Town Council notes from July 23, 2012 meeting

Toni Lucas, Pincher Creek Voice

Council for the Town of Pincher Creek met on the evening of July 23.  In attendance were Mayor Ernie Olsen, Councillors Sahra Hancock, Don Anderberg, Lorne Jackson, Wayne Oliver, Roy Smyth, and Murray Lauder.  Also in attendance were Director of Operations Al Roth, CAO Laurie Wilgosh, and Director of Community Services Diane Burt-Stuckey.

Three delegations made presentations at the meeting:

• The Pincher Creakers were looking for ice time for a 48 hour tournament.  Click here for the full story.
• The newly forming Senior Huskies  hockey team requested a reduction in cost for practice time.  Click here for the full story.
• The Golf Course was hoping for a donation that would go toward trees. Click here for the full story.  

Snow removal is the responsibility of the property owner

Barbara Doepke was in attendance at the meeting to hear Council's decision  on snow removal costs dating to 2009 for her property. These charges have been added to her 2011 tax bill.  According to Town administration records, Doepke had been made aware of her responsibility to clean the walk in front of her property at the time of a complaint from a citizen.  Doepke was also made aware at that time that charges for removing the obstructing and or hazardous snow and ice would be charged to  the resident/home owner if it was not removed in a timely fashion.

Doepke has received bills regarding this matter. According to CAO Laurie Wilgosh "The bill has been on the books since 2009.  Traffic bylaw allows for us to add it to the taxes, but it doesn't say at what point we have to add it to the taxes.  We were treating it as an opportunity for the resident to come forward and pay it.  Adding it to the taxes is a last resort, and there isn't a regulated time frame for it."

Councillor Don Anderberg wanted to know why contractors were called in for the job of this particular sidewalk cleaning.   Wilgosh explained that in many cases it has to do with the "time frame and workload of the town staff, and it's a common practice to call in a contractor in a situation like that."

Councillor Sahra Hancock suggested that a policy be developed on the timing and processing if billing has to resort to being added to taxes.

"Lots of sidewalks go unshoveled for a long length of time, and the individuals aren't charged," said Councillor Wayne Oliver.  He continued, "This is a highly visible location on Main Street, and someone made a complaint on it.  I would like to see a fair and equitable fashion for assessing fines."

The request for the Town of Pincher Creek to accept the snow removal and subsequent special assessment of the cost thereof levied for information purposes only was denied.

Liaison Officer position cancelled

The Liaison Officer position for the town of Pincher Creek for the summer of 2012 has been cancelled.  According to administration four persons applied for the job position, and two interviewed for the position.  Currently bylaw enforcement is increasing their level of prominence to address areas of concern.

Road to be re-opened

Council held the third and final reading regarding opening the road that previously closed due to bylaw 1239.  This road is a gravelled road that lies in a west east direction and attaches to the eastern side of the northern corner of Beverly McLachlin Drive. This request has been made by the same applicant that would like to put in an office on the property adjacent to the road allowance, and would like to remove existing buildings from the property.  the third and final reading was given, and the motion was carried.

Interest forgiven due to medical complications

A resident was late in paying their tax bill and interest fees were levied.  The family has always been prompt in paying any charges according to a letter written by the landowner's daughter.  Due to a medical condition the land owner did not attend to the taxes promptly.  The letter requested that the interest be waived.

The bill was paid within 15 days of the deadline.

Council agreed to drop the interest charge.

Heron Street to get anode bed

Alta Gas is looking to set up an magnesium anode bed on Heron Street to control  corrosion to an existing pipeline. A one time fee was brought up by Councillor Hancock.  Councillor Smyth agreed.

"Do these beds have a life, so at the end of the life they reclaim the land and take all this out?" asked Councillor Roy Smyth.

"They typically a life span, but they would typically replace it with another sacrificial anode so it protects the system," replied Councillor Oliver.

Director of Operations Al Roth was in attendance and clarified. "Within the next eight to ten years they would have to replace the anode bed itself.  Presently they were relying on a rectifier system, but because the link between the creek was disrupted they decided not to continue that process, because there was a higher cost in that.  I would have done the exact same thing and I do the exact same thing in our water distribution system.  I don't create rectifiers, because they cost more money.  Anode beds cost less money, but they do the same job."  Roth suggested that "I can discuss this, or Laurie and I can discuss this with our corporate services person, and he can forward that information to Alta Gas, and they can get back to you with whatever information that you guys want."

Councillor Anderberg made a motion that the matter be brought back to the next Committee of the Whole meeting, with investigation into a one time fee.  The motion carried.

Study to look into regionalizing Emergency Services

The Town of Pincher Creek will support the engagement of  EMS services through the services of Pamadon Resource Limited, MSC Consulting Limited and Kenneth Kendal Consulting to study the regionalization of emergency services and emergency management for the Town and  Municipal District of Pincher Creek.   All councillors were in favor of this motion.


Council acknowledges RCMP concerns

The council for the the Town of Pincher Creek acknowledged that substance abuse, boredom, loitering, and traffic safety are the community priority issues and form part of the 2012 - 2013 performance plan for the Town of Pincher Creek RCMP detachment.

Councillor Smyth added that he would like to see something added regarding traffic noise.  CAO Wilgosh said the RCMP considered that to be a traffic safety issue.

Hunter Street to be paved

The Town of Pincher Creek has authorized administration to pursue a contract with McNally Contractors Limited for asphalt paving services of Hunter street in the amount of $271, 251.75 including GST.

Job Fair gets $7,500 in funding from the Town of Pincher Creek

The overall job fair is estimated at $21,300.  An Alberta Works grant will cover $10,000, the M.D. of Pincher Creek #9 will cover $3,600, booth rentals of seven booths at $300 a booth will cover $2,100 and the Town of Pincher Creek share should be $5,600 but an allowance was made based on the variable of how many actual booth rentals happen.

Click here for more about this story.

Bylaw officers to monitor weed control compliance

The Council appointed bylaw officers Gord Pitt and Nigel Whitington to monitor and enforce compliance with the weed control act.  They will be acting with the help of the Southern Alberta Weed Coordinator Partnership (SAWC).  SAWC will not be charging for their help for the year of 2012.

"This year, they (SAWC) have offered their services for free." said CAO Wilgosh.  In the future they will be charging for their services, with a membership fee of approximately $2,000 for the year of 2013.

Wilgosh explained that the SAWC can advise on fine structures, and educate those that are appointed to work with them.