Town Council Notes, May 13, 2013 meeting

Toni Lucas, Pincher Creek Voice

• Rezoning bylaw fails to pass second reading
• Multi Purpose Facility Steering Committee to move forward
• Kootenai Brown Pioneer Village gets additional funding from the Town
• Paperwork clean up continues
• Penalty date for unpaid current taxes may change in the future

Council for the Town of Pincher Creek met on the evening of May 13, 2013.  In attendance were Mayor Ernie Olsen, and Councillors Don Anderberg, Sahra Hancock, Lorne Jackson, and Murray Lauder.  CAO Laurie Wilgosh, Regional Planner Mike Burla and Finance Officer Wendy Catonio were also present.  Councillor Wayne Oliver was not in attendance.

Rezoning bylaw fails second reading
Approximately 20 people attended council for a Public Hearing regarding proposed Land Use Bylaw Amendment 1547-R .   Six of them asked to approach Council with their concerns.  The proposed amendment was to rezone 4 lots located along Livingstone Way between Sunshine Bay and Tumbleweed Avenue in a residential area located on the north hill of Pincher Creek from Residential - R1 to Multi-family residential - R4 to allow for the construction of multi-dwelling units instead of single homes.

All the people that spoke to council about this issue currently live in the area of the proposed re-zoning and were opposed to the development taking place.

Some of the concerns they raised included:

• Loss of property value for homes already purchased in the area 
• People have already bought in the area while it was designated R-1, expecting it to remain so
• Extra traffic creating stress on the single roadway in and out of the community
• Back alley parking density increasing
• A higher population density than what the area was designed to house affecting services
• Whether this change would invite a more transient population to this area of the community 
• The process that informed the public of the proposed changes and the process of notifying people about the public hearing

Later during the regular meeting during discussions prior to second reading of the proposed bylaw amendment Regional Planner Mike Burla spoke to the Council. "We've held a public hearing.  We are supposed to take on the information you need to make a decision there. After the public hearing is closed off we're not in a position to take on any additional information.  I would like this board to think as a judge.  If you make a testimony in the courts, and the judge hears more in the lobby once things are closed off, that's the end of it." said Burla.  "If this Bylaw is defeated, we'll have a six month cooling off period, and we'll have an opportunity to take on additional information at that time."

The six months wait time Burla referred to may be reduced to three months if bylaw 1596-12 is passed.  This bylaw went through first reading during this meeting of council.
 
The second reading was unanimously opposed by council.

Council Members Chair to be reviewed in June
Policy 113-13 is under review as part of the evaluation of policies and programs in accordance with the Municipal Government Act. This policy regulates and limits the roles of Council Members sitting as Chair of committee meetings.

"I think that having a restriction on Council members having chairs on the committees we are appointed to has a negative effect on our relationship with other municipalities that we are often in partnership with," said Councillor Sahra Hancock, who also said that there are committees that comprised of all council members that deal with regional issues.

The revised policy will be brought to the Committee of the Whole Meeting June 6, 2013 for review.

Multi Purpose Facility Steering Committee to move forward
The Multi Purpose Facility Steering Committee is going to move forward with three members from Town Council and one member from the Recreational Advisory Board. The Town wrote into the terms of reference for this committee that there be two positions for the MD of Pincher Creek.  The MD council  declined joining the committee at least until after the fall election.  The Town of Pincher Creek will continue to move forward with the committee and invite the MD to  join this committee after the elections in the fall of 2013, and before December 31, 2013.

Munix Insurance policy accepted
During the regular meeting of Town Council on April 22, 2013, the Munix Insurance Policy (which protects the Town and governing body) went under review.   Councillors Wayne Oliver and Don Anderberg had concerns over the wording in section 7 that reads:  'MUNIX Advisory Board's Discretion - A new clause confirms the Boards broad discretion.   The Advisory Board can consider any matter which in its sole and unfettered discretion is in MUNIX's best interests and the decision or determination is final and binding and not subject to challenge.  This new clause helps to ensure the Board has wide governance powers for MUNIX.'

Administration has been in contact with MUNIX and said that they were told that there is an  appeal process.

The Council moved to continue with the revised MUNIX policy.

Kootenai Brown Pioneer Village gets additional funding from the Town
Kootenai Brown Pioneer Village (KBPV) approached Town Council March 25, 2013 to request additional funding for the Visitor Information Center located there.  KBPV submitted two requests in September 2012 for Joint Funding:  one for the Visitor Information Center, and one for operation of the museum, for a total  request of $79,120.  Joint Council awarded a total of $50,000 late in 2012.

Council voted 3 - 2 to provide KBPV with an additional $12,500 as an addition to the amount that KBPV received from the 2013 Joint Council Funding budget.

Procedural Bylaw 1596-13 passes first reading
Procedural Bylaw 1596-13 passed first reading, being an amended version of Bylaw 1596-12.  Several council procedures are affected by the proposed amendment.  'Special Resolution' will be amended to require a majority assenting vote by Council for a resolution to pass.  Previously this bylaw required a majority assenting vote of 3/4 of Council.

Another change to this bylaw would mean that a delegation that had already been heard by council regarding an issue would be able to re-approach council with the same or similar issue in three months rather than six months, and would no longer require the unanimous consent of Council to do so, but would instead require only a majority vote by Council in attendance.

Paperwork consolidated for Bylaw 1562-06
Local Improvement Bylaw #1562-06 passed in February of 2006 authorized a local improvement tax for lands directly benefitting from the North Freebairn Local Improvement Project .  The amendment is to attach to the bylaw an agreement made in 2008 between the Town of Pincher Creek, CanAlta Real Estate Ltd., and CFP Hotels Ltd.   The attachment is to clarify how the local improvement tax has been allocated since January 2008.

"This is just a housekeeping measure to add a breakdown of the split that's being charged to CanAlta Real Estate and CFP," said CAO Laurie Wilgosh.

Paperwork clean up continues
Council voted to consolidate the 2012 balance in two reserve accounts into the 2013 capital expenditure budget for Pincher Creek Emergency Services. "These were reserve accounts that you identified as wanting to consolidate, so I'm going to just move them forward," said Finance Officer Wendy Catonio.  She explained that the money will still be allotted to the same departments, just added into the 2013 budgetary figures.

Cemetery Use Bylaw 1538-06-B passed
Cemetery Use Bylaw was given third and final reading.  Some of the changes to the bylaw  include a grave site location fee has been incorporated into the fee for a grave site.  A disinterment fee will be double that of an internment fee.  The bylaw was passed in third and final reading.

Town takes future Docs to Dinner
Rural Physician Action Plan put in a funding request to the Council for $1,500 for a reception dinner to be held May 25, 2013.  "Dr. Parker, when he was a medical student went to this event, held in Hinton," said Pincher Creek Associate Clinic Executive Director Jeff Brockmann.  "After attending this weekend in Hinton, he said 'Oh, I have to be a rural doctor.'  So the proof of the effectiveness of this is already in the pudding already."  Brockmann said that Pincher Creek is well known in the medical student community.  "This is to line things up for our community in the future."

There will be 50 medical students attending the event.  They will be learning medical skills, and learning about rural life.  Charlie Russell will be talking to the students, Health Services has arranged a birth simulator, STARS will be in attendance, and a mock car accident to test the students skills.

Council agreed to grant the money requested.

Global Youth Assembly funding request denied
The John Humphrey Centre for Peace and Human Rights requested that the Town sponsor a delegate for the 2013 Global Youth Assembly to be held in Edmonton August 7 - 10, 2013.  The request was denied.

Penalty date for unpaid current taxes may change in the future
Council voted to change the penalty date for unpaid current taxes from August 1 to July 1.  This change will be applied to July 1, 2014.  This will be brought back to Council August 26, 2013 for first reading.

In Camera
After the public meeting the Council went in camera to Land-Development delegation, Land-Town Hall building, Labor-Management position,  and Alberta Health Services-Contract negotiations.