Notes from Council, August 2025
Dear Residents & Ratepayers,
Harvest is underway while the County’s road crews have been working steadily to improve road conditions. After an extraordinary amount of moisture this summer, road maintenance fell behind in some areas and additional gravel is required in others. While we appreciate those who have exercised a great deal of patience waiting for road maintenance, please continue to reach out to me with specific issues that require resolution. This will allow me the opportunity to follow up as we go forward.
There was one regular meeting of Council in August where preliminary consideration was given to a highway parking bylaw. This was brought forward after it was realized that signs had been placed along a Mossleigh service road instructing trucks not to park overnight. After concerns were raised by certain stakeholders, Council is now looking at specific bylaw parameters for parking restrictions that can be applied on a case-by-case basis, suiting the specific needs of different areas in the County. Like most small communities, residential areas often abut higher traffic commercial districts. Navigating the concerns of residents as they are impacted by commercial vehicles is not always easy, especially when certain businesses are impacted by rules that could be overly restrictive. I am hopeful that consultation with residents and businesses will result in a more conciliatory outcome for all stakeholders in Mossleigh, allowing administration to follow clearly established guidelines when restricting longer-term parking for commercial vehicles. That said, there is a need for identifiable rest stops in Vulcan County and this could require some forward thinking on behalf of the municipality.
Also at this meeting, two referrals from the Natural Resource Conservation Board (NRCB) regarding Confined Feeding Operations (CFO) were discussed; another area where different types of development seek to navigate how they will co-exist. In one case, the proposal seeks to recognize a year-round CFO that exists within an exclusion zone around the Village of Arrowwood. This exclusion zone allows existing operations to “expand in accordance with the requirements of the Agricultural Operation Practices Act and Regulations” (p.10 Vulcan County & Arrowwood IDP). As IDPs are reviewed in the coming years with ALL villages, given that the province requires adjacent municipalities to renew their Intermunicipal Collaborative Frameworks every five years (of which the IDP is one part), local municipal councillors will be interested in how the NRCB chooses to handle these specific cases, especially how the NRCB interpreted the IDP with specific comments provided by the municipalities.
The Municipal Development Plan Committee met for the final time on August 26th to provide editorial guidance prior to publication. The final document should be out within a month for those who are interested.
In closing, as mentioned previously, municipal elections will occur in Alberta this October. This means that Nomination Day for those seeking to run for municipal council is September 22nd, with any election being held on October 20th. To be precise, nomination papers must be received by the Returning Officer before 12 PM (Noon) on Nomination Day. Participation in a municipal election—both to run as a candidate and to vote—is based on residency and not ownership of property. Information is available online and, while I have chosen to seek another term on County Council, I am happy to discuss the municipal election with anyone who is interested in serving their community in this capacity.
Sincerely,
Christopher Northcott