Agreement promotes cooperation

A new inter-municipal cooperation master agreement signed between the Town of Olds and Mountain View County will help both municipalities move forward with economic diversification, says county reeve Bruce Beattie.

“It's pretty clear from the last six months that our province needs to diversify our economy and we are certainly in that same boat, so working together I think we can achieve far more in diversifying and growing our economy than we can if we work at cross purposes,” said Beattie.

“This master agreement sets the stage for future cooperation. That we agree to working cooperatively and not be forced to do so is a far better approach.”

County councillors voted unanimously on Jan. 13 to approve the new agreement, which has been in the works for several months. Olds town councillors approved the agreement on Jan. 11.

An official agreement signing has been scheduled for Jan. 25 in county council chambers.

Now in effect, the 31-page agreement sets out the conditions for future shared service agreements and will also lead to the development of a joint growth strategy that promotes sustainability, he explained.

The purpose of the agreement, and the sub-agreements that will come from it, is, in part, to “better serve and provide quality of life to the residents of the Town of Olds and Mountain View County by ensuring that growth management, land use planning, programs and services are effectively, efficiently and economically delivered and are reasonably available to them.”

Under the agreement, the municipalities agree to a number of cooperative measures, including the following (quoted from agreement):

• That municipalities agree to provide access to municipal facilities, programs and services to each other's residents in a manner that does not discriminate between them.

• The municipalities agree that by July 1, 2017 they will create a joint capital plan in addition to and complementary to their individual capital plans.

• The municipalities agree to create a jointly managed and funded reserve to help them optimize their ability to meet their priorities in providing mutually beneficial facilities and infrastructure into the future.

• The municipalities agree that by July 1, 2017 they will create and make operational a joint asset management plan.

• The municipalities agree that the opportunity for joint policy and service level development will accrue to all facilities, programs and services for which there is operational cost sharing by the signatories.

The agreement includes a dispute resolution provision, which says that in the event of disputes, the signatories will agree to negotiation, mediation and arbitration.

“The municipalities are committed to acting reasonably and in good faith and making their best efforts to find common ground and to reach consensus,” the agreement states.

The sub-agreements officials hope will come out of the new master agreement following negotiations will include those relating to shared services such as recreation, parks, culture, airports, libraries, family and community support services (FCSS), cemeteries, agriculture services, and solid waste and recycling.

Following Mountain View County council's vote Jan. 13 approving the new master agreement, Reeve Beattie called the agreement a good example of inter-municipal cooperation.

The county will be conducting negotiations with Didsbury, Carstairs, Sundre and Cremona with the aim of developing inter-municipal cooperation master agreements similar to the one signed with Olds, he said.

“We are in talks with Sundre now and will be following up with Carstairs, Didsbury and Cremona,” he said. “This is the start of I hope will be five agreements between the county and our towns in the whole region.”

Council has appointed Beattie as well as councillors Al Kemmere and Duncan Milne to represent the county on the inter-municipal cooperation committee created by the new master agreement.

Coun. Angela Aalbers did not attend the Jan. 13 council meeting.