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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2010-05-13 Annual General Meeting (Annual General) MinutesCOUNTY OF NEWELL No. 4 MINUTES OF ANNUAL MEETING MAY 13,20 1 O The 2009 Annual Meeting of the County of Newell No. 4 was held at the Heritage Inn on Thursday, May 13, 2010 commencing at 7:09 p.m. MEMBERS PRESENT: M. Douglass, Reeve I. Schroeder A.M. Philipsen J. Harbinson S. Evans A. Eastman B. de Jong H. Wutzke OTHERS PRESENT: R. Havinga, Newell Regional Services Corp. P. Brouwer, MPE Engineering Ltd. S. Bushnell, Barr Ryder Architects & Interior Designers J. Carey, Barr Ryder Architects & Interior Designers S. Stanway, Brooks Bulletin P. Grigaitis, Brooks & County Chronicle M. Fitzgerald, Q-13 Fox Radio J. Petrie, Q-13 Fox Radio 23 Ratepayers STAFF PRESENT: K. Stephenson, Chief Administrative Officer L. Johnson, Assistant Administrator M. Harbicht, Superintendent of Public Works T. Green, Agricultural Fieldman G. Tiffin, Manager of Network Services S. Christensen, Corporate Safety Services Supervisor R. Dumonceau, Operations Manager B. Penner, Technical Manager A. Wickert, Development Control Officer D. Horvath, County Planner - ORRSC D. Crapo, Information Technologist J. Hofer, Manager of GIS R. Miller, GIS/GPS Analyst M. Nesbitt, Grant Administrator S. Hanson, Accounting Supervisor A. Nielsen, Executive Assistant R. Berkeley, Grader Operator (Div. 1) K. Bartlett, Grader Operator (Div. 8) 23 ratepayers and media were in attendance for the 2009 Annual Meeting of the County of Newell No. 4. Reeve M. Douglass called the meeting to order at 7:09 p.m. Welcome & Introductions The Reeve welcomed everyone to the meeting and introduced the Councillors, staff, and ratepayers seated at each of the tables. 2. Approval of the Minutes of the 2008 Annual Meeting MOVED BY Councillor A.M. PHILIPSEN that the 2008 Annual Meeting minutes be adopted as presented. MOTION CARRIED 3. Presentation of 2009 Year End Audited Financial Statements The Chief Administrative Officer presented the 2009 Year End Audited Financial Statements and gave an overview of the major changes. He gave an explanation of the new Tangible Capital Assets reporting requirements, indicating that the major difference in assets occurred as a result of these. He offered thanks to all the staff who were involved in completing the Tangible Capital Assets project. The Regional Water project is also responsible for increases in assets and expenses. Annual General Meetinq 2009 A summary of the 2010 budget was presented, and it was noted that it had decreased slightly from the previous year. The Chief Administrative Officer indicated that most of the budget is dedicated to projects and capital assets, including road work, the Regional Water System, hamlet sewer and drainage systems, and the new County of Newell facilities. Presentations on several of these projects will be made later during the meeting. The Chief Administrative Officer presented figures comparing the County to neighbouring counties and municipal districts of a similar size in areas such as mill rate, staffing, and overall budget. He indicated that the County is operating as efficiently as possible with the available staff. Sessions have been held that were focused on streamlining for efficiency and long term planning. In closing, the Chief Administrative Officer thanked Council for their direction and guidance and expressed appreciation to the staff. 4. Presentations a. Newell Regional Services Corporation & Regional Water Project R. Havinga gave an overview of the Newell Regional Services Corporation (NRSC), indicating that they are a municipally controlled corporation and must operate according to the Municipal Government Act. He presented details of the projects that have been completed to date, which include providing the Village of Tilley with water from the City of Brooks and the completion of the raw water pipeline from Lake Newell to the water treatment plant. He gave an update on the line being constructed from Lake Newell Resort to Rolling Hills, including connections to Rainier and Scandia, indicating that Brooks Asphalt & Aggregate will be completing that project. As well, Brooks Asphalt & Aggregate has been awarded the contract for the installation of the pipeline that will connect Rosemary and Patricia with the future possibility of connecting Bassano. The fourth contract, which will see the line extended from 12th Street West in Brooks to Rosemary and Patricia, has been awarded to a company from Medicine Hat and is expected to be completed in December 2010. He gave an overview of upgrades and renovations to the water treatment plants and the internal activities of NRSC, indicating that the Board of Directors is currently working on establishing water rates for customers. R. Havinga opened the floor to questions. L. Pye-Matheson asked if ratepayers would be consulted before being hooked up to the water lines that will be installed in the future. R. Havinga replied that people interested in tying onto the water lines should contact him. NRSC will address how to connect additional users in the fall. T Marr -Laing inquired about the policies that would be established and if the overall vision for the regional water system included giving all the ability to connect to it. R. Havinga replied that some policies have been developed as part of the process and, with the project scheduled for completion at the end of 2010, they will have an idea of how to proceed for the future. 2 Annual General Meeting 2009 J. Hofer asked about the completion date for the project. R. Havinga replied that the contract is supposed to be completed by the end of 2010, but that is dependent on several factors, such as weather and other influences. The water treatment plants in Rosemary and Patricia must be renovated before water will be distributed there, and testing must also occur. The entire line must be completed before others can hook on. R. Havinga responded to a question regarding billing, indicating that the Board is currently discussing how to accomplish this. Currently, they will be billing the individual municipalities as a bulk meter into their systems. He indicated that in the future, once everyone is connected, there may be individual meters and NRSC will be doing the billing. T. Marr -Laing asked about the priorities for the pipeline yet to be built and how these are determined. R. Havinga replied that there are 4 or 5 areas containing concentrated groups of people and whether or not funding is available will determine the cost to the landowner. b. Rural Distribution & Regional Water Project P. Brouwer presented background information on the project, indicating that they were hired to investigate the cost to provide potable water to all rural users along the regional water pipeline. He explained that a `trickle' system was investigated, which would provide 500 Imperial Gallons per day to a total of 2,236 units within the County. He gave an overview of the costs involved, indicating that they do not take into account any potential grant funding and there is no allowance for land costs. A map was displayed which showed the County broken into five areas and a cost was outlined for each area. The entire project will cost approximately $48.34 million dollars. If no funding is received, the cost to each individual would be approximately $21,600.00. In conclusion, P. Brouwer indicated that the 'trickle' system would be a viable solution and that federal funding would be investigated to cover up to 75% of the project. P. Brouwer opened the floor to questions. J. Hofer inquired about receiving more than 500 Imperial Gallons per day. P. Brouwer indicated that there is no extra capacity in the pipelines, but there may be extra capacity available depending on the area. L. Marr -Laing asked how the units would be applied within small communities like mobile home parks. P. Brouwer replied that this would go back to the board as each home in a small community would not likely require one unit each. L. Marr - Laing asked if the 2,236 units included all homes, or if a mobile home park is considered one unit. P. Brouwer replied that mobile homes were considered separate units. L. Lyzenga asked about the monthly cost of operating the system and what the monthly cost to the ratepayer would be. P. Brouwer indicated that the cost would depend on funding received. The portion not covered by funding will become part of a debenture cost, which will be included in the water rate. R. Havinga indicated that the NRSC Board members are currently reviewing the numbers Annual General Meetinq 2009 and a water rate for 2011 will be established based on operating and future maintenance costs. L. Pye-Matheson inquired about rates and R. Havinga replied that NRSC is a municipally controlled company and all municipalities and hamlets have representation on the Board and all will be involved in setting the water rates. C. New Facilities S. Bushnell land J. Carey of Barr Ryder Architects & Interior Designers presented an overview of the new County Facilities project, which will see the Administration, Public Works, and Agricultural Services departments combined in one facility located south of the new arena. J. Carey presented the final concept design site plans, noting that there are actually two separate buildings connected with a permanent link in order to be cost effective. Electrical, mechanical, and other infrastructure will be shared between the two buildings through this link. He indicated that their goal is to come in under the budget of $12.9 million. S. Bushnell displayed renderings of the building exterior and interior, indicating that the building materials will reflect permanence and a sense of welcome as well as being sustainable, durable, and energy efficient. J. Carey gave a project update, indicating that they are currently beginning work on the detailed construction drawings and hope to be able to tender by the end of June and break ground by August. J. Carey opened the floor to questions. A ratepayer in attendance inquired about room for future expansion and the provisions included for fire protection. J. Carey explained that, by code, there are two distinct buildings and the separation between the two is the minimum distance allowed to not require a firewall. Both buildings are also fully alarmed with sprinkler systems, and the critical records storage will be protected by a two or four hour dry fire suppression system. Regarding expansion, the public works shop can extend to the east and the administration section can extend to the southeast. In the current plan, there are open spaces and unassigned offices to accommodate expansion for 10-15 years in the future. C. Amulung asked if other costs had been factored in, such as landscaping and moving costs, and if the old facilities would be sold. J. Carey replied that the $12.9 million is for two fully finished buildings, not including furnishings. An estimated $1.2 million will be required for yard work, paving, and fencing. The Chief Administrative Officer indicated that the current facilities were appraised at $4.2 million and that there has been interest from potential buyers and that the landscaping and relocation can be done internally. Refreshment Break The meeting RECESSED at 8:15 p.m. and RECONVENED at 8:25 p.m. Annual General Meetinq 2009 A 7 Question & Answer Period Reeve M. Douglass opened the floor for general discussion. V. Parker asked about what was planned for the sewage and effluent systems, as the focus seems to be more on the Regional Water System. The Chief Administrative Officer replied that all sewer systems are included in a long term plan. This year, the Scandia sewer system will be upgraded and the County is currently in the process of securing land surrounding the hamlets for future effluent broadcast and facility expansions. The sewer system in Patricia will also be upgraded to a two -cell lagoon. V. Parker expressed concerns with two spills that have occurred in the past year. R. Havinga commented on operations, as Newell Regional Services Corporation has taken over operations of the wastewater collection system and indicated that spraying is being done by wheel move. He indicated that Scandia is the current focus, and that the suggestions brought forward by V. Parker have been discussed. Reeve M. Douglass noted that the County is investigating methods for improve all systems and requested to speak with V. Parker following the meeting to discuss his concerns. A ratepayer asked how the regional water system would impact taxes. Councillor H. Wutzke replied that assessment is not likely to increase as a result of the regional water system. Round Table Discussions As there were no further general ratepayers with individual questions available to get further information. Adiourn questions, Reeve M. Douglass encouraged any to visit with the various staff and/or Councillors Reeve M. Douglass adjourned the meeting at 8:37 p.m. CHAIRMAN S1r7TARY