CARSTAIRS - At the regular Carstairs council meeting on March 12, council adjusted the Carstairs recreation facility requests for special rates policy based on a recommendation from the policy and governance committee.
"We're always getting requests for reduced rates for the community hall, ice surface, ball diamonds, and soccer fields when they host tournaments, events and fundraisers," said CAO Carl McDonnell. "Different non-profit organizations will now qualify for a reduced rate once every three years."
In other council news, Earl Dreeshen, member of Parliament for Red Deer-Mountain View, was in attendance as a delegation. Dreeshen talked briefly about several issues included cannabis legalization, rural crime and a recent trade mission he took part in to India.
"He spoke about chickpeas and having the tariffs put on those after the prime minister came back from India," said McDonnell. "He talked about his open houses around the region regarding rural crime. He also talked about the cannabis and the legislation and (he) wasn't sure when it would go through and what all that means."
Dreeshen also talked about the federal budget. "He was away when it came out but he got a copy of it," said McDonnell. "He hadn't had much time to go through it to look at it. Just a quick update about what is happening federally."
Didsbury RCMP Staff Sgt. Chad Fournier was also in attendance. He spoke to council about the 2017 policing stats.
"They talked about some community events, joint force operations with our guys, positive interactions with the community, and stuff like that," he said. "It was a good report."
Residents Warren Danforth and Garry Bratland were appointed to the off-leash dog park committee.
"The March 26 council meeting will be the final one, hopefully we'll have enough appointments by then and get the off-leash dog park committee going," said McDonnell.
