The following information is to provide a summary of County activities for November 2018. Further explanations or details can be obtained by contacting the County Administration Office at 403.882.3211.

PUBLIC SURVEY

Council extends an invitation for you, the ratepayer, to take part in a public survey. As Council gets into budget planning, they want to hear from the ratepayers what they think of the services in Paintearth County.

County Councillors and staff will be hand delivering the survey to homes and businesses in Paintearth in each division over the next two weeks. Please take the time to fill out the survey - it’s only a few minutes of your time, but will help Council make decisions that are important to the lives of everyone in the County.

We ask you to complete this survey and mail it back using the pre-paid envelope provided by December 14th so the staff can process the results anonymously. Council will release a summary of what we heard from you when the surveys have been reviewed.

Thank you for your time, and we look forward to hearing from you.

Bylaw 670-18 - Road Allowance Closure SW 3-38-9 W4 - MOVED by Councillor Elliott first reading of Bylaw 670-18 for the Road Allowance Closure of the portion lying adjacent to the south boundary of the SW quarter of 3-38-9 W4.

Bylaw 671-18 - Penalties on Non-payment of Taxes - Bylaw 671-18 to provide for penalties on current and arrears of property taxes was given first to third and final reading.

RFD: Municipal Funding Request from the Battle River Watershed Alliance – MOVED by Councillor Glazier to approve the Municipal Funding Request from the Battle River Watershed Alliance in the amount of $857.63.

Valley Ski Hill Strategic Business Case - MOVED by Councillor Glazier to receive the Valley Ski Hill Strategic Business Case report by RC Strategies as information.

Request - Donation to Waste Connections Christmas Promise - MOVED by Councillor Wiart the County donate $250.00 to support Waste Connections Canada in providing bikes for children in need within our region.

County Christmas Hours - MOVED by Councillor Hewitt that in addition to the regular Christmas Hours the County Administration Office be closed to the public at 12 noon on December 31, 2018 in order for staff to complete the required year end roll overs.

Collective Agreement with Local Union 955 - MOVED by Councillor Hewitt that the Memorandum of Agreement for January 1, 2019 to December 31, 2021 between the County of Paintearth No. 18 and the International Union of Operating Engineers, Local Union No. 955 be ratified as presented.

Request for Signage - C & K Brearley - MOVED by Councillor Norton the County install School Bus signs at the residence location on SE 22-37-11 W4.

2019 Health and Wellness Spending Account - MOVED by Councillor Norton to award all non-union staff with a $250.00 increase to their health and wellness spending accounts for a total of $750.00 as per the Union Agreement.

Doctor’s House/Locum Rental House - MOVED by Councillor Wiart  to approve the proposed Doctor’s House/Locum Rental House 2019 Budget in Castor.

Endeavor Chartered Professional Accountants - MOVED by Councillor Blumhagen to accept the Auditor’s Management Letter from Endeavor Chartered Professional Accounts for the County of Paintearth No. 18 fiscal year ending December 31, 2018.

Upcoming Meetings - Council Meetings - December 11, 2018, January 15, 2019, February 5, 2019 and February 20, 2019 (Wednesday) commencing at 9:00 a.m. and are always open to the public. Delegations are always welcome. To request a time allotment, please call the office of the CAO. All requests must clearly identify the reason or purpose of the appointment and follow the guidelines as per Section 20 - Delegations of the County’s Procedure Bylaw 660-18.

DEVELOPMENT OFFICER’S DESK

Todd Pawsey

Subdivisions in the County - some basic info for anyone considering creating acreage, or separating out the farmstead into one… Please allow for up to 4-5 months as the process takes a lot of time in circulating notices, getting and consolidating feedback, preparing the report and then getting into the MPC meeting schedule.

Afterwards there are appeal timelines, survey and confirmation timelines, and finally Land Titles office timelines....all chew up 4 months quite easily.  For anyone contemplating this it is advised to contact myself so we can assist with aerial photos, County/Provincial land use requirements, the application form and then dealing with Palliser Regional Municipal Services, our planning consultant for all subdivision applications. Normal cost is about $1,300.00 plus cost of surveying the lands involved.

Now is also a great time to consider any spring developments requiring permits – better to have them done ahead and then the other required Provincial permits and their related processes all take time as well.  Our Dev Permits are good up to one year to start construction and we can generally turn them around inside of a month depending on appeal status or if a permitted use those can be done within a week usually.  Again, to ensure a smooth process it is beneficial to call in prior to undertaking to get all required information on hand that pertains to your project.  And we still get calls that love to hear that developments involving Agricultural Buildings meeting our setback requirements are exempt from the Development Permit process as well as the Building Permit requirements, however they may still require Electrical and Gas if so equipped.   Just a heads up as we head into the spring season and planning new constructions for the farm!   Have a great holiday season!

DIRECTOR OF EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT DESK

Todd Pawsey

For those residents that have not yet completed, or perhaps discarded their Farm Emergency Planning Questionnaire – the County would like to request that all residents complete one and send into the County for inclusion onto your residence’s GIS location. A recent article from the Los Angeles Times indicated that the evacuation of Paradise CA in the wake of impending fire that destroyed the entire town could have gone better and prevented loss of lives had more residents registered their phone numbers with the emergency services.  A number of losses were attributed to residents who did not get any warning of the impending fire and evacuation order.  The County hopes to never use the information collected, but in the event of a major disaster threatening your home and family, why would you not want to be notified? The Questionnaire is available on the County Website or at the County Office.

FROM THE BYLAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICE

Colm Fitz-Gerald, Community Peace Officer

Well Christmas and the Holiday Season are with us once again. We all get ready for family and friends to enjoy this with good food, good times and reflection. This is also a time we leave our vehicles running, have gifts in unsecured vehicles and always seem to be in a hurry. There are people who notice that and are just waiting for that easy moment to take your STUFF!!! So as we are trying to remember to get everything done for the holidays PLEASE remember to secure your vehicle and the belongings inside!!!

Also, and this is kind of a biggie..DON”T DRINK AND DRIVE!!!! Enjoy the festivities of the season and enjoy getting home to be with family and friends. Don’t be the cause of a lousy season for yourself or someone else.

Paintearth Regional Waste Management Ltd.

Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.      Michael Yakielashek, Supervisor

Transfer Station Closure

The Halkirk, Castor and Coronation Transfer Stations will be Closed on:

Boxing Day

Wednesday, December 26th, 2018

Empty Oil Jugs and Pails:

A lot of empty oil jugs and pails are being placed in the regular garbage bins. At Castor and Coronation the jugs and pails can be recycled. Please ask the Attendant where they can be placed for recycling instead of going into the garbage bins.

Recycling Frustration:

We see so many recyclable materials being placed in garbage bins. All types of materials from recyclable beverage containers, cardboard, plastics and metals in most cases can be recycled. If you are not sure what can be recycled please ask the Attendant on site or visit the County of Paintearth No. 18 webpage and under Paintearth Regional Waste Management Ltd. look under Accepted Waste and Where You Can Take them. Please take the time to do a better job of recycling by taking some time to sort and place materials in their proper placed. Thank you.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

The Board of Directors and staff wish everyone a Merry Christmas and all the best for Health and Happiness in 2019.

COUNTY’S HOLIDAY HOURS

The County Administration Office and the Public Works Shop will be CLOSED on the following statutory holidays for the Holiday Season:

MONDAY, DECEMBER 24 - WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 26, 2018 and TUESDAY, JANUARY 1, 2019

PLEASE NOTE: The County is requesting and appreciative to have all your year-end payments in prior to 12:00 noon on December 31, 2018 as the County Administration Office will be closed to the public in order for staff to complete yearend roll overs

From all us at the County to all of you a Very Merry Christmas and a Fruitful New Year!!!