Notes from MD of Pincher Creek No.9 Council meeting of October 9, 2012

Chris Davis, Pincher Creek Voice

Council for the MD of Pincher Creek No.9 met on the afternoon of October 9, 2012.  Present was Reeve Terry Yagos, Deputy Reeve Bjorn Berg, and Councillors Helen Cyr, Rod Cyr, and newly elected District 3 Councillor Garry Marchuk, who was officially sworn in at the beginning of the meeting.

Delegation addresses Micrex exploration

Dan McKim appeared as a delegation before the council after expressing a desire to update them on Micrex Development's latest permit to explore on the Livingstone Range. McKim said that to date Micrex "has not exercised the order in council" because "They know they don't have anything to sell." McKim asked council to consider a conservation easement in the potentially affected area. "Under the South Saskatchewan Land Use Framework this should be possible."

"Unless we initiate something I don't think we we'll ever know where we stand," McKim said. "The government says show us the value so we can make a valid decision. This is public land and these are our resources." 

"You see how it goes, around and around. If we don't make some noise about it then it gets buried."

Concerns about access to property

Jeanette Waegenakers Schiff appeared as a delegation before council. Schiff told council that reconstruction work on the Sam Bonertz Road, which is located east of Twin Butte had created a concern for her regarding access to her property. She told council she has owned a piece of land in the area and "historically there has been a dirt track that doesn't follow the road allowance" for access to that land".

Schiff said that dirt fill excavated during the ongoing road project has been deposited in at the location of that dirt track, "Thereby sealing it off to close the only access we have to our property". She also said that she had learned the landowner of the land the track runs across has asked that the access area be fenced and gated. "We only found out about the problem a week ago today," Schiff said, explaining that they don't live on the property but stay there during the summer at the present but intend to build a house there.

"My access to my property is almost non-existent," she said "And we can't plan properly until that access is resolved."

She asked council to direct that fill be redirected, and that no fence be put up along the road at the access point to the dirt track until another access to her property is figured out. She said the present location of the fill dirt is a 15 foot high bank against the road allowance which could cause snow drift problems.

"Can we have an access please, and can we have the dirt go make that access, and don't cut off our access to our properties until that happens, please," she said. "We just want to be able to get in and out."

During his Operations Report Leo Reedyk responded to council's questions about the matter. He said the fill in question needed to be moved to complete the work, and that there was a $200,000 reduction in the cost of the project related to moving the soil if it was stored nearby. "The location was negotiated with Mr. Bonertz as the closest location for the soil to go."

"I was on the site last Monday, speaking with the contractor," Reedyk continued. "They have more material to bring down-slope...and will probably end up bringing some of that fill back."

Later in the meeting when the Bonertz Hill project was on the agenda Reedyk suggested the road plan be readjusted to make it "more driveable in all weather conditions". After explaining some of the topographical issues at the site he suggested that a swap of one piece of road allowance for another nearby might facilitate a solution, if the landowner was in agreement. To that end he was directed by council to talk to Mr. Bonertz, the landowner in question, to see if a deal could be worked out that satisfied all parties.

He also said he and the construction crew were cognizant of the present access issues, and were working in such a way as to continue to allow access for now.

Energy partnership considered

Director of Operations Leo Reedyk reported on a partnership initiated by the Alberta Association of Municipal Districts and COunties (AAMDMC) with Unified Energy 8760 to provide aggregated energy services for partner municipalities.

Reedyk said that aggregation with hundreds of other clients would lead to savings, stability, and would significantly decrease administration overhead.  The MD of Pincher Creek No.9 provided copies of one month's billing for all electrical and gas bills for the Municipality, which includes lighting and heat for MD owned buildings, streets, and facilities, and granted permission for historical data to be accessed for analysis. According to a report from Unified Energy 8760, "Based on historical consumptions a savings of $6,016 could be realized on the $25,806 spent in the last year".

The MD is now being asked to commit to the next three years on their plan.

Expenditures approved for water projects and landfill road upgrade

Bylaw No. 1226-12 passed second and third reading unanimously. The bylaw allocates $980,000 towards the Lundbreck Water Storage Reservoir Expansion, $3,609,273 for the Landfill Road base course and paving, and $556,000 toward the Lundbreck/Cowley Regional Water System, including water treatment plant, for a total of $5,145,273. That final figure will be borrowed from the Alberta Capital Finance Authority or another authorized financial institution by the issuance of debentures, for a period not to exceed 25 years. Provincial Grants under Water For Life will contribute another $5,624,000 to the applicable projects.

Concerns raised about ambulance services in southern Alberta

In his report about the recent Emergency Services Board meet, Deputy Reeve Bjorn Berg raised concerns about how how ambulances are being transferred around the region, and shortages that has created. "Lethbridge has been down to the point where they've told Alberta Health they can only do one transfer a day," Berg explained.

"This is what Alberta has led us into, a starvation of ambulance services."

"If we didn't have our third ambulance we'd be Code Red about a third of the time." He said Pincher Creek was in a unique situation in the province with access to three ambulances in the community. "We're code yellow 5% of the time, which is actually doing ok," he said.

A letter from the Mayors and Reeves of Southwest Alberta (MRSA) was sent to Minister of Health Fred Horne and Alberta Health Service President and CEO Chris Eagle expressing MRSA's "collective displeasure...concerning the process of finding a workable solution for ambulance service in southwest Alberta".  The MRSA council unanimously passed a motion to write the letter at their September 7 meeting. 

 Extracts from that letter:

"There is a perception that the municipalities in rural southwest Alberta have not been heard.  There is a feeling that the ambulances that are in the municipalities are no longer theirs and can be shifted at the whim of someone somewhere else in Alberta.  This could impact the response times and therefore the health and safety of the residents of the communities."

Upcoming

• Council will hold a regular meeting on Tuesday, October 23, starting at 1 pm.
• Council will be holding a special meeting on Thursday, October 25, 2012 at 1:30 pm.  The budget is the sole item on the agenda.