Virtually every council member from all six municipalities within Mountain View County came together under one roof Wednesday evening for the annual all-council meeting of the Municipal Area Partnership.Thirty-five politicians out of a possible 38 filled the county council chambers, spilling out into the foyer for small-group interviews that followed a PowerPoint presentation on the history of the partnership by incoming chair, Olds mayor Judy Dahl.Led by consultant Brian Austrom, the interviews keyed on four questions:ï What should be the role of MAP?ï What are the factors and/or roadblocks that will drive the success of MAP.ï How does the MOA (Memorandum of Agreement) need to be changed to encourage that funding at all levels is fair and equitable?ï What are the other opportunities for regional co-operation?With MOAs being a sore spot among some county councillors, it wasn't a surprise that the only question raised before the interviews started was by Reeve Bruce Beattie, who asked for clarification on the third question, noting there was a separate MOA between the county and each of the towns.ìThere's questions that Ö the fairness and equity of MOAs need some work,î Olds CAO Norm McInnis replied. ìThe template is very similarî for each of the urban centres, he added.Beattie said it was unfortunate that the question focused only on funding ìinstead of the concept of MOAs.îFollowing the interview sessions, groups listed the key points that had been raised.On the role of MAP, these included: to discuss regional issues, assist individual municipalities, reduce inequities between municipalities, continuity, enable open and frank communication, facilitate co-operation and foster positive relationships, design and review intermunicipal agreements such as the MOA, and support councils but not replace them.Factors for success came up with similar points, with added proposals such as electing the chair and separating the rotating CAO position from the chair position. Roadblocks included: not understanding facility utilization and lack of commitment and trust.On the MOA, participants called for more flexibility, recreation committees for each urban centre that would include a county councillor, and identifying a section of the MOA for review at each MAP meeting.Other opportunities for regional co-operation included: transportation, collaboration between economic development offices, employee and service sharing, and joint grant applications, administration, purchasing, and advocacy to senior governments.Presenting the last points, Div. 7 Coun. Al Kemmere quipped: ìWhy have six CAOs when you can do it with three, for example?îThe CAOs will present summaries of the session at the next MAP meeting.MAP members include the county, Olds, Didsbury, Sundre, Carstairs and Cremona.
