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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2016-05-05 Annual General Meeting (Annual General) MinutesCounty of Newell Minutes of Annual Meeting May 5, 2016 The 2015 Annual Meeting of the County of Newell was held at the Community Hall in Gem, AB on Thursday, May 5, 2016 commencing at 7:11 p.m. MEMBERS PRESENT: M. Douglass, Reeve C. Amulung G. Simpson A.M. Philipsen W. Hammergren T. Fyfe K. Christman E. Unruh B. de Jong L. Juss MEDIA PRESENT: S. Stanway, Brooks Bulletin 17 Ratepayers STAFF PRESENT: K. Stephenson, Chief Administrative Officer L. Johnson, Director of Corporate Services M. Fenske, Manager of Finance M. Patton, Finance Intern M. Harbicht, Director of Municipal Services T. Schroeder, Manager of Operations G. Tiffin, Manager of Engineering Services R. Fernell, Director of Information & Technology T. Green, Director of Agricultural Services A. Nielsen, Executive Assistant OTHERS PRESENT: R. Havinga, Newell Regional Services Corporation J. Harrington, Alberta Agriculture & Forestry B. Nummi, MPE Engineering Ltd. 18 ratepayers and media were in attendance for the 2015 Annual Meeting of the County of Newell. Reeve M. Douglass called the meeting to order at 7:11 p.m. Welcome & Introductions The Reeve welcomed everyone to the meeting and introduced the Councillors and staff in attendance. 3. Presentations a. Presentation of 2015 Year End Audited Financial Statements & Financial Overview The Manager of Finance presented the 2015 Year End Audited Financial Statements and Annual Report document. He provided an overview of the audit process that was conducted by an independent firm, KPMG LLP, and reported on April 7, 2016. He explained that two thirds of tax revenue comes from linear assessment, which includes things like oil pipelines and electrical lines and this has put the County in a strong financial position. M. Fenske displayed a chart showing financial assets -to -liabilities since 2009 and explained the extent to which future revenues will be required to fund transactions and events. He noted that 2015 ended with a slight increase in the ratio, with $2.43 in assets for every $1.00 of liability. M. Fenske provided an explanation of the County's borrowing limits and displayed a chart showing debt limits versus total debt. He also showed a breakdown of what makes up property taxes, noting that a minimum tax has been established for farmland parcels beginning in 2016. Annual General Meeting (May 5, 2016 b. Municipal Services The Director of Municipal Services provided a report summarizing the activities of the Municipal Services Department in 2015. He provided an update on the paving plan, indicating that Council has decided to move East Gem Road higher on the priority list. Negotiations with Alberta Transportation are ongoing regarding cost- sharing paving for SH873, SH876, and the unpaved portion of SH535. M. Harbicht provided an overview of the areas of responsibility covered by Municipal Services, which includes fleet maintenance, municipal enforcement, drainage, and solid waste management. Newell Regional Services Corporation is the contract operator for water services in hamlets. He provided information regarding the National Public Works Week events held in 2015, noting that the County of Newell won an award in the first time entry category. He provided an update on the County of Newell Water Project which has moved into the final phase in Gem. M. Harbicht also provided an overview of infrastructure upgrades that have been completed in Scandia and are underway in Tilley. He provided information regarding the EID Drainage Partnership and plans for Scandia, Rainier, Cassi/s, and Millicent. Work was completed in Scandia last year for the internal roads and east access roads under the paved roads program. The County's paving priorities are available on the web site. M. Harbicht provided background information on the dust abatement program, outlining changes that have been made. Calcium chloride is applied to 180km of County roads each year. He also provided information regarding the gravel program, road rehabilitation, and vegetation control. C. Regional Wafer Update R. Havinga provided background information on the Regional Water Project. Previously, there were ten water treatment plants and nine wastewater collection and treatment sites and maintaining all of these was not feasible. He acknowledged A. Doerksen, who was MLA at the time, as being instrumental in preparing the provincial grant funding package for the project. R. Havinga commended the residents and municipalities involved for their cooperation in this the Regional Water Project. The Regional Water System was designed to accommodate service for rural residents as well. A partnership committee was formed to implement the project and establish an authority for the Regional Water System. R. Havinga explained that Newell Regional Services Corporation (NRSC) is owned by the municipalities within the County and is not a private corporation. He provided an overview of the system. The water treatment plant in Brooks can process 32 million liters of water per day and there are 175km of regional transmission mains. The nine water treatment plants that were decommissioned are now used as storage reservoirs and pumping facilities. The Regional Water System was completed in four phases with a total of thirteen construction contracts. The cost for the project was $57 million with $48 million provided by provincial grant funding. The project started in Brooks on November 7, 2008 and finished with water service to Bassano on May 5, 2015. R. Havinga indicated that NRSC operates and maintains all systems in the hamlets and the rural water system. Bassano, Duchess, and Rosemary operate their own distribution systems. He provided an overview of testing required by Alberta Health Services and Environment Canada. The overall benefits of the Regional Water System include savings in operational costs and capital investments. Costly upgrades are no longer required. The system is consistent, reliable, safe, and efficient. There is also room for growth. R. Havinga reported that NRSC operators are certified at Level and most are working towards Level 2. R. Havinga reported that water will 2 Annual General Meeting (Mav 5, 2016 soon be available in Gem and outlined the process for connecting. Once the system is in, landowners can call NRSC and an operator will come out to test the water quality and turn the service on. He provided contact information for NRSC, noting that water quality analyses are posted on the website twice per year. d. County of Newell Water Project The Manager of Engineering Services provided background information on the County of Newell Water Project. The goal of the project was to supply potable water to every rural residence and business in the County. The Regional Water System pipelines were designed with sufficient capacity to supply rural users. The Manager of Engineering Services outlined the reasons a trickle system was chosen, noting that it was not designed for fire protection and is economically viable only if a sufficient number of people are drawing from the system. He explained the flow emitter, indicating that demonstration units have been set up. The initial plan involved construction of six service areas at a rate of one per year. About 40% of the total users registered for service during the initial registration period and it was discovered that landowners wanted the service sooner and for less money. The plan was revised to ten service areas that were loosely based on the County's electoral divisions and the registration fee was lowered to $1, 000.00 instead of $7, 000.00. After the second registration period, 81 % of total users had signed up. The Manager of Engineering Services explained the blanket easements that were used in order to acquire land for the project. Contractors for the project were prequalified to ensure they were knowledgeable and had adequate resources. The Manager of Engineering Services indicated that pipelines were installed using either plowing or directional drilling, depending on the situation. He provided details for each of the construction contracts, including timelines, costs, pipelines, and service connections. He provided an overview of subsidies available through the Eastern Irrigation District for people with first or second water rights and other criteria. He outlined some challenges associated with the project, including obtaining easements without offering compensation, communication, and hardware issues and commended Council for remaining consistent throughout the project. The Manager of Engineering Services outlined policies moving forward. The lines were designed for additional capacity so new users can connect after paying a registration fee of $7,700.00. They are also responsible for the full cost of connecting to the line and bringing the service to their yard site. e. Growing Forward Grant J. Harrington provided an overview of the Growing Forward Grant program, which provides funding to agricultural producers for water supplies. He explained the On -Farm Water Management Program, which provides standard and special incentive categories. The grant program provides reimbursement for costs associated with connecting to the County of Newell Water Project system. J. Harrington outlined the eligibility requirements, which include being an agricultural producer, meeting applicable legislation, and identification of the project on a previously approved long-term water management plan for the farm. He indicated that he is available to assist producers in creating the plans. He noted that no work can be done on the applicant's portion of the project until the plan is approved. J. Harrington indicated that he would provide application forms and assistance following the conclusion of the meeting and asked that those in attendance tell their neighbours about the grant program. Annual General Meeting (May 5, 2016) f. Newell Connect Demonstration The Director of Information & Technology provided an overview of Newell Connect, a smartphone application developed by the County of Newell and the City of Brooks. The app provides ratepayers another way to communicate with the City of Brooks and the County of Newell. She indicated that, since the app was launched publicly at the Brooks & District Chamber of Commerce Trade Show at the end of April, there have been 278 downloads. The Director of Information & Technology provided an overview of the functions. Primarily, users will be able to make service requests through the app. Users can also follow requests made by others, obtain information regarding fire bans and road closures, and access campground information, among other things. She indicated that feedback and suggestions are welcome. In addition to promotional items and instructional pamphlets available at the meeting, an iPad was available for hands-on demonstrations. g. Divisional Boundaries Reeve M. Douglass provided background information on this item, indicating that Council is interested in getting feedback from the public on the topic. The Chief Administrative Officer provided further information, indicating that options include reducing the number of Councillors from ten to nine, seven, or something else. He asked whether divisional boundaries should be realigned based on population or eliminated entirely, with Council elected from all over the County. He indicated that, from a CAO's perspective, the County of Newell is one of the best run municipalities in the province and the governance is great. He noted that, if changes are to be in place before the 2017 election, they must be finalized by February so that boundaries are established and communicated. The Director of Corporate Services indicated that a census completed in 2009 revealed that the population is not evenly distributed among the electoral divisions. 2. Approval of the Minutes of the 2014 Annual Meeting MOVED BY HARRY PHILIPSEN that the 2014 Annual Meeting minutes be adopted as presented. MOTION CARRIED 4. QUESTION & ANSWER PERIOD Reeve M. Douglass opened the floor for questions. A ratepayer asked if other municipalities have done away with electoral boundaries and elected Councillors -at -large. The Director of Corporate Services replied that it is more common in urban municipalities. The ratepayer asked how much it would cost to redefine the electoral boundaries. The Chief Administrative Officer replied that it would be mostly staff time and advertising. Reeve M. Douglass indicated that specific information regarding population by division was obtained in 2009. A ratepayer noted that the East Gem Road had been identified as a paving priority and asked what the range was for priorities that are expected to proceed. The Director of Municipal Services replied that the variables are the level of funding in the paving reserve and the cost of the project, as the intent is to mobilize the contractor once and maximize 2 Annual General Meeting (May 5, 2016) the money spent on the project. He noted that some reserve funding has been used for recent projects within hamlets. Reeve M. Douglass indicated that they continue to work towards a cost sharing partnership with Alberta Transportation to pave three secondary highways that have been identified as a priority for paving — SH873, SH876, and the portion of SH535 that was left unpaved. This will be discussed further during an upcoming meeting with Alberta Transportation South Region staff. Efforts have been diverted from lobbying to get SH862 paved in favor of the East Gem Road, which is the school bus route. The Manager of Finance indicated that $2.1 million per year is allocated for paving and there is currently $7.2 million in the paving reserve. The Director of Municipal Services explained the composition of the East Gem Road, indicating that there is 16km of road that must be paved. The same ratepayer expressed concerns with the numerous wire flag markers that were used in the County of Newell Water Project and are still in the fields. B. Nummi replied that crews are on cleanup right now and he would ensure that the flags are being removed. A ratepayer asked what the downtime is for existing water users when a new user is added to the line. The Manager of Engineering Services replied that, depending on the size of the line, downtime would be none to a few hours at most. Existing water users may not notice any downtime if there is water in their cisterns. A ratepayer stated that he appreciated having a Council representative from the Gem area. He asked if it was possible for electoral boundaries to be based on tax dollars generated within an area rather than population. The Manager of Finance replied that this could be done for residential, commercial, and industrial, but the linear tax revenue is not associated with a specific location. Reeve M. Douglass indicated that the provincial government is currently revising the Municipal Government Act and there is a lot of concern with linear tax revenue being redistributed by population. She indicated that the Regional Water Project would not have happened without sharing between the County of Newell and the City of Brooks, and that the County wants to continue to share our linear assessment revenue with the municipalities within it. 5. ADJOURN Reeve M. Douglass adjourned the meeting at 8:56 p.m. CHAIRMAN ©'�%OARM 5