The main purpose of these meetings is to review the upcoming Council Meeting agenda, and to discuss these topics and any other topics that are of interest and importance to our community members, and to consider what actions can / should be taken.
The meeting began just after 8:00pm.
There was discussion on agenda item 6a) and Ron briefly shared some details about what took place over the course of the fire.
Following this there was discussion on agenda item 6b) and what people felt was the most appropriate way to deal with all bills since the last Emergency Services Bylaw 10-22 was passed. Everyone agreed that Administration’s alternative 3 was the best course of action, being to “Cancel all fire invoices charged under Bylaw 10-22 and issue refunds to those that have paid their invoice”.
For some further context: there were 18 fire response calls, in which 13 invoices were issued, of which 3 invoices were paid. The total amount to be reimbursed and removed from revenue would be $$9,913. A further $141,703.76 would be removed from recorded revenue as this amount represents invoices that were recorded but payment was not received.
ACTION ITEM: Email Council members to tell them that you would like to see this alternative chosen. Email addresses are at the bottom of this recap.
Introductions of all attendees and a brief presentation of what VoTC is all about took place for all the new attendees.
There was then more discussion on the LUB project with some great ideas on how to get engagement and input. This will be discussed further at future meetings.
There was also some discussion on Thorhild SOS, and the value it would have. This will be discussed further at future meetings.
Times on future meetings was discussed, and beginning October 5th the meetings will start at 7:00pm. Further details to the October 19th meeting were also discussed. Anyone planning to attend that meeting can contact Carey or another VoTC member that attended September 21st to get the scoop.
Agenda item 7a) was discussed and an brief overview of the current Council Code of Conduct Bylaw took place. It was decided that at this point we will wait to hear at Tuesday’s meeting what Council has to say. More discussion took place on people’s thoughts on how different Council members conduct themselves currently, and whether this will still need to be addressed after hearing Council’s discussions on Tuesday.
ACTION ITEM: Read the current Council Code of Conduct Bylaw to familiarize yourself
Some discussion was had on agenda item 7b), and more important than the decision on how to deal with the November 28th Council Meeting was whether all Council members would be attending the 4-Day Federation of Alberta Gas Co-Ops Convention at the River Cree on that day. No one was able to reason why all members would have to attend this, but also couldn’t see why the regular Council Meeting would be affected if only one Councillor had to miss the meeting in order to attend the conference.
ACTION ITEM: Email Council members to ask if all members are planning to attend the 4-Day conference and if so, why? Sharing details of the costs would also be helpful if wanting to justify attendance. If the costs are very low this may be okay. i.e. one vehicle, no hotel costs, per diems, meals, etc.
There was a quick scroll through the financial report (agenda item 8a)). It was suggested not to put too much focus on specific projects and their budgeted costs, especially when actual is within budget, as these were already approved and done. It is more important to simply be aware of what is going on and be ready to pay more advance attention to future plans and projects.
More discussion on emergency services including fighting fires, accessing water, recruitment, paid vs voluntary positions, management of the department, examples of mismanagement, negligence, and incompetence.
More general discussion took place on recreation in our community, various available recreational activities, and where tax dollars are going. Discussion on what various organizations have historically done for fundraising, and how communities could get back to coming together to help provide recreation for our children.
Another meeting wrapped up with a lot of awesome dialogue, sharing of ideas, and upcoming plans. Thank you everyone for attending! We will see you all, and hopefully many new neighbours, at the next one!!
Council Contact Information:
All Council council@thorhildcounty.com
Reeve Pierce Division 3 joyce.pierce@thorhildcounty.com 780-271-8458
Deputy Reeve Zilinski Division 2 angela.zilinski@thorhildcounty.com 780-307-5846
Councillor Filipchuk Division 1 richard.filipchuk@thorhildcounty.com 780-656-0522
Councillor Paly Division 4 janine.paly@thorhildcounty.com 780-307-5978
Councillor Dafoe Division 5 trevor.dafoe@thorhildcounty.com 780-656-8165