New CAO hired
The Town of Sundre has hired a new chief administrative officer.
Ryan Leuzinger, formerly with the Town of Sterling, will officially take over the CAO position on March 21. His hiring was made official during a special council meeting on Feb. 28.
The CAO oversees the entire operation of the municipality at the direction of council.
Wanda Watson Neufeld, who has been the town's interim CAO for the past 10 months, will now return to her position as director of corporate services.
Fire department had eight calls in January
The Sundre fire department responded to a total of eight calls in January, four in town and four outside town, according to monthly calls statistics presented to council.
Two of the town calls were for fires and two were for ambulance assists. In the county, there were two calls for ambulance assist, one call for miscellaneous call response and one for mutual aid.
A total of 32.9 man-hours were needed to respond to the eight calls.
Campground policy outlining rules and regulations approved
Sundre town councillors have approved a new policy setting out guidelines for the use, rules and regulations and rental charges for the town-owned Greenwood Campground.
During last week's council meeting, councillors approved Policy #316, which states, in part, that the park is “a public area with a trail running along the river. Users of the trail will be asked to stay on the trail or on the campground roads. If a trail user walks through the campground sites, that user will be asked to follow those rules and if they refuse, they will be asked to leave the campground.”
Rules set out in the new policy include that “campsites must be kept neat and tidy at all times”, “quiet hours are in effect from 11 p.m. to 7 a.m.”, “consumption of liquor must be contained within the individual sites”, “fires are restricted to designated sites”, “no vehicles are allowed on grass areas”, “only one vehicle per campsite”.
As well, the policy states that the host will “refuse admittance to a guest or may request guests to leave a campground if the guests are rude, disorderly or not following the rules and regulations of the campground.”
Memorial Park proposal discussed
Councillors have authorized administration to open discussions with the Sundre Legion Branch #223 about the possibility of a memorial park being located near the cenotaph in east Sundre.
The town's Parks, Trails and Open Spaces committee recommended earlier that the space might be a good place for the park, where trees would be planted in memory of loved ones.
Town flags to be sold
Councillors have authorized the sale of Sundre flags by the Chamber of Commerce.
During last week's council meeting, councillors passed the following motion: “The Town of Sundre council moves to authorize administration to sell Town of Sundre flags to the Sundre and District Chamber of Commerce, at cost, for the purpose of retailing through the Visitor Information Centre.”
During an earlier council meeting, council set the flag cost at $125, including GST.”
At a recent chamber meeting, chamber members passed the following motion: “Rob Wolfe moved that the Sundre and District Chamber of Commerce purchase and retail the Town of Sundre flags through the VIC.”
The Town of Sundre will now order the flags as required, and all requests for flags will be directed by the town to the Chamber of Commerce.
Shades of Fun Day proclaimed
Town councillors have passed a resolution in support of eyesight promotion and awareness.
Councillors passed a motion that states: “The Town of Sundre council moves to support Vision Health month and to declare May 26, 2011 as CNIB Shades of Fun Day.”
In a letter to council, the CNIB outlined the Shades of Fun Day national event, where people will be encouraged to wear sunglasses to work to highlight the prevention of eye disease caused by sun exposure.
“Collectively wearing sunglasses on May 26 demonstrates a commitment to eye health, as excessive exposure to sunlight is a contributor to the development of major eye conditions such as cataracts and age-related macular degeneration,” said CNIB spokesperson Rosane Butz.
As part of the Shades of Fun Day, participants are being asked to consider a $2 donation to the CNIB, council heard.
Support for Pinkest Little Town
Councillors passed a motion in support of the Pinkest Little Town in the West breast cancer fundraising effort.
The motion reads: “The Town of Sundre council moves to support, in principle, the Pinkest Little Town Committee and their fundraising efforts for the Wild Pink Yonder challenge.”
The Pinkest Little Town in the West is a contest judged on a combination of the amount of money a town can raise (per capita) and the town's ability to become pink by participating businesses and others painting their properties pink, council heard.
The Sundre committee hopes to raise at least $27,000.
Events planned by the committee for Sundre include a street hockey tournament, a pony poker rally, a movie in the park, a community garage sale, and other activities, council heard.
Promotional supplies purchase green lit
Councillors have approved the $1,150 purchase of Town of Sundre promotional materials to be handed out at upcoming trade fairs, community events and to visitors to the town office.
Those materials include eco message bags, pens and pins, and temporary tattoos, council heard.
“The items purchased will assist administration in promoting the community in upcoming trade shows and other events and with early approval, will be able to order them before the end of the trade show season,” interim CAO Wanda Watson Neufeld said.
