LEDUC COUNTY COUNCIL

Lorna Lowe

 

Council was called to order at 1:29 pm with Councillor Schonewille and Mayor Whaley absent to attend an oil and gas show in Houston Texas through the Leduc/Nisku EDA.

The first order of business was Councillor MacKay making a motion to nominate Councillor Stumph as Acting Deputy Mayor until the return of Mayor Whaley. The motion was passed unanimously.

There were no public presentations at this meeting and one addition to the agenda was adopted.

Jennifer Hourihan, the Director of FCSS for the County of Leduc, approached Council with a recommendation that Mayor Whaley, on behalf of Leduc County and the FCSS Advisory Committee, send letters to MLA's George Rogers and Diana McQueen requesting that the Alberta Government increase the Provincial FCSS Funding Grant by seven percent, or approximately five million dollars, for the 2012/13 fiscal year.

Councillor Kelto made a motion to send both letters and stated that FCSS is very important and that Leduc County should be proud of all the programs that we have through FCSS. The motion was passed unanimously.

The next item up for discussion was the addition to the agenda, which was a request from the Nisku Recreation Centre to extend the contract termination date of May 31, 2012. The extension would facilitate a smoother transition and provide staff additional time to "get their ducks in a row." Councillor Kelto motioned for approval and it was passed unanimously.

Then the Development Permit Application from Mr. Randy Samardzic for his Farm, Home and Garden Equipment Sales and Service business out by Thorsby came before Council. The business location on NE 26-49-1-W5 is under the Direct Control Land Use District. The Development Permit was brought forward with the recommendation that it be approved with a list of nine conditions to be met. Councillor Kelto asked if Mr. Samardzic had had an opportunity to read through the conditions since he was not able to attend Council that day. 

Development Officer Mr. Doug Woodliffe, stated that he did not believe Mr. Samardzic had read through the conditions. 

Councillor Kelto then motioned to defer this issue until the time that Mr. Samardzic had read through the permit, as it does state that he would not be allowed to display machinery on his property and that might be something he was wishing to do. The motion to defer was passed unanimously.

Council then set the date of June 12, 2012 at 7 pm at the Nisku Recreation Centre to hold a public hearing on the Watermere Resort Local Area Structure Plan. This is planned to be a private resort encompassing 309.73 acres on the west side of Hwy 771 across from Zeiner Park at Pigeon Lake. 

Councillor Glassman asked if any County staff members had attended the open house the developers had already put on for the area residents, and questioned how it had gone.

D'Anne O'Keefe, Manager of Current Panning, replied that a couple of staff members had gone to the open house and it had been very well attended. She stated that a lot of concern had been voiced by the the public at that event.

Councillor Harrison motioned for acceptance of the date for the Public Hearing and it was passed unanimously.

Council then received a letter of thanks from the Looma Good Deed Association in appreciation of the funding that the County of Leduc had given them. The letter said that they had used the funds to upgrade, and for the Maintainance of, the Looma Community Hall. They stated that this hall is used by many different groups and that the funding provided had contributed to the the community's comfort and enjoyment of the hall. The letter was entered as information.

There were no in camera items to discuss and the meeting was adjourned at 2:06 pm.

 

TOWN OF CALMAR COUNCIL

Lorna Lowe

 

Council was called to order at 6:58 pm with Councillor Bartlett absent.

There were no public presentations or hearings and the agenda was adopted with one addition.

Invitation to Rainmaker Rodeo Parade: Council voted not to attend.

Sponsorship Request From Alberta Health Services for Their 20th Annual Charity Classic Golf Tournament in Support of The Leduc Community Hospital: Mayor Faulkner stated that he feels this is a cause that is beneficial to the area so he has no problem supporting this charity. Councillor Borodawka motioned to sponsor a hole in the tournament and to allow someone on Council from the Town of Calmar to attend as well. Council passed this unanimously.

Invitation to the Sturgeon County 2012 Mayor's Golf Tournament: Council voted not to attend.

Invitation to Atco Cup 2012 Edmonton Classic Horse Show: Mayor Faulkner will be attending.

Invitation to Leduc Black Gold Days Parade: Councillor Wiancko will be attending.

Invitation to Leduc/Nisku EDA May Partnership Breakfast: Councillor Borodawka will be attending.

Invitation to attend Alberta Tourism, Parks and Recreation 2012 Energize Workshop: Councillor Borodawka stated that she felt it would be a good idea for someone to attend this workshop as it has a lot of valuable information and sessions taking place. However, no Councillors were able to confirm attendance during the meeting due to conflicting events, so the invitation was left open pending confirmation of attendance.

Additional Item; Approval to Purchase Two Used Pickup Trucks: The issue before Council was whether to approve the purchase of two gently used trucks instead of one brand new truck for various uses throughout the Town and County. Mr. Ed Melesko with the County of Leduc was looking for approval to search for the vehicles as the cost would be shared between the Town of Calmar and the County of Leduc. 

Councillor Wiancko asked for Council to refresh his memory on why these trucks were needed. Calmar's Director of Finance, Michael Storey, replied that they would be replacing the 22 year old half ton that the Town was currently using. Council approved to having Mr. Melesko begin the search.

The Town's March 2012 Bank Reconciliation, Department Reports and Council and Committee Reports: All were entered as information. However, as part of the Mayor's report Mayor Faulkner was happy to be able to relate to Council that the annual Calmar Firefighter's Ball had raised between $15-16,000.00 this year.

It was also reported that there would be no Farmer's Market held in Calmar this year due to a lack of vendor interest. 

In Camera: There were three in camera items in for discussion after adjournment of the regular Council meeting. Two of those items dealt with development and one item was for personnel.

Council was adjourned at 7:30 pm.