DIDSBURY - During a Valentine's Day regular meeting, council heard from a report from administration answering a previous request regarding the number of water wells in town.
The request, which was put to staff at the Jan. 24 council meeting, was in response to a suggestion from administration to make changes to the water bylaw forcing residents with water wells to decommission them and use town water.
The water bylaw (2017-04) was turned down at the Jan. 24 meeting with the request for staff to bring back more information.
"We had direction from council at the January 24 regular council meeting to go back and look at the water bylaw amendments and more specifically involving how many properties we are dealing with," said Christofer Atchison, manager of legislative and development services.
"We gave some ballpark numbers of how many would have access to water and how many were actually utilizing both systems (town water and own water well)."
Atchison told council that there are currently 39 properties in town that are on water wells with a number of those being on 24th Street. Of those 39 properties, 18 have access to town water.
"Of those 18 there are two properties that we know of that have or could have accessed our water system without our knowledge," he said.
"Really what the bylaw amendments are discussing here-and there are other minimal changes-but the two main changes are regarding section 41 (6 and 7) and they are saying that anyone who has access to the water system now, i.e. those 18 properties, would be mandated to connect to our water system within five years and to decommission their well. "Anyone who is currently utilizing both our system and their own water system right now would have one year to decommission their well. Those are the changes affecting the properties."
Responding to a question from council, Atchison said that residents who need to connect to town water are responsible for the cost, which he said could be between $2,000 and $4,000.
In the request for decision, staff said that over the last few years, administration has discovered situations in which residents are hooked up to the town water system without knowledge.
This may have been due to administrative error or due to unauthorized hookups. In the event that that occurred, households would have used the water service without paying for it. The changes to the bylaw would essentially mandate that if the servicing was to the property line, that residents would have to hook up to the service within the specified time period.
Coun. Joyce McCoy asked if residents who don't have access to the town water line would be forced to hook up.
"We're not making anyone pull servicing to their property line," said Atchison. "We're making them connect to the water line that is (already) to their property line."
Council later carried a motion by McCoy to reconsider motion 024-17 (water bylaw 2017-04). Administration is expected to return the bylaw for voting at the Feb. 28 regular council meeting.
In other council news, council approved the 2017 funding recommendations from Family and Community Support Services (FCSS).
In all, $60,000 was budgeted and awarded to 15 different organizations for the 2017 community grants. There were 22 groups that applied, asking for $87,613.28.
Council carried a motion to direct administration to organize the hosting of an environmental sustainability course offered through the University of Alberta.
Atchison told council that Didsbury hosting the course would greatly reduce costs for those staff members or councillors that might want to attend.
"It's a single-day course that they would do in your location," he said.
Council voted to appoint Atchison as returning officer for the 2017 Town of Didsbury municipal election. The election for the next town council will take place on Oct. 16.
Council received a report from staff regarding "shovel ready" projects that could be applied for when grant opportunities become available. Listed as ready to go are: 2017 infrastructure study; Butte pumphouse upgrade; municipal library expansion; hydrant upgrades; flood risk analysis of Rosebud River; and fire hall generator. Short- term possibilities include: Memorial Complex outlying plan; southeast water reservoir; and roadway and trails networks.
"Council had requested through a notice of motion that we provide a list of projects that are prepared in the event that grants do come down," said Atchison. "Some of these are projects that we want to get going on in the next couple years. Others are ones we're waiting for funds."
He told the Gazette that administration is constantly researching grant opportunities. As well, conferences such as the Alberta Urban Municipal Association (AUMA) are valuable opportunities for council and administration to lobby provincial representatives for increased access to grant dollars.
There was some concern from council regarding door-to-door sales. McCoy said it would be beneficial for the town to notify residents when they do hand out licences to peddlers.
"I think it would be a good communication tool," she said. "There has been a guy going door to door asking if the air smells. I thought it would be good so residents would know you vetted it and they can open the door safely."
Atchison said that with peddlers in town, the town doesn't do comprehensive background checks.
"Realistically when they come to get a peddler's licence we take their information, what they're doing, how long they will be in town, and saying these are the rules you have to adhere by," he said. "We do field a large amount of calls from residents that are asking about business licences or peddler's licences, which is huge for us. We don't know if people are out until we get the calls."
Other notices of motion, all of which passed, were: directing administration to return the snow removal policy to council to review the manner in which communication and priority routes are handled; directing administration to review the potential to become an age-friendly community; and directing administration to review the potential for applying for the CARE grant.
"We had direction from council at the January 24 regular council meeting to go back and look at the water bylaw amendments and more specifically involving how many properties we are dealing with."Christofer Atchisonmanager of legislative and development services
