Mayor John Whaley called the July 7th Leduc County council meeting to order at 1:33 p.m. on July 7. The agenda was amended and approved.
Mayor Whaley then welcomed MLA Shaye Anderson to the meeting. MLA Anderson presented to Captain Alex Eelhart from the Leduc County Fire Services New Sarepta District the Alberta Emergency Services Medal for 12 years of service. Prior to the presentation he thanked Captain Eelhart and his family for the dedication and sacrifices required to meet the standards of 12 years of emergency service.
MLA Anderson stayed for the entire meeting allowing him to gain a grasp on some of the issues and how the county operates at the council level.
The council then opened the meeting for public presentation. Bill and Sandra Hoermann presented a proposal to hay two plus acres of reserve land in the Looma area until the reserve is put up for bids in 2017. County council approved the request and directed administration to finalize the agreement.
Resident Ron Wurban presented a number of concerns to council regarding some of the bylaws the county is currently considering. In particular he spoke against the proposed Community Standards By-Law indicting it appear to be an attempt impose urban standards over rural standards. He relayed the story of a farmer who was combining his crop when the police showed up telling him some neighbors were upset about the noise as a prime example of different standards between urban life and rural life.
Mayor Don Davidson of the Summer Village of Grandview presented an overview of the progress that has been made to reduce the bloom of blue-green algae on Pigeon Lake. One of the approaches the watershed has taken is to ban the use of lawn fertilizers and lawn herbicides foe lawns with 800 meters of the lake. To date seven of the 12 municipalities have passed fertilizer bans. Mayor Davidson provided the Grandview bylaw for information and a request that the county consider such a ban. Council agreed to make it an item for a future workshop.
No one was present to speak against the proposed By-Law 27-15 that will see a road closure to close public access of road allowances for the purposes of Capital Power mining activities. Legal land description TWP 502 from ó mile East of RR 23 to RR 31, RR 23 from ó mile North of SH 622 to TWP 502, RR 24 from SH 622 to TWP 502, RR 25 from SH 622 to TWP 502, RR 30 from TWP 502 for 1 mile South of TWP 502.
Some discussion occurred concerning the need for farm equipment having to travel more populated roadways during seeding and harvesting times during the period of road closure. The actual closure date could not be determined until the province gives its final approval, which could be several months from now. County council approved first reading.
The county established Wednesday, November 4 beginning at 9:30 a.m. at the Leduc County Centre as the tax sale date.
County council then approved three readings to a Bylaw – 2015 Fees and Charges and rescinded By-Law 23-15.
That County Council entered into a Municipal Reserve Lease Agreement from Jan 1, 2015 to December 31 , 2017 with Eugene Wirsta in the amount of $230 /year (plus GST) on the Pt S.W. 17-50-24-W4, Lot R16, Plan 762 1010, ~ 23.21 acres.
A public hearing was called at 2:15 p.m. to consider an amendment to the East Vistas Area Structure Plan. At the conclusion council approved first, second and third readings to the plan. The amendment will allow Leduc County to identify community needs that require larger municipal reserve parcels than will be available from dedication at the time of subdivision and the flexibility to best implement a strategic approach to municipal reserve acquisition that minimizes the County’s risk and costs associated with servicing community needs.
Councillor Schonewille withdrew his Motion #307-15 Direct Control Districting within the Proposed South of Devon Industrial Area Structure Plan.
After the council members gave their oral reports Mayor Whaley adjourned the meeting at 3 p.m.