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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1997-04-16 Annual General Meeting (Annual General) MinutesCounty of Newell No. 4 Minutes of the 44th Annual Meeting & Open House April 16, 1997 The 44th Annual Meeting & Open House of the County of Newell No. 4 was held in the County Office on Wednesday, April 16, 1997 commencing at 1:30 p.m. Members Present Reeve M. Douglass Councillors V. Fabian E. Stobbs J. Harbinson M. Loewen C. Baksa Assessor J. Dell A.S.B. Fieldman S. Wylie Assist. P.W. Supv. R. Hansen Assist. Admin. A. Martens Administrator M. Bowen Fourteen ratepayers were also in attendance at this meeting. Election of Chairman The Administrator called the meeting to order at 1:30 p.m. and called for the nomination and election of Chairman for this meeting. Councillor Loewen nominated A. Peltzer. A. Peltzer agreed to let his name stand for the position of Chairman if he is allowed to speak on certain items that he wishes to present. There were no objections to this request. There being no further nominations, it was moved by Councillor Harbinson that nominations cease. Carried. A. Peltzer took the Chair. 2. Election of Secretary Nominations were opened for the position of Secretary for the meeting. M. Bowen was nominated by G. Tomlinson. There being no further nominations, it was moved by Councillor Fabian that nominations cease. Carried. 3. Adoation of Agenda Moved by Councillor Douglass that the Agenda be adopted. Carried. 4. Reading & Aaaroval of Minutes of Previous Meeting Minutes of the previous meeting were read by the Secretary. Moved by Councillor Stobbs that we adopt these minutes as presented. Carried. 5. Business from Minutes A member of the public asked Council if they have considered hiring a consultant to do a review and report on Council to see if they are operating effectively and efficiently. Reeve Douglass replied that Council has looked into the possibility of hiring a consultant to do a review of the County but this is extremely costly. 6. Reeve's Resort Reeve Douglass presented this report. Moved by Reeve Douglass that we adopt this report. Carried. a) Discussion & Questions A. Berg asked questions regarding the Regional Landfill and the present landfill sites. Reeve Douglass and other members of Council responded to these questions. 7. Agricultural Chairman's Resort Councillor Loewen, the Agricultural Service Board Chairman, gave this report. Moved by Councillor Loewen that we adopt this report. Carried. a) Discussion & Questions B. Baxter asked what the net cost is of operating the Agricultural Service Board. A. Martens, Assistant Administrator, advised that the net cost of the A.S.B. on the 1997 budget is approximately $284,000.00. Members of the public asked questions regarding weeds and their control. S. Wylie, Agricultural Fieldman, responded to these questions. 8. Municipal Committee Chairman's Report _ In the absence of the Municipal Committee Chairman, Assistant Administrator, A. Martens, read this report. Moved by Reeve Douglass that we adopt this report. Carried. a) Discussion & Questions Questions regarding calcium chloride and other options for dust control were asked by members of the public. D. Snell asked for a definition of a local road. Assistant Administrator, A. Martens, replied that it is any road that is not designated as a secondary or primary highway. R. Hansen, Assistant P.W. Supervisor, gave information regarding the local roads that were constructed during the 1996 construction season. B. Baxter asked if Council has considered getting a second grader in the Division 5 & 10 areas to try to keep the roads in the Brooks area where the increased traffic requires more grading. Councillor Fabian and R. Hansen, Assistant P.W. Supervisor, responded that road maintenance is under the direction of the P.W. Supervisor and, if he feels a second operator is required in this area, he should bring this to the Council table. J. Airth stated that we must remember what type of spring we have had and that there were major wash-outs and road damage that needed to be repaired immediately as it was an emergency situation. Hopefully, once these areas have been looked after, the maintenance of the balance of the roads will be completed as soon as possible. D. Snell asked if Council has ever considered charging oil companies and developers a service fee to hook on to the County roads. He feels the roads are a valuable commodity and individuals should have to pay to hook on to this commodity. Moved by D. Snell that County Council consider an off-site levy based on the number of units within a development, or assessment base of a well site, to help pay for the up-keep on the roads due to the extra traffic created. Carried. J. Day asked if Council has looked at contracting our road construction rather than using our own equipment. He feels that equipment sitting for months is not cost-effective and we should look at contracting. He also remarked that we should not be in the agriculture rental equipment business. He stated that the 627 scrapers are the most expensive equipment to operate. R. Hansen, Assistant P.W. Supervisor, replied that, before buying mare new equipment, the cost of this would be taken into consideration vs contracting. D. Snell asked if we could possibly lease our equipment when we are not using it. Councillor Baksa replied that we are not in the business of leasing equipment and taking business away from private contractors. B. Baxter stated that County equipment is not efficient and gave reasons for his comments. He asked Council if they have any idea how they would keep the infrastructure up over the next five years with the expected growth in the County of Newell. 9. Assessor's Report J. Dell, .County Assessor, gave this report. Moved by Councillor Stobbs that we adopt this report. Carried. a) Discussion & Questions Members of the public asked questions regarding the increase in taxes. J. Dell advised that assessment and taxes are two different things although the assessment has a bearing on taxes. He responded to the Provincial Government's change in assessment two years ago. Assistant County Administrator, A. Martens, gave information regarding the increased school requisition when the Government changed their formula. Councillor Fabian also gave a report on the school requisition. 10. Auditor's Report George Virtue, of Young, Parkyn, McNab & Co., auditor for the County of Newell, gave this report. Moved by Councillor Loewen that we adopt this report. Carried. a) Discussion & Questions A. Berg asked what the Heading and amount under penalty is. Administration advised that this is the amount of penalties on un-paid taxes during the 1996 calendar year. D. Snell asked about reserves. A. Martens, Assistant County Administrator, replied that some of these reserves are ear-marked for various projects. The Administrator, M. Bowen, advised that the break-down of these reserves could be viewed at the County Office and the public is more than welcome to come in to see the break-down. 11. New Business P. Hansen gave comments on the recent motion by Council that they do not allow any special permits during the 1998 road ban season. He advised that, if he cannot get his product to market, he cannot operate and this will really hurt the agricultural community. He estimated that he gets approximately 25 permits per year during the ban season. Chairman A. Peltzer requested permission to give comments on this subject. He stated that, as an individual with a potato operation, this would affect his business and he will suffer greatly if permits are not issued in 1998. B. Baxter commented that oil companies are also hauling and have to abide by the road ban system. He feels that, if they have to bring more wheels and bigger units, the agricultural sector should have to abide by the rules as well. Councillor Harbinsan replied that Council is trying to save the road infrastructure and cut the cost of maintenance and construction of these roads. Councillor Loewen gave comments regarding the special permitting system. Councillor Fabian also commented on the fact that the Provincial Government gives milk trucks permission on all roads. J. Airth advised that the seed growers biggest operation and sales is in April & May. If he cannot get his product out, he will be broke. His competition, who lives on a gravel road which is not banned, would get all of the sales. He feels this would be disastrous to his operation. M. Verostek, from Bantry Seed Cleaning Plant, advised that, if they cannot operate during the road ban season, they will go bankrupt. B. Baxter feels Council should look seriously at whether or not we should be oiling any more roads in our agricultural areas as the implementation of road bans seems to create a major problem in the agricultural area. Moved by B. Baxter that Council look at re-structuring Council from ten members to seven members and that this be done as soon as possible and be brought back to the next Annual Meeting. Vote on the motion -Lost. B. Baxter asked what the status is of the West Gem Road. R. Hansen, Assistant P.W. Supervisor, gave an explanation on this matter. 12. Adjourn Moved by B. Baxter that the meeting adjourn at 3:40 p.m. Carried. CHAIR N SECRETARY