Council Highlights - November 20, 2018

Citizens' Minute with Council

Residents are welcome to speak to Council about issues, events, celebrations or concerns during Minute with Council. At the beginning of each regular Council Meeting, Mayor Michaels opens the floor to the public to speak and share with Council members, administration and meeting observers.

Glen Barrow
Barrow brought forward his concern regarding studies in the beaver boardwalk as well as expressing concern regarding current budget conversations and taxation impacts.

Hendrik Smit
Smit came before Council on behalf of the Hinton Municipal Library board, sharing details of their coming plan of service work and event on November 26 (learn more here).

Delegations

Presentations are required to be arranged through the Executive Assistant, so that presenters can be sure time is set aside for their presentations on the Council agenda. Find out more about how to be a delegation by following this link.

1. Hinton Geothermal District Energy System - Presented by TM Gunderson and Ashley Derry, Epoch Energy

Gunderson and Derry presented the findings of the FEED Report. View the report in the attachment, available here, and the presentation in the agenda, available here.

Public Hearings

In some instances, Council is required to conduct public hearings regarding land use bylaws, rezoning, etc., or on any other matter council deems appropriate.

There were no public hearings.

Action Items

1. Feed Report: Hinton Geothermal District Energy System Report - Presented by Emily Olsen
A Front-End Engineering Design, or FEED report, began in Q1 of 2018, with the intent of furthering the scope of geothermally-heated district heating facilities, developing a detailed capital and operating cost model, and confirming the economic viability of geothermally-heated DES in Hinton through a comprehensive financial model. The results of the pre-FEED report, completed in 2017, prompted a more detailed look at the potential for a DES in Hinton. Administration supports option 1: Council accepting the FEED Study: Hinton Geothermal District Energy System Report for information. Due to a constrained 2019 municipal budget, resources to pursue recommendations included in the report are not available at this time. Should budgetary priorities or the availability of resources change, Council may request the FEED Report, or components within the report, to be brought back for discussion at a later date. It was moved that Council accept the FEED Report: Hinton Geothermal District Energy System for information. This motion carried.

In Camera

In-camera is a legal term meaning “in private.” When a Council goes in-camera, it means the Council meeting is closed to the public. In general terms, the exceptions include matters where disclosures could be harmful to personal privacy, individual or public safety, law enforcement, intergovernmental relations, or economic or other interests; reveal confidential evaluations, local public body confidence, or advice from officials; or disclose information that is subject to legal privilege.

1. Land Purchase Discussions (Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, RSA 2000, Chapter F-25, Sections 23 and 25)

2. Water Treatment Plant (Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, RSA 2000, Chapter F-25, Sections 16, 21, 23, 24 and 25)

Following their return from In Camera, Council made the following motion:

That Council direct Administration to delay any borrowing and purchasing agreements until further information is reviewed. This motion carried.

Action Items

After returning from In Camera, Council addressed the remaining action items.

2. Authorization of Debenture Bylaw #1127 - Presented by Carla Fox
A debenture of $1,250,000 is required for the purchase of lands and related off-site levies. This Bylaw received First reading at the October 2, 2018 Regular Meeting of Council. The proposed Bylaw was then advertised in The Hinton Voice for two consecutive weeks and followed by a fifteen-day petition period. Administration did not receive any petitions, as such, the Bylaw is being presented to Council for Second and Third Reading. If Council proceeds with Second and Third Reading at this meeting, the thirty-day waiting period will commence, with the Bylaw becoming active on December 21, 2018 (if no application has been made to the Court of Queen’s Bench). For more background information, please see the Agenda Package for the October 2, 2018 Regular Meeting of Council. Council gave Debenture Bylaw #1127 second and unanimous third reading.

3. Appointments to Yellowhead Regional Library Board - Presented by Jenna Altrogge
The Hinton Municipal Library Board makes recommendations for Council’s approval regarding the appointments to the Yellowhead Regional Library Board. Typically, the Chair of the Hinton Municipal Library Board is selected as the representative; as such, this will be Mr. Smit’s fourth year representing Hinton on the Yellowhead Regional Library Board. The Alternate position is typically assumed by the Vice Chair of the Hinton Municipal Library Board; this year the Vice Chair is Mr. Rush. It was moved that Hendrik Smit be appointed to the Yellowhead Regional Library Board for a one-year term to the 2019 Organizational Meeting of Council. This motion carried. It was then moved that Jace Rush be appointed as Alternate to the Yellowhead Regional Library Board for a one-year term to the 2019 Organizational Meeting of Council. This motion also carried.

4. Town Policies, Procedures, and Directives Policy #1106 - Presented by Jenna Altrogge
Administration has created a new system for the development, approval, and distribution of governing documents, including Bylaws, Policies, Procedures, Directives, Standard Operational Guidelines, and Standard Operating Procedures. The foundational piece of this new system is the Town Policies, Procedures, and Directives Policy #1106, which establishes the types of documents, the approval processes, and the document hierarchy. It was moved that Council approves Town Policies, Procedures, and Directives Policy #1106 as presented in Attachment #1. This motion carried.

In Camera

Council returned to in camera following Council Information Items.

3. Financial Discussion (Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, RSA 200, Chapter F-25, Sections 16, 25)

4. Interim Chief Administrative Officer Contract (Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, RSA 200, Chapter F-25, Sections 17, 23, 24 and 27)

Following their return from In Camera, Council made the following motions:

That Council extend the Interim Chief Administrative Officer contract from December 21, 2018 to January 1, 2019 as amended through the Human Resources Manager and approved by the Mayor. This motion carried.

Administrative Inquiries

If Councillors have queries they would like to submit to admin, this will be the time at which they do. This is in accordance with Council's procedural bylaw.

There were no inquiries

Notice of Motion

If Councillors have motions they wish to lodge, this will be the time at which they do. This is in accordance with Council's procedural bylaw.

There were no notices

Information Items.

Councillor Joann(Jo) Race: Councillor Race informed Council of attending an ASH meeting, saying they also took part in a presentation on the newly installed AED device, location, and operation. Also discussed during the meeting was ASH's intent to raise rental rates in September of 2019. Race went on to speak to attending a Regional Waste Management Meeting, saying it was great and sharing her appreciation for the coming 5 year budget.

Councillor Dewly Nelson: Councillor Nelson also spoke to the recent waste management meeting, expressing his appreciation for new members and their contributions to the conversation. Nelson then reminded Council and the public of the Festival of Trees ongoing in Parks West Mall, shared his appreciation for the RCMP's presence at the Remembrance Day Ceremonies in full Red Serge, and then concluded by expressing his excitement at the scheduled return of Run in the Rockies in September of 2019.

Councillor Albert Ostashek: Councillor Ostashek spoke to his attendance at last weeks siren ringing in recognition of 100 years since the Armistice at the Protective Services buildings, sharing his awe at the sonic power of these siren devices. Ostashek then spoke to his attendance at a CEAC meeting, sharing that there was a good atmosphere as the group reviewed the new terms of reference, as well as discussing structure and future meeting dates.

Councillor Trevor Haas: Councillor Haas also spoke to the library's coming plan of service work and event, inviting the public to come out and take part in this important part of the planning cycle (learn more here). Haas concluded by speaking to his excitement at getting to know his new board and committee commitments.

Councillor Tyler Waugh: Councillor Waugh offered his thanks to Councillor Ostashek for filling in at the CEAC meeting. Waugh then spoke to the busy week ahead for CFWY, including the Energy Futures Roadshow and strategic planning. He concluded by sharing a reminder of next week's Snowflake Parade, hosted by the Chamber of Commerce.

Councillor Ryan Maguhn: Councillor Maguhn began by speaking to anticipation of the coming Golf Society Meeting. Maguhn concluded with 30 seconds of silence for first responders sacrifices to keep our community safe.

Mayor Marcel Michaels: Mayor Michaels offered his congratulations to Caryn Bouchard, who will be taking over for the retiring Olga Uloth as FCSS Manager. Michaels also extended warm tidings to Uloth in her coming adventures.

Interim CAO Mike Koziol: Interim CAO Koziol reminded Council of the next day's deadline for written question submissions, as part of the previously detailed budgetary procedures.

Town of Hinton Newsflash

Parks, Open Spaces and Trails Master Plan: Phase 2

The Town of Hinton is developing a Parks, Open Space and Trails (POST) Master Plan for the Town and an Outline Plan for the Maxwell Lake Recreation Area. The purpose of the POST Master Plan is to identify gaps, needs and priorities for these spaces within the town, while the Outline Plan focuses on the establishment of the Maxwell Lake Recreation Area specifically. ISL Engineering and Land Services is supporting this work. We are currently in the second phase (Explore) of the projects and, in November, we will be seeking input on the concept designs that were developed based on what we heard and learned in Phase 1. Learn more here.

Please Adjust Parking Practices at Dr Duncan Murray Rec Centre

Staff have installed signs serving as the first part of expanded enforcement of fire lane/no parking zones in front of the recreation centre facility.

This fire lane is an important part of ensuring that emergency personnel, should they ever need to attend the facility, are able to quickly and efficiently move into action.

While this fire lane has always been in place, the sign installation will begin a new awareness and enforcement campaign in the area.

Signs were installed on November 8th, starting a 30 day grace period wherein Bylaw enforcement staff will make violators aware of the firelane.

At the end of this grace period, Bylaw will begin issuing tickets for violation of the fire lane.

All recreation centre patrons and staff are asked to please review the above map (also available here) to view permitted and forbidden locations for loading and short term parking in the Rec Centre area.

For any further questions related to the recreation, please contact Heather Waye, Interim Parks, Recreation & Culture Manager.

For any question relating to Bylaw enforcement, please contact Protective Services.

Council Video Recordings

As some residents may have noticed, we have recently experienced difficulties with our streaming video provider online. The service provider has changed the accepted methods of posting, which has made all older videos in the inventory non-functioning. These non-functioning videos will removed from the inventory for the time being, however, administration is investigating ways of making a larger library available for residents to access online. In the interim, a new format has been selected, and new recordings are being posted as before; however, the new format is slightly larger, and so less videos will be accessible online than in years past. Recordings of the videos are also available on DVDs at the Hinton Municipal Library, which can be checked out and viewed on either computers or DVD players, or by contacting the Town of Hinton should those DVD recordings not be available.

The Town of Hinton is on Facebook!

As over 1600 people have already figured out - The Town of Hinton now has a corporate Facebook page! This new service adds another resource to the communications toolbelt, and will house information on many different areas; some days, you’ll see information on bylaws, others recreation programs, others information about council decisions or highlights from Council meetings. We will, however, endeavour to ensure that we are sharing content relevant to the widest possible audience. Like us today by clicking here!

You can view the entire agenda package here.

The next Council meeting will be held November 27, 2018, at 4pm
in the Committee Room.