CSWB, um please
[1:18:48] go to Facebook and click that link
because we would love to have as much
[1:18:52] community input as possible.
>> Thank you. And the reason I brought that
[1:18:55] up and it's the quote the thing that you
said that I've written down um for the
[1:19:00] community by the community and they
really are focused on this. if I can say
[1:19:05] that out loud, but not but. And we have
to do these forms and really show what
[1:19:12] our priorities are to help both this I
always get the acronym wrong, the CSWB
[1:19:19] and council because we're going to spend
the real $100 quote unquote. Um, so we
[1:19:25] know where those priorities are. Thank
you so much for coming in and we'll see
[1:19:30] you soon.
>> Thank you for having us. Excellent.
[1:19:46] Uh I think we have time to move on to
item six, which is the agenda review.
[1:19:55] » Uh thank you, Deputy Mayor. The um
next four meetings I believe are
[1:20:01] included in the um agenda review RFD and
we'd be happy to answer any questions
[1:20:06] you might have.
[1:20:12] I was about to say this is a um great
Monday because we're moving along, but
[1:20:17] it's Tuesday. So, seeing no comments
from council, I would like to move into
[1:20:23] the council action task summary as of
September 22nd, 2026, please.
[1:20:34] » Thank you, Deputy Mayor. Um, the
existing or most current cats um are
[1:20:40] captured in the attached document.
You'll notice that the highlighted ones
[1:20:44] are deemed complete and will um fall off
before the next reporting period. I did
[1:20:51] also note that there were a few items um
that did have deadlines that had passed.
[1:20:57] Um some of those, for example, like the
chamber upgrade, we were waiting for an
[1:21:02] FIR that just went out to council today.
Um and then we'll make sure that that
[1:21:06] gets um updated and brought back. Uh,
and then there's another one in there
[1:21:11] that we're actually asking for an
extension. Today was the due date. Uh,
[1:21:15] and in regular council meeting, we'll be
asking for an extension on that. Um, and
[1:21:19] I'd be happy to answer any other
questions council might have.
[1:21:26] I literally see no hands and I don't
know where I am. So,
[1:21:32] Oh, no. Councelor White, go ahead,
please.
[1:21:34] » I will just say uh through the chair,
thank you, Deputy Mayor Everly. to
[1:21:38] administration. Thank you for asking for
extensions because that was on my list.
[1:21:43] » Beautiful. We can move on to item number
eight, which is the monthly city manager
[1:21:50] report to council and the community.
>> Thank you very much. Um, this month,
[1:21:58] um, I do have to apologize for the
formatting in the document. If yours is
[1:22:01] the same as mine, there's a bunch of
ones on there. Um, don't know what went
[1:22:05] wrong with that, but sometimes
technology gets the better of me. Um,
[1:22:10] the update is really just um, looking
back over the last little while. Um,
[1:22:15] most of this work is going to be um,
moved from this report into the next
[1:22:20] section which is reporting on our
projects. Um there are some community
[1:22:25] connections
um current vacancies uh that are noted
[1:22:29] on there as well as some customer
service um complaints and then our
[1:22:34] communications um with the public. We
still have opportunity for public
[1:22:39] engagement um and any of our public
engagement can be found on the what if
[1:22:44] with taskwin website and then we've got
a couple of um organizational wins that
[1:22:50] are in there. Um we're starting to see
the completion of some of our clean
[1:22:54] energy improvement programs. So, uh
grant program. So, that's exciting. Um
[1:22:58] and we currently have a wait list uh for
residents to get onto that program. So,
[1:23:04] it is um it is fully subscribed,
excuse me, we have finished the um
[1:23:10] entrance signs to the city. And um the
one thing that's not on here, but I'm
[1:23:15] super excited about the recycling roll
out um that's that's coming out. um next
[1:23:22] month, early next month. And I did want
to mention that I know that there's been
[1:23:26] um some questions or comments around
what's happening. Is is there not enough
[1:23:32] um communication going out to people,
but I wanted to note that um we have um
[1:23:36] advertised this a lot, but because it's
a third party delivering this service,
[1:23:41] we're really at their whim. Um we put
out what they give us and um and they're
[1:23:47] in control of that whole thing. So, some
of the um questions we've had to refer
[1:23:54] back um and we haven't been as um
I guess able to present it in a way that
[1:24:01] that would have provided a little bit
more information because we're at their
[1:24:04] whim. I think a really good example is
the first advertisement that went out by
[1:24:08] the company said October 1st start and
then they changed it to October 5th. So,
[1:24:12] there's some information that we're
trying to get caught up on. Um but we're
[1:24:16] really it it's their program. So we're
just following suit on that. And then um
[1:24:22] we do have um all of our capital and
operating projects that are also
[1:24:27] attached here. And if I don't go into
another coughing fit, I'd be happy to
[1:24:31] answer those questions for you.
>> Uh thank you, Councelor White. And then
[1:24:38] councelor Nielsen.
>> Um thank you through the chair to
[1:24:42] administration. Sue, thank you for this
report that is for as of August.
[1:24:48] Can you please speak a little further to
the last sentence in your in the section
[1:24:53] called challenges that says four summer
operators have been extended to the end
[1:24:56] of September to assist with cutting,
trimming, and tree pruning.
[1:25:03] » Yeah, madam deputy mayor through you to
councelor White. Uh we had seasonal
[1:25:08] staff with uh because of other vacancies
we were unable to hire all of our
[1:25:14] compliment that we anticipated, but we
using that funding can keep them on.
[1:25:19] We've had a long season as you'll notice
we're still mowing our lawns, which is
[1:25:22] abnormal for the end of September. So,
we're looking to uh leverage that uh
[1:25:28] manpower to or people power to to
continue to work throughout the
[1:25:33] community and and maintain the the
cleanliness and and appearance as best
[1:25:37] as we can.
[1:25:42] » Okay. Thank you. Second question is,
it's not really a question. Can you
[1:25:48] someone from administration please
expand on and Sue you started to touch
[1:25:52] it a little bit more. The playground
improvements public consultation is
[1:25:57] ongoing. Complete the survey and find
updates at what if with taskwin. Um can
[1:26:02] someone enlighten me but also for our
public to understand a little bit more
[1:26:07] about this playground
consultation thing? From my
[1:26:12] understanding, it looks like this is the
beginning of a couple years worth of a
[1:26:16] project.
How can the public participate?
[1:26:24] » Yeah, chair council. Um the playground
consultation has been gone going ongoing
[1:26:29] this year. I believe council awarded um
the recck group about $750,000. So,
[1:26:35] we've been looking at all the
playgrounds, the usage of the
[1:26:38] playgrounds, um the demographics of the
neighborhoods that the playgrounds are
[1:26:41] in, and also looking at diversifying
what types of playgrounds in what area.
[1:26:46] Um, so that consultation is ongoing as
we replace different pieces and parts of
[1:26:50] playground equipment.
[1:26:55] » Can I get a an idea of of what is
ongoing
[1:27:00] consultation or community input
opportunities? Are these is this
[1:27:05] open-ended for the next two years or
when are decisions and going to be made
[1:27:09] and plans start being enacted or is this
like by the end of you know you've got
[1:27:14] three days left to finish the survey and
then
[1:27:19] uh through the chair to councelor white
um one of the um we we actually had a
[1:27:24] big meeting on this yesterday when we
were talking about budget and one of the
[1:27:29] um directions that I'm giving to the
team is um a a little bit of a different
[1:27:33] type of consultation, too. So, we've
done a lot of online surveys. We've done
[1:27:36] a lot of uh meet you where you are
surveys and and chatting with people in
[1:27:40] the neighborhoods and stuff. Um I'd like
to do direct mailouts and engage a
[1:27:46] little bit closer to um the specific
neighborhoods where we're considering um
[1:27:52] certain things. Uh we're also tapping
into our planning and development
[1:27:56] department because um planners also do
park planning and and future um
[1:28:02] neighborhood planning. And so we're
going to take a little bit of a
[1:28:05] different spin on this and try to get
deeper consultation closer to the parks
[1:28:11] um and then refine our list before we
bring it back to council and give you an
[1:28:14] update on that.
>> Thank you. I appreciate that update.
[1:28:20] That's it for now.
>> Okay. We'll we'll go to councelor
[1:28:24] Nielsen and then I'll look at you again.
Oh, perfect.
[1:28:29] » Thank you. Uh through the chair to
administration. Um I'm looking at
[1:28:34] capital projects and
every year we have a conversation about
[1:28:42] are we going to get projects completed
or and carry a bunch of dollars forward
[1:28:47] that we worry
should be spent. Um, so my first
[1:28:53] question I guess is sort of a general
question.
[1:28:56] Should we as a council be concerned
regarding the number of capital projects
[1:29:01] only marginally completed thus far? Um,
typically most of these projects tend to
[1:29:07] be warmer weather projects with cooler
weather coming. Are we going to be
[1:29:12] getting these projects done
[1:29:17] » uh through the chair to council um at
this point? So when that report was
[1:29:21] written uh we were at that those
percentages of completion uh but we've
[1:29:26] had some really good weather over the
last uh number of weeks and so we are
[1:29:30] confident that we will be able to get
these capital projects completed um by
[1:29:34] the end of the summer season.
>> Thank you. And specifically Kathy then
[1:29:39] um one of the ones that that stuck out
to me was the mechanical access
[1:29:45] uh and egress and it being a safety
issue for staff and it was at 33%
[1:29:51] completion at the time of this report.
So where are we at with that particular
[1:29:55] safety concern?
>> Uh through the chair to councelor
[1:29:58] Nielsson that project has been
completed.
[1:30:00] » Thank you very much. Um and on the
operational projects
[1:30:06] um a report to council on geothermal um
when will we see that is or will that be
[1:30:12] part of part of a budget presentation?
[1:30:24] Sorry, I'm ill and my brain isn't
working as fast as it should normally.
[1:30:29] We did have a discussion about this
project recently and I believe Chris has
[1:30:33] some options for us to consider.
>> Yeah, Madame Deputy Mayor through the
[1:30:39] project has been assessed now and we're
looking at uh making those improvements.
[1:30:44] we can likely bring that forward through
the the budget process. Yes.
[1:30:50] » Thank you. And in terms of
city hall ground maintenance, what's
[1:30:56] left to be done to finalize that
project?
[1:31:02] » Um we are waiting for the province. I
believe they gave us approval on the
[1:31:07] sidewalk. Um and they're just looking at
the um the tree plan. I have had a
[1:31:12] discussion uh while Ryan was gone. I had
a discussion with Sean that if we didn't
[1:31:16] hear back uh right away because we're
going to lose the opportunity to
[1:31:20] complete the project if we don't finish
it right away. Um that we would be
[1:31:24] having a discussion higher up in the
minister's office because there
[1:31:28] there are um I have some concerns that
the department may be overstepping when
[1:31:35] it comes to safety. Um, and I realize
that the building is a heritage
[1:31:39] building, but that doesn't necessarily
extend to the site, although they may
[1:31:42] think it does. Um, so we're having a
discussion right now over who has
[1:31:48] authority over respect to safety issues.
>> I wonder if it's a federal issue. No,
[1:31:52] sorry. Um,
>> inappropriate. I apologize. Um
[1:32:05] so so you indicated that we have
[1:32:10] approval for sidewalks. When would we
see that project?
[1:32:20] » Due to the rain that we had in June, our
schedule was delayed for concrete. So,
[1:32:25] we're hoping that we can get it
completed by the end of October. If for
[1:32:31] some reason the weather turns on us,
then it will be done in the spring of
[1:32:34] 2027.
>> Thank you. And my last question is,
[1:32:41] um, it may already have been done, I
don't know, winterizing the spray park
[1:32:46] lines.
[1:32:57] Yeah, madame uh deputy chair, there we
will be working on we've gone through it
[1:33:02] with the consultant on the process. So
we'll it will be done. I don't know the
[1:33:06] date, but it should be soon. I don't
think many people are going to be using
[1:33:10] it after yesterday was nice, but uh the
weather is definitely turning off.
[1:33:22] I'd appreciate
getting a more definitive answer in the
[1:33:26] short term here. Um,
we have some history with regard to
[1:33:31] clearing lines in uh
[1:33:35] the aquatic center and I certainly don't
want to repeat on that one. And
[1:33:44] as was suggested, weather can turn
quickly. I don't know what the impact is
[1:33:51] for
[1:33:56] lines being frozen. And I also have
concerns about the actual water
[1:34:02] container that holds the bulk of the
water as it's recirculated and ensuring
[1:34:07] that that's
managed the way it's supposed to be
[1:34:10] managed and that that doesn't freeze.
So, I would appreciate some, and it
[1:34:15] doesn't have to be today, but I would
appreciate knowing
[1:34:19] that we're on top of our game with
regard to our newest million-doll
[1:34:23] investment or the community's
investment. Thank you,
[1:34:27] » Madame Deputy Mayor. So, I did just get
an update. October 1st is the scheduled
[1:34:31] date.
>> Thank you very much.
[1:34:34] » Uh, thank you. I just wanted to clarify,
too, because I thought I heard Councelor
[1:34:37] Nielson say recirculating.
We we don't have a recirculating system.
[1:34:43] » There is no
>> underground. No, I understand the
[1:34:46] recirculation.
>> It's built for a future one, but okay. I
[1:34:49] just wanted
>> There is There is no container bladder
[1:34:51] underground then.
>> Correct.
[1:34:52] » Thank you. So, it's lines only.
>> Correct.
[1:34:55] » Thank you.
[1:34:59] » Councelor White.
>> Madame Deputy Mayor, I move that we go
[1:35:03] into close session.
>> Absolutely. Um, all those in favor?
[1:35:09] Carried.
[2:09:04] Okay. Uh, thank you everybody uh for
your patience. While we were in close
[2:09:08] session, may I please have a motion to
come out of close session? Councelor Ho
[2:09:12] or excuse me, I apologize. Councelor
White. All those in favor?
[2:09:19] carried.
Is there anything else on the city
[2:09:23] manager
report?
[2:09:26] Seeing none, we can move on to the
council committee reports and
[2:09:31] attendance. Again, we'll go through this
in the order that they are
[2:09:37] listed. Councilors Billingsley, Neielen,
White, and then myself.
[2:09:44] Anything you'd like to highlight?
>> I do. Um even though it's not on this
[2:09:50] specific report, I do want to speak um
to welcoming week.
[2:09:54] » Excellent.
>> Um I don't want to get it lost 30 days
[2:09:58] from now. Um first of all, I would like
to thank all the organizations who
[2:10:03] showcased
um in the community in our community and
[2:10:08] who they are and what they do. I'd like
to give a thank you to all the residents
[2:10:13] that participated. Um many of the events
um were extremely well attended and um
[2:10:20] it was very enlightening.
My third thank you will be to former
[2:10:24] mayor and counselor Bill Elliot who had
the idea of such a wonderful thing.
[2:10:31] And last I really would like to thank
our staff um not only for the
[2:10:38] organization but their participation.
Um, it certainly did go noticed and for
[2:10:45] that I give a big thank you.
>> Thank you.
[2:10:51] » Me.
>> Yes, please.
[2:10:52] » Um,
thank you for that, Councelor
[2:10:56] Billingsley, because it I think uh
reflects certainly my perception and
[2:11:03] appreciation for what has taken place.
Um,
[2:11:08] and when former mayor and councelor Bill
Elliot put this idea forward, I
[2:11:13] supported it, but in the back of my
head, I thought, "Oh, I don't know if
[2:11:17] this will get any traction at all." And
I am
[2:11:22] overjoyed by how the community has
responded to the work of our of of the
[2:11:30] city staff to make this happen. and like
you attended a number of these things
[2:11:34] where their turnouts were really really
stellar. So thank you and
[2:11:39] congratulations. So to everybody the
only thing I would I would say um
[2:11:45] regarding my council attendance and it
goes back a month now. I attended I was
[2:11:49] city rep to Samson Pow and it was
a positive experience
[2:11:56] um to reconnect with new chief Isaiah
and uh
[2:12:03] and he has expressed
sincere interest in working more closely
[2:12:08] with our community and I know we're
working to try and make that happen. So
[2:12:12] that would be the only thing I would
report at this point in time. Thank you.
[2:12:15] » Thank you councelor White.
[2:12:19] Uh nothing specific on August for me.
>> Okay. Thank you. And then for myself, I
[2:12:25] don't believe I have anything specific
either. Uh two weeks ago, I encouraged
[2:12:30] everybody to go to welcoming week for
all of the reasons that our counselors
[2:12:34] just said. I it is my favorite week in
Wasaskin. And unfortunately, I was gone
[2:12:41] um to the MCMC conference for a portion
of it, but I'm just repeat everybody's
[2:12:47] thank yous and all of our community
groups that made this a great summer
[2:12:52] with a lot of challenging weather.
>> So, yes, sir.
[2:12:58] » Um,
two things. Number one, I'm I'm I'm glad
[2:13:03] to see we've got more attends reports
submitted, but I really wonder if we
[2:13:08] don't need as a council to have a
conversation about this in terms of
[2:13:11] understanding for ourselves what the
intention of this particular report is.
[2:13:17] I know in my conversations with some of
my colleagues from my
[2:13:22] past commentary
um a a a very different perception about
[2:13:28] what these reports are intended to do.
Um I've heard everything where it's
[2:13:34] meant to inform us as to what's going on
and how we are interacting with the
[2:13:40] community that elected us. Um, it's an
opportunity for us to share what we're
[2:13:45] learning at at uh committee work, but
I've also heard comments that if I'm not
[2:13:51] claiming pdiums, then I don't need to do
the report. And and I that's why I
[2:13:55] really wonder if we don't need some
clarity um in this process.
[2:14:01] um because I I don't happen to re see
this as singly a uh um
[2:14:09] a report for financial remuneration.
It's it's it's more than more than that.
[2:14:14] And the conversation led me to believe
that maybe we all as a as a council
[2:14:19] don't
have common agreement about what this is
[2:14:23] intended to do. And perhaps if we had a
common agreement, we would have u seven
[2:14:31] seven reports every month submitted as
if we all knew what what the intent of
[2:14:37] the activity was. So I would encourage
us um to have that conversation. I don't
[2:14:43] know if that's done um here now. I don't
know if it is done in close session. I
[2:14:49] don't know. So I would ask
administration for some suggestions or
[2:14:53] ideas on that note please.
[2:14:58] » Um through the chair to council Nielson.
I was thinking that it might be a really
[2:15:01] good um conversation to go with prediums
or governance training that are both
[2:15:07] planned I think in future meetings in
committee of the whole.
[2:15:10] » Okay. That that would suit me fine.
>> Is that a general consensus around the
[2:15:16] table?
>> Excellent.
[2:15:20] Is there anything else?
Okay, I would like to um
[2:15:27] Councelor White,
fun fact.
[2:15:32] Um I said I wouldn't speak much to to my
report. It was pretty sparse. I went
[2:15:36] away in August, so I wasn't um super
active. But just for the fun of it, I
[2:15:41] will share publicly that
nerd Laura went to the Northwest
[2:15:47] Territories and Yukon for vacation.
And when my family went fishing, I chose
[2:15:52] to go to the Yellow Knife City Council
meeting and observe. And I will say that
[2:15:59] I spent an hour and a half watching a
presentation on land use bylaw update
[2:16:04] and probably 30 minutes of debate on
shall and should.
[2:16:13] You should have gone fishing.
>> Um, so we are in good company. I think
[2:16:18] » we are in good company. Thank you,
Councelor White. That's hilarious. What
[2:16:22] I'm going to do is I'm going to call a
15minute um break and then we will come
[2:16:27] back at 11:30.
Thank you.
[2:30:11] Welcome back.
Welcome back. I'm going to surprise the
[2:30:15] entire world and be a minute early for
something. It is 11:29
[2:30:19] and I would just like for the record we
are moving again into close session. So
[2:30:25] can somebody please make a motion?
Laura. All those in favor carried
[3:45:57] Uh, thank you everyone. Uh, may I please
have a motion to come out of close
[3:46:01] session?
>> Uh, councelor Nielsen, all those in
[3:46:04] favor
carried. We have no new business or
[3:46:10] correspondence. So, it is my pleasure to
adjourn today's committee of the whole
[3:46:15] meeting at 12:45 p.m. and I will see
everybody for regular counsel at 4
[3:46:22] o'clock. Thank you.