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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2026-04-20 Committee of the Whole (Regular) MinutesCOUNTY OF NEWELL Meeting Minutes Committee of the Whole April 20, 2026 The Committee of the Whole Meeting of the County of Newell was held in the County Office in Council Chambers on Monday, April 20, 2026 commencing at 9:00 a.m. Notice was posted at the front entrance advising the public of the meeting. CHAIR: D. Baumgarten COUNCILLORS: A. Skanderup L. Kopp H. Johnson G. Skriver K. Christman N.Johnson B. Hofer A. Doerksen STAFF: M. Fenske, ChiefAdministrative Officer L. Johnson, Director of Corporate Services K. Halsted, SeniorAssessor S. Biette, Corporate Seroices Superoisor M. Harbicht, Director of Municipal Seroices G. Tiffin, Manager of Planning, Development and Engineering Services M. Jackson, Planning and Development Supervisor A. Nielsen, ExecutiveAssistant 1. CALL TO ORDER Councillor D. Baumgarten called the meeting to order at 9:00 a.m. 2. EXCUSED FROM MEETING All members were in attendance at this meeting. 3. ADOPTION OF MINUTES 3.1 Minutes - Committee of the Whole (January 29, 2026) W-06/26 MOVED BY COUNCILLOR KELLY CHRISTMAN that the Council Meeting minutes be adopted as presented. MOTION CARRIED 4. ADOPTION OF AGENDA W-07/26 MOVED BY COUNCILLOR ARNO DOERKSEN that the agenda be adopted as presented. MOTION CARRIED Committee of the Whole April 20, 2026 7. DELEGATIONS 7.1 Assessment of Property in Alberta - K. Halsted, SeniorAssessor The Senior Assessor provided an overview of how property is assessed in Alberta. He provided examples of exemptions for farmland and farm buildings and how the assessment is calculated for split usage operations. The provincial assessor is responsible for assessment of linear, machinery and equipment, and railway. Farmland is assessed by the municipal assessor with guidance from the provincial assessor. Linear assessment includes wells and pipelines, cable, telecommunications, street lighting, railway, and power. The Senior Assessor provided an overview of the inspections schedule and displayed a graph and statistics for assessment categories in the County of Newell over the past five years. ARRIVED AT MEETING M. Harbicht, G. Tiffin, and M. Jackson arrived at 9:40 a.m. S. Simpson arrived at 9:43 a.m. The Senior Assessor responded to questions regarding depreciation on wells and pipelines. The Chief Administrative Officer provided additional information regarding factors that contribute to increased assessment. The SeniorAssessor outlined recent changes and new developments such as data centres and solar energy farms. Council was given the opportunity to ask questions. The Senior Assessor explained the assessment inspection process. The Chief Administrative Officer provided an update on the provincial assessment model review. The Senior Assessor responded to questions regarding farmland assessment. LEFT THE MEETING K. Halsted and S. Biette left the meeting at 10:10 a.m. RECESS Council RECESSED at 10:10 a.m. and RECONVENED at 10:21 a.m. 6. NEW BUSINESS 6.1 Proposed Land Use BylawTextAmendmentsforAgricultural Buildings The Planning & Development Supervisor provided background information on this item and explained development permit exemptions forAgricultural Buildings provided that they meet specific criteria, noting that setback requirements still apply. Development permits are required for agricultural processing buildings. The Planning & Development Supervisor provided an overview of the current and proposed fee structures. Page 2 of 6 Cammittee of the Whole April 20, 2026 Council was given the opportunity to ask questions. The Planning & Development Supervisor and the Manager of Planning, Development & Engineering responded to questions regarding the extent of the problem, indicating that having a conversation with a developer before construction starts can prevent costly problems. Planning & Development staff can assist by indicating the location of road allowances and underground infrastructure to ensure that buildings meet the required setbacks. The goal is to educate landowners and developers and assist them with meeting legislated requirements pertaining to their development before building is complete. The Chief Administrative Officer provided additional information, indicating that there are still rules for developments that do not require a development permit. He provided two recent examples where a preliminary discussion could have prevented problems. The Planning & Development Supervisor responded to further questions from Council. Discussion followed regarding definitions for permanent versus non-permanent structures and timelines associated with permitted versus discretionary use permits. W-08/26 MOVED BY COUNCILLOR GREG SKRIVER that Administration moves forward with requiring Agricultural Buildings to obtain a development permit. MOTION CARRIED LEFT THE MEETING G. Ti�n, M. Jackson, and S. Simpson left the meeting at 10:58 a.m. 5. BUSINESS FROM MINUTES 5.1 Strategic Priorities Update The Chief Administrative Officer presented the final report from the strategic planning session and gave a summary of the strategic priorities identified. Discussion followed and Council requested that references to the Eastern Irrigation District be removed from the Irrigation Expansion priority. W-09/26 MOVED BY COUNCILLOR HOLLY JOHNSON that the Committee of the Whole recommend the Strategic Priority Session outcomes, including the Strategic Priorities Chart, to Council for adoption as amended. MOTION CARRIED LEFT THE MEETING M. Harbicht left the meeting at 11:08 a:m. 6. NEW BUSINESS - continued 6.3 Fire Services Expenditure Review The Chief Administrative Officer provided background information on this item. He suggested determining whether some fire apparatus can remain in service without the Fire Underwriters Level and NFPLI standard rather than conducting a full fire services expenditure review. Discussion followed: Page 3 of 6 Committee of the Whole April 20, 2026 • fire departments with a higher call volume would maintain the highest level of equipment • calibrate NFPFl standards to rural fire departments or base on actual hours used instead of years of service • smaller fire departments not always receptive to hand-me-down equipment . insurers are looking for protected versus unprotected and the distance to fire hall and hydrant ratings are the most important factors W-10/26 MOVED BY COUNCILLOR ARNO DOERKSEN that the Committee of the Whole directs Administration to bring a scoped work plan, timelines and resource requirements of a fire services expenditure review focusing on fire apparatus useful life to Council for approval. MOTION CARRIED LEFT THE MEETING L. Johnson left the meeting at 11:30 a.m. 6.4 Proposed Boards & Committees Bylaw The Chief Administrative Officer provided background information on this item and outlined a solution that would involve one by/aw that formalizes boards and committees with clear governance, statutory, or operational value. He reviewed the list of boards and committees that would and would not be formalized and responded to questions from Council. Discussion followed. • The Director of Municipal Services is determining whether the Road Ban Committee is required • need to determine how funding will be allocated if divisional recreation boards are removed, but consistency is a/so required • consistency is also required for hamlet advisory boards W-11/26 MOVED BY COUNCILLOR ARNO DOERKSEN that the Committee of the Whole provides direction to Administration to formalize only those committees with clear governance, statutory, or operational value. MOTION CARRIED RECESS Committee of the Whole RECESSED at 11:45 a.m. and RECONVENED at 11:51 a.m. 8. IN CAMERA W-12/26 MOVED BY COUNCILLOR HOLLY JOHNSON that we move in camera at 11:51p.m. to discuss the following matters: • City of Brooks Recreation Agreement - Advice from Officials - Access to lnformation Act Section 29. MOTION CARRIED Page 4 of 6 Committee of the Whole April 20, 2026 W-13/26 MOVED BY COUNCILLOR ADENA SKANDERUP that we move out of camera at 12:06 p.m. MOTION CARRIED W-14/26 MOVED BY COUNCILLOR BENJAMIN HOFER that the Committee of the Whole recommends to Council that the County provide financial support for the Recreation Fee Assistance (RFA) Program; further, that a defined County contribution toward the Recreation Fee Assistance Program (e.g., proportional to County usage) be included in the updated recreation agreement between the City of Brooks and the County of Newell. LEFT THE MEETING Councillor H. Johnson left the meeting at 12:06 p.m. LUNCH MOTION CARRIED The Committee of the Whole RECESSED for lunch at 12:06 p.m. and RECONVENED at 12:47 p.m. ARRIVED AT MEETING M. Jackson, G. Tiffin, and M. Harbicht arrived at 12:47 p.m. 6. NEW BUSINESS - continued 6.2 Proposed Land Use Bylaw Text Amendments for Data Centres The Planning & Development Supervisor provided background information on this item. Currently, there has been one data centre built in the County, and it was permitted as Industrial Heavy land use. Creating policy specific to data centres will provide more confidence to developers who want to move into the County. The Planning & Development Supervisor provided information regarding two types of data centre and the differing requirements for land and power and impact to the surrounding area. She outlined the proposed criteria: • small sca/e energy-integrated data centres could be built alongside any oil and gas facility or within a hamlet and are more flexible •/arge scale data centres require Land Use Amendment and public consultation; deve/oper would a/so be required to do their own public consultation • nuisance factors for both include noise, vibration, impact to viewscapes • anything producing over ten megawatts of energy requires approval from the Alberta Utilities Commission (AUC) Discussion followed. The Manager of Planning, Development & Engineering and the Planning & Development Supervisor responded to questions. The Committee of the Whole provided direction that the information presented today be formalized and brought to a future Council meeting. Page 5 of 6