MOUNTAIN VIEW COUNTY COUNCIL – Mountain View County council has given first reading to a new inter-municipal collaboration framework (ICF) with the Village of Cremona.
The move came by way of motion at the recent regularly scheduled council meeting.
The updated provincial Municipal Government Act requires neighbouring municipalities to enter into the framework agreements, which are master agreements from which other subsequent agreements flow.
The framework agreement accompanies the new inter-municipal development (IDP) agreement approved by the municipalities in October.
“The Village of Cremona and Mountain View County have worked together since 2017 to review, discuss and develop both the ICF and the IDP and have now mutually agreed to move forward to the bylaw consideration process,” administration said in a briefing note to council.
The framework addresses the requirements of the MGA relating to transportation, water and wastewater, solid waste, emergency services, recreation and other services where those services benefit residents in more than one of the municipalities that are parties to the agreement.
The stated purpose of the agreement and any sub-agreements that flow from it is to “better serve and provide quality of life to the community that is the Village of Cremona 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.”
The agreement calls, in part, the municipalities to work “collaboratively together to meet the challenges and capitalize on the opportunities that the future and their shared circumstances will bring”, and to “recognize that their common interests are greater than their differences and that the advancement of their shared interests will benefit all communities.”
Under the framework agreement, the parties agree to establish an inter-municipal cooperation committee “to foster open, meaningful and ongoing cooperation with the broad intent of fostering effective collaboration between them, ensuring routine monitoring of the health of their inter-municipal relationship and agreements.”
The committee also provides a forum “both for dealing with issues before they become problems and capitalizing on opportunities that might arise in a mutually beneficial and timely fashion.”
The capital planning and cost-sharing section of the agreement states, in part, that the municipalities agree to create a joint approach to capital planning for those capital assets that deliver mutual benefit.
“It is to be complementary to their individual plans and be aligned with respective budget cycles so that due consideration on capital funding can be made by the individual councils” and “any capital project proposed for joint funding must be supported by a business case that clearly identifies the benefits to both municipalities.”
The operating cost-sharing section on recreational facility funding states, in part, that the village “agrees that it will become involved when its population reaches 1,000.”
The matter will be brought back to council at a later date after administration considers updated provincial legislation (Bill 25), council heard.
The complete agreement is available for viewing on the county’s website.
