Category: Notes from Council

Dear Residents & Ratepayers,

We had two public delegations at our first meeting in April. STARS Air Ambulance pays us an annual visit and the County is a paying contributor to this service, as it is for HALO Air Ambulance. Successive Councils have long recognized how important emergency airlift is to saving lives in our region. Communities hosting special events this summer can register a unique Site ID with STARS for a moderate fee, making access to this service more streamlined should it be required. The STARS Emergency Link Centre, dispatching all emergency airlift ambulances in Alberta, responds to 36,000 requests per year.

Dear Residents & Ratepayers,

Our regular meeting on March 13^th was only a half-day, however, a few important items were covered off. Council reviewed the year end transfers to reserves totalling just over $2 million dollars. The County has a projected unrestricted surplus of $900,534.00 and a restricted surplus (being allocated to offset a capital asset liability) of $51,987,627. Please keep in mind that Vulcan County’s projected equity in Tangible Capital Assets is $107,162,173.00.

The contract renewal with the County’s property assessment provider was also reviewed and approved. Benchmark Assessment provides assessment services to all municipalities in Vulcan County and has a comprehensive understanding of our region. The new contract runs from 2025 to 2030, with a starting cost of $182,000 the first year and increasing $4,000 for every year thereafter.

Dear Residents & Ratepayers,

              Two appointments were made in February to the Chinook Subdivision and Development Appeal Board (SDAB). Iuliana Morar from the Champion Community and Mike Collins from the Milo Community put their name forward. Both individuals possess unique backgrounds that should lend itself well to this type of appointment. Once they have completed their one-day training they will be able to sit on hearings across the region for member-municipalities of the Chinook SDAB. Under the legislation, non-elected members are in higher demand since only one elected member (which I am) is allowed to sit on any hearing regardless of whether the elected official is from the jurisdiction having the appeal. As such, I thank Ms. Morar and Mr. Collins for their willingness to serve the wider region in this capacity.

Dear Residents & Ratepayers,

I want to thank Kathy Perley for her dedicated efforts to publish the Champion Chronicle every month. I understand there are some changes occurring over the next little while and details will be worked out soon. With any luck, publication of the Chronicle will not be interrupted. However, for those who are interested, Notes from Council is also published directly on the blog of my website, www.christophernorthcott.com, and I will continue to provide this write-up every month. Councillors Nelson, Logan and Lyckman also do a write-up for the community newsletter in Milo, Lomond and Carmangay respectively. We have also been doing Councillor Reports at one of our regular meetings every month and these reports can be found in the online agenda package.

Dear Residents & Ratepayers,

I hope everyone has had an enjoyable Christmas with family and friends. This has been a challenging year for many, and the close of a year is an opportunity to reflect and to prioritise what is important.

The Interim 2024 Operating Budget and Capital Plans were approved at the December 6^th meeting of Council. Also at this meeting, a delegation from Alberta Health Services provided an update on operating plans for 2023/2024, as well as reforms that are being implemented to reduce emergency room wait times and improve ambulance response times in rural Alberta. Consideration was also provided on overall patient access, be it for surgery or other services.

Dear Residents & Ratepayers,

This has been a very busy month for County Council between two regular meetings, the Rural Municipalities of Alberta (RMA) Fall convention, as well as two days of budget committee meetings. A 2024 Interim Budget has been referred to County Council for approval, however, the actual tax implications will not be known until after the December 31^st, 2023, taxable assessment has been received prior to budget finalization next Spring.

Council enjoyed a very good dialogue with local MLA Joseph Schow when he attended our November 1^st meeting, virtually. Some of the conversations we had with him carried over to the meetings that were had with government ministers during the RMA Convention. There remains significant concern regarding the impact of drought conditions on coverage rates for crop insurance in future years. There remains significant concern over the impact of provincial quasi-judicial boards in providing large-scale development approvals (i.e. renewable energy installations, confined feeding operations, etc.). There also remains significant concern over the need, timing, and scope of upgrades to Highway 547 at the North end of Vulcan County.