Coun. Cory Kingsfield resigned as a Penhold councillor on Sept. 25.
Kingsfield said in an interview that he has left Penhold for personal reasons. He's now living in Red Deer and is running for city council there.
The municipal enforcement officer was first elected in Penhold in 2013.
“I think my years on Penhold council were pretty great,” Kingsfield said, noting council did a good job on not increasing taxes. He said he plans to bring a similar philosophy: decreasing taxes, cutting spending and doing more for less to office if he's elected in Red Deer.
Higher fines coming
Council approved an update to the traffic bylaw, which includes increases to traffic fines and some tweaks to parking rules.
Changes include tweaking parking rules so that recreational vehicles or unattached trailers can't be parked on a highway in front of a residence without the residential owner's permission.
Permit parking for public heavy vehicle along Windsor Avenue is to be eliminated with the new bylaw. The truck route otherwise remains the same.
Several fines saw a sharp increase to bring fines in line with provincial averages. For instance, parking in a construction area has jumped to a $125 ticket from the 2014 bylaw's $57. Several fines saw a similar jump.
There's also additions to the bylaw, like fines for someone under 18 not wearing a helmet while operating a wheeled vehicle ($125), while the fine for riding a bike/scooter/skateboard/in-line skates on a town sidewalk, street furniture, stairways or railings in town has increased from $57 to $250.
Another significant fine jump is going from $100 for “damaging - evacuation on or under a street/roadway/sidewalk or other, or draining a radiator on a roadway” to $500.
Building permits
As of the end of August, Penhold has issued building permits worth $13.3 million in construction value in 2017. The council agenda package shows a comparison to August 2016. As of the end of August 2016 there had been permits issued for $2.7 million in construction value, so there has been a substantial increase.
Meeting cancelled
Council voted to cancel the last meeting of the term, originally scheduled for Oct. 10. The newly elected council will set the next meeting once the election is completed.
