Council Notes From All Over

COUNTY OF LEDUC COUNCIL

Lorna Lowe

 Council was called to order at 9:01 am, with County Manager Brian Bowles presiding. All Councillors were present.
 The first order of business was to accept nominations for Mayor, and Councillor Schonewille nominated John Whaley for Mayor. This was the only nomination put forward and the Councillors unanimously elected Mr. Whaley, who was then sworn in for his sixth term as County Mayor.
Mayor Whaley then assumed the Chair and presided over the rest of the meeting.
 Councillor Schonewille will fulfill his role as Deputy Mayor until October 31, 2012, at which time Councillor Stumph will become Deputy Mayor on November 1, 2012, for a term of six months ending on April 30, 2013, and then Councillor Mackay will take the final term of Deputy Mayor from May 1, 2013 until October 2013.
 Councillor Stumph made a motion to keep the Council Boards and Committees Appointments the same as previously decided, and this motion was unanimously approved.
 The Council Representation Appointments remained the same with just three noted changes.
 The Rep for the Capital Region Waste Minimization Advisory Committee is now Councillor Harrison, with Councillor Mackay as Alternate.
 The CRB Housing Committee Appointees switched roles with Councillor Glassman becoming the Rep and Councillor Schonewille moving to Alternate.
 The final change was Mayor Whaley stepping down as Rep for the Capital Region Board and nominating Councillor Mackay to take his place, stating that she has shown a real interest in the position, and he felt that she would do a great job as Rep for the CRB. Several Councillors spoke up in support of the nomination, and Councillor Mackay was unanimously appointed as Rep for the CRB with Councillor Glassman and Mayor Whaley as Alternates.
 Brownlee LLP were named as primary, but not exclusive, solicitors for the County of Leduc.
 Gale Millar was appointed as Leduc County's Returning Officer for the 2013 Municipal Election.
 Council agreed to advertise several upcoming positions for Members At Large on various Committees.
 The 2012 Leduc County Organizational Meeting was adjourned at 9:35 am. 

 WETASKIWIN COUNTY COUNCIL

Barry McDonald

Request to Sell County Land (Former Winfield Fire Hall)
 Correspondence was received from Candus Torkelson; President of the Winfield Agricultural Society, requesting Council to move forward with selling the subject property.
 In 1970, the County of Wetaskiwin acquired the property due to non-payment of taxes and it has been registered in the County's name since that time. No evidence can be found of any legal ownership of the building outside of the land title.
 Council approved for Administration to make application to rezone the County owned property legally described as Plan 2972HW; Block 8; Lot 2 from Institutional (I) to Urban Commercial (UC) in the anticipation of selling.
Mr. Byron King,Transportation Society (WCTS)
  Mr. King provided information on the WCTS's nomination for a Duncan & Craig, LLP Laurel Award. The WCTS is a joint venture with the City of Wetaskiwin that provides affordable options of transportation for Seniors'. The County of Wetaskiwin is a contributing partner and stakeholder in WCTS 
Presentation:
 D.R.Bruno, RCMP K Division APS Unit, Aboriginal Gang Reduction and Exit Strategies
 The Aboriginal people account for 18.5% of all federal inmates in the prison system. In the Prairies, Aboriginal offenders accounted for 60 percent of offenders and 49.4% of Aboriginal offenders are under the age of 30.
 There are four Aboriginal Gang Strategies "Focus Core Pillars" being implemented to curb gang activity:
Education & Awareness: Tto educate and increase the awareness of gang activities and their ramifications, to both the RCMP and civilian community members, as well as to develop prevention and management strategies. This pillar is designed to inform the public about gangs and what initiatives are in place to combat the problem.
Intelligence Collection: 
 Developing an extended intelligence capacity that will support front-line operations targeting Aboriginal gang activity.
Enforcement: 
 Support intelligence based operational responses to gangs based on best practices and evidence based approaches. This includes providing support to communities who have chosen to evict charged gang members from their communities. RCMP priorities will be to dismantle gangs, conduct surveillance and suppress crime.
Exit Strategies: 
 Focus on the development and identification of effective exit and intervention strategies for gang members wishing to leave the gang lifestyle. This pillar, more than any other, relies on coordination and cooperation between many agencies and people, including the community.
Recreation Funding.
 At the May 1, 2012 Council General Meeting Council approved funding allocation for Zone 5 in the amount $7,123.95. The Zone 1 & 5 Recreation Committee Members met in early October to consider funding requests totaling $23,011.47 as the second batch of requests for 2012. Approved were:
Millet & District Historical Society - Lower Exhibit Accessibility $1,500.00
Hillside Community Club - Renovations $5,000.00
Transfer outstanding utility charges to taxes:
 Council was provided a list of landowners who have neglected to pay their utility charges. These public utility users receive an invoice for service bi-monthly, including the balance forward, which indicated any previous amounts outstanding and interest charges on arrears.
 Council approved the outstanding utility charges in the amount of $ 13970.69 be added to the individuals Tax Roll. NOTE: This amount is subject to change pending receipt of payment after October 12 2012. 

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WARBURG COUNCIL ORGANIZTIONAL MEETING

Linda M. Steinke
 
Mayor:  Dawson Kohl
Deputy Mayor: Dale Miller
Appointments: Representative/Alternate:
Capital Region Board:  Dawson Kohl/ all Council
PR Media:  Dawson Kohl
Leduc Foundation: Dawson Kohl/Kristie Elgersma
Warburg and District Rec Board: Fred Rapati/Dale Miller
Leduc County FCSS:  Ralph vanAssen/Fred Rapati
Warburg FCSS: Ralph vanAssen/Kristie Elgersma
Library Board Trustees (2): Dale Miller and Kristie Elgersma
Yellowhead Regional Library: Ralph vanAssen /Dale Miller
Fire Department: Dale Miller/Fred Rapati
Fire Chief:  Rick Carstairs
Deputy Fire Chief: Dan Duiker
Director Disaster Services: Dale Miller/Kristie Elgersma
Economic Development:  Dawson Kohl/Ralph vanAssen
Budget Committee: All Council
Assessment Review Board: Dawson Kohl
Policy & Planning Excellence:  All Council
Warburg Community Hall Board: Dale Miller/Kristie Elgersma
Warburg Arena Board:  Ralph vanAssen/Kristie Elgersma
Blooming Buddies: Fred Rapati/Dale Miller
Staff Relations Committee:  Ralph vanAssen/Dale Miller
County Regional Meeting: Dawson Kohl/Kristie Elgersma
39/20 Reps (2): Dale Miller and Ralph vanAssen
Municipal Planning:  All Council
Development Officer: CAO Christine Pankewitz
 Signing Authority: was not disclosed in the meeting.
Meeting Fees: “not changed” 
Expenses:  “Will stay the same.”
Mileage: “Go with whatever Leduc County rates.” Pipestone Flyer confirmed with Leduc         County that the mileage rate is set at $0.50/km.
 Regular Council meetings will be held at 7 PM on the second Monday of each month except for January, February, March, April, and October when they are held twice a month on the second and fourth Mondays. Regular Council meetings are open to the public and held in Council Chambers.
  The positions of Mayor, Deputy Mayor and Deputy Fire Chief were voted by secret ballot and counted by CAO Christine Pankewitz.
  There were two applications for the position of Deputy Fire Chief.  The vote for Deputy Fire Chief was preceded by an in camera session.  Following the ballot vote held in public, Mayor Kohl made the recommendation that “Jason Mayr be given some sort of leadership role.”
  Mayor Kohl stated Council will be reviewing the MDP (Municipal Development Plan) early in the new year. He noted the need for “caution” …open meeting requires a “rep. application to the CRB” (Capital Region Board).
  Council had a discussion regarding amending a Library Board by law to include “two Councillors and six Board members.” Presently, there are three Board members, plus one who has agreed to stay on temporarily as treasurer. CAO suggested adding library student employee Courtney Davis as a Board Rep.. Council decided to leave the Library Board as is.