Council Highlights - January 8, 2019

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.

Marilyn Campbell
Campbell came before Council to share their concerns in regards to the POST Master Plan, in particular, the Maxwell Lake area.

Joanne Mann
Mann came before Council to share their concerns in regards to the POST Master Plan, in particular, the Maxwell Lake area.

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.

There were no delegations

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.

Land Use Bylaw No. 1088-7
A public hearing was held on Land Use Bylaw no. 1088-7. Learn more about the bylaw in the agenda package, available here.

Action Items

1. Land Use Bylaw No. 1088-7 - Presented by Dani Woodman
The purpose of the Land Use Bylaw 1088 is to regulate land use and development within Hinton. Land Use Bylaw 1088-7 provides development authority variance modification for cannabis retail separation distances. Council gave the Bylaw second and third reading.

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.

There were no in-camera items.

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.

Councillor Haas made inquiry to administration in regards to the presence of short term rentals in the community, their regulation, and how to manage these locations acknowledging difficulties experienced by current, or potential future, residents when seeking housing.

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: nothing to report.

Councillor Dewly Nelson: Councillor Nelson spoke to his attendance at the Hinton Helping Hands Christmas dinner, thanking the volunteers and hoping for further growth as the event moves into the third year.

Councillor Albert Ostashek: nothing to report.

Councillor Ryan Maguhn: Councillor Maguhn spoke to a coming Hinton Golf Society meeting, saying that he looks forward to bringing Councillor Haas along to orient as alternate. Maguhn then made Council and administration aware of coming absences related to his employment.

Councillor Tyler Waugh: nothing to report.

Councillor Trevor Haas: nothing to report.

Mayor Marcel Michaels: Mayor Michaels spoke to ongoing discussions in regards to the Pine Valley expansion, including some of the options being discussed as to upgrading, creating a new facility, or creating a separate but neighbouring facility. Michaels then made motion that Council direct administration and the Mayor to draft a letter of support regarding the urgency that the Federal Government match the Alberta Government’s 5 year/95 million-dollar investment to combat the Mountain Pine Beetle. Input from Council and final approval will be done via e-mail. This motion carried.

CAO Martin Taylor: CAO Taylor thanked Council and administration for the warm welcome experienced over his first 5 days, saying there is a great deal of information coming in and orientation still to take place but that he will be bringing more to report to Council soon.

Town of Hinton Newsflash

Hinton Mountain Bike Park Debris Clearing Scheduled

To provide our community with further information on the clean up of the MPB Tree Removal Project in the Mountain Bike Park area, we have compiled important information into one CivicSend. Find it here.

The Town of Hinton would like to inform all residents and area visitors of cleanup work tentatively scheduled to begin this week in the area of the Hinton Mountain Bike Park. This work is intended to clear wood and branch debris that was left in the Bike Park during previous work related to Mountain Pine Beetle mitigation, a Fire Smart initiative, and volunteer tree clearing. Any area travellers are asked to be aware of work ongoing in the area and obey any and all posted signage.

Scope of Work:

This project will be split into two phases; Phase 1: Debris Removal, and Phase 2: Debris Burn.

Phase 1
During the debris removal phase, contractor crews will be in the area gathering, bucking, and sorting debris. This phase will involve workers using hand tools or chainsaws in the area, both on foot and using off-road vehicles with trailers. Any salvaged firewood shall be transported and made available for reclamation by area residents.

Start Date: January 8, 2019 (weather dependant)
Length of phase: an estimated 4 days of work

Phase 2
During phase 2, non-salvageable debris collected in phase one will be gathered into piles for burning.

Start Date: TBD, burn permits and weather dependent.
Length of phase: TBD, Based on the number of piles and safety requirements

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 January 22, 2018, at 4pm
in the Council Chambers.