Notes from Council, June 2025
Dear Residents & Ratepayers,
Kelly Nelson and I once again rode in the Vulcan Spock days Parade on June 14th. Weather was perfect and many came out to watch along the streets of Vulcan. Like other parades in our region, this is a fun opportunity to represent Vulcan County at a community event and Councillor Nelson ensured that we were well-stocked with candy for paradegoers. The Town of Vulcan does a fine job of keeping it all organized.
At the June 4th council meeting there was a delegation that spoke in opposition to the Land Use Bylaw restriction that prohibits manufactured homes older than 1985. While the intention behind this restriction is to raise the overall standard of development in Vulcan County, there is concern that affordable and majorly renovated homes are being unnecessarily denied an approval for a development permit. I am interested to know what people think of this restriction and hear how it impacts their situation.
At this same meeting, we set-up and then approved the fee schedule for the Nuisance Appeal Committee. This will provide an avenue for residents and ratepayers to appeal nuisance bylaw infractions that they have incurred. Additionally, we agreed to a joint election agreement with Palliser School Division, allowing County staff to run the school trustee election simultaneously with the municipal election this Fall. Finally, we approved the purchase of a security system for regionalized fire halls to better prevent against break and enters, or the theft of very valuable fire protection vehicles and other assets. Hopefully this deters future problems from occurring!
The second meeting of County Council on June 18th gave First Reading to two rezoning applications, one near the hamlet of Brant and the other near the Village of Milo. While the first is for a grouped residential development, the second was for a future storage facility. A public hearing will be offered for these applications once the notification period has passed.
Also at the second meeting, County Council approved a loan bylaw for the Lomond Agricultural Society should a loan be required for finishing the Lomond Community Centre. As many of you know, this project has been at a standstill for some time. Should grant funding be received by the Society, it may be possible for the Society to work towards having a useable facility once again in the Lomond Community. There could also be a contribution from the recreation reserve that is held for the Lomond District.
After three and half years on council, I took the final course in the Municipal Elected Officials Training program. These courses cover a range of topics and this one focussed on regional partnerships and collaboration. After speaking with councillors from other areas, I think we are fortunate to have the successful partnerships and intermunicipal collaboration that we do in our part of the province. If one thing is clear, it is that constructive and collaborative relationships between municipalities requires regular effort and clear lines of communication.
This has been a busy month for the Oldman River Regional Services Commission in a few ways. While we are working towards a new service agreement for member municipalities, we are also actively searching for a new Chief Administrative Officer. As the Chair of the Board and the Executive Committee, I get to participate in most meetings on these initiatives.
On June 19th, I sat on a development permit appeal hearing as a member of the Chinook Subdivision and Development Appeal Board. A decision on this appeal is soon forthcoming.
Sincerely,
Christopher Northcott