Council Highlights - February 19, 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.

Jan Vassbotn
Vassbotn informed Council of his discovery of a makeshift camp in a Hinton park, and raised his concerns regarding lack of support available for individuals in need of housing support.

Jan Munn
Munn shared concerns regarding the Maxwell Lake Pedestrian bridge project.

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.

PACE Alberta - Presented by Ryan Amundrud and Tim Shain
View Amundrud and Shane's presentation in the agenda package, available here.

Following the presentation, it was moved That Council direct Administration to sign the resolution of interest for the PACE program on behalf of the Town of Hinton. This motion carried.

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 hearings.

Action Items

Protective Services (RCMP) Building Cross Connection - Presented by Dale Woloszyn

This item is before Council to approve the reallocation of $380,000 in the 2019 capital budget from the WTP project to the Protective Services Cross Connection project, allowing this project to proceed. The WTP transfer project would also continue to move forward in 2019 with the remaining budget with an adjusted scope of work, which would allow the Town to demonstrate their commitment to their obligations to West Fraser. In order to continue work on the WTP project in 2020, the $380,000 that was removed in 2019 would need to be added back into the 2020 capital budget. It was moved that Council approves the reallocation of $380,000 in the 2019 Capital budget, from the WTP Transfer Project to the Protective Services Building Cross Connection Elimination Project. 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. Affordable Housing Agreement (Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, RSA 2000, Chapter F-25, Sections 23 and 25)

Council returned from in camera to make the following motion: That Council proceed to enter into the Amendment Agreement - 2019 with Happy Creek Estates Ltd. for the development of 9 additional affordable housing units within an existing housing complex with the term/conditions as circulated and reviewed by Council in-camera. 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.

Councillor Race - What do we have in place, and what are other agencies in Town doing, to assist the homeless during extreme winter conditions, and moving forward what are we doing with homeless as a whole community?

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 none.

Information Items

Councillor Jo-Ann Race: Councillor Race informed Council of her attendance at a recent learning session regarding respectful workplaces, as well as an upcoming Waste Management meeting.

Councillor Dewly Nelson: Councillor Nelson had nothing to report.

Councillor Albert Ostashek: Councillor Ostashek had nothing to report.

Councillor Trevor Haas: Councillor Haas informed Council that the library board remains at the recruitment stage, with hopes to fill the manager vacancy in the near future. Haas also reminded residents of the imperative to help keep sidewalks clear of snow, particularly as potentially icy conditions develop.

Councillor Tyler Waugh: Councillor Waugh had nothing to report.

Mayor Marcel Michaels: Mayor Michaels informed Council of his attendance at the Prairie Wood Awards, where the PATH facility was nominated for an architectural award.

CAO Martin Taylor: CAO Taylor informed Council of his recent attendance at the annual Brownlee LLP Emerging Trends in Municipal Law Conference, saying he would like to bring more of Council and administration in future iterations of the event.

Town of Hinton Newsflash

Beaver Boardwalk Bridge Update and FAQ's

The Beaver Boardwalk Pedestrian Bridge is currently being installed, with temporary access anticipated complete before the end of the month and finalized ramp access to come once conditions in the area are suitable.

You can find more in Maxwell Lake Bridge Project Update 3, available here, or by reading the FAQ's on our website.

Hinton and Yellowhead County IDP Open House

Have your say! The Town and County are hosting a public open house (come-and-go format) to gather feedback from landowners, residents and stakeholders on the draft Intermunicipal Development Plan (IDP).

This feedback will be used by the project team to refine and finalize the future land use concept and policies.

Date: Tuesday, February 26, 2019

Time: 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.

Place: Government Centre Lobby

131 Civic Centre Rd., Hinton

Get Your Business or Animal License Online

The Town of Hinton has moved to a new digital payment system, and you can now conveniently apply for and purchase animal or business licenses online, 24/7!

Visit Hinton.ca/BusinessLicense to apply for a business license.

Visit Hinton.ca/Animals to apply for an animal license.

The license purchase system will not allow purchases through out-dated browsers, such as internet explorer.

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 March 5, 2019, at 4pm
in the Council Chambers.