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 before 5:00pm, following a delicious dinner and visit. Thank you to everyone who contributed!
Due to all the new faces present, introductions took place with a brief reiteration of what we are all trying to achieve – Build our community and stay informed, engaged, and empowered on everything going on with our Municipal government.
Everyone was solicited for their feedback on the day and time for meetings. Everyone agreed that Thursdays before the Council Meeting at 7pm, Egremont Hall, is still a good time and venue to hold them.
We collectively went through almost all agenda items at a high level.
A lot of discussion took place on agenda item 7b) (Review of Municipal Emergency Management Plan), and whether there is excessive power provided to the Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) who isn’t elected. Everyone is encouraged to research and come to their own decision on the matter. It was expressed that Council should also review the plan with that caution in mind.
ACTION ITEM: Review both the Municipal Emergency Management Plan here and the Emergency Management Bylaw here, and determine if you are comfortable with the level of power given to the unelected CAO. Any concerns should be directed to your councillor, whose contact information is at the end of this recap.
Also of value to research is the Alberta Emergency Management Agency, who you can learn more about here.
There was discussion related to agenda item 7c) (Increase 2023 Budget for Ski Hill Wages and Benefits) which again led to more focused discussion on the County’s responsibility to operate the ski hill versus private industry.
Discussion on agenda item 7f) (Coffee with Council January 2024) and those in attendance still believe that holding the meeting in the evening provides more opportunity for those community members that work to be able to attend.
ACTION ITEM: Stay tuned for confirmed date, time, and venue for the next Coffee with Council, and make sure to mark your calendar to attend. Also attend the next Community meeting to share your thoughts on key topics that should be brought up at the next Coffee with Council.
A short run-through of agenda item 8a) (Financial Report to October 31, 2023) took place with a bit of discussion on some of the projects.
Agenda item 12d) (Complaint to Ombudsman re: Thorhild County #23-03132) was discussed and representatives of the club shared historical details of the actions leading up to the complaint. It appears the role of the Ombudsman is more to assess if there was any error or failure in process by Council and/or Administration, not whether a decision was fair. Other community members expressed their desire to help show support for the club in their next steps related to the County’s actions against it and Council’s decision regarding remuneration.
ACTION ITEM: Review the result of the Ombudsman’s decision here, and stay tuned for the club’s next steps and how you can show your support if you feel that they were unfairly treated.
The idea of a private/independent school in Thorhild County was discussed at a high level, as well as other steps that organizations are currently taking in the province to help regain control of the public school system. Although many are hopeful that the new Provincial Government will help to initiate change, it is not a bad idea to get information from organizations that give guidance and direction to Alberta communities on establishing independent schools. It was decided that there would be value in doing a poll to see what others in Thorhild County think.
ACTION ITEM: Anyone interested in drafting a poll / survey to collect information on this topic, please email info@voiceofthorhildcounty.com, or connect via Voice of Thorhild County facebook and we will get the poll on both platforms.
As usual, more discussion took place on seeking involvement by more community members, including getting more people to post / share feedback, meeting discussions, etc. And thank you to everyone who has already purchased signs! We are sold out again so more will be ordered. If you are interested in ordering one, please email info@voiceofthorhildcounty.com, or advise through the fb page.
The most important ongoing item of discussion was discussed tonight and will be at all meetings. That is: finding candidates from each division for the next election. The main piece that was discussed at this meeting was that as we all seek to find potential candidates, having competition would be very important.
ACTION ITEM: Start meeting more neighbours and be cognizant of any and all candidate possibilities. Get the word out and find nominees.
Once again there was great dialogue, and although many of the regular dedicated community members were unable to attend this time, it was still a great turnout and to see more new faces was awesome.
ACTION ITEM: Everyone – keep bringing more people out!
Council Contact Information:
All Council council@thorhildcounty.com
Reeve Paly Division 4 janine.paly@thorhildcounty.com 780-307-5978
Deputy Reeve Zilinski Division 2 angela.zilinski@thorhildcounty.com 780-307-5846
Councillor Filipchuk Division 1 richard.filipchuk@thorhildcounty.com 780-656-0522
Councillor Pierce Division 3 joyce.pierce@thorhildcounty.com 780-271-8458
Councillor Dafoe Division 5 trevor.dafoe@thorhildcounty.com 780-656-8165