Mountain View County councillors have reviewed and accepted a number of annual reports from committees of council. The move came by way of motion at the recent regularly scheduled council meeting.
County policy is for the committees to submit yearly reports to council and administration outlining activities, successes and challenges. In all, six reports were submitted.
The county’s agricultural service board report was prepared by chairman Brian Rodger with assistance from county staff. It outlines a number of projects and other activities undertaken over the past year.
“We are excited about the new manned twine collection site at the agricultural services shop (near the county office off Highway 2A) with a rodent proof container supplied by Terra Metals,” Rodger said in the report.
“The site has had 42 participants dropping off over 200 bags of twine which otherwise would be in the landfill.”
Other activities include the following (quoted from the report):
• Support was given to Westway Farms and Season and Supply for their long table dinner with one hundred attendees enjoying a supper all with locally sourced food and refreshments.
• Some of our board members along with some councillors attended the second annual reconnect with the farm tour. Sixty attendees on two buses enjoyed visiting different agricultural businesses throughout the county. It is always amazing to see how excited people are to get out to a farm.
• The board has submitted a resolution to the Central Region ASB conference to have Ropin’ the Web restarted as this provides information and is a general store for agricultural producers from Manitoba to B.C. covering everything from hay, grain and all types of livestock.
• We continue to approve new ALUS and REEP projects throughout the county, some of which are unique (such as) adding fruit trees and other plants to provide eco-buffers.
“It is our pleasure to work with the county to strengthen the roots of agriculture. We cannot do this without county support,” said Rodger.
The Cremona and District Recreation and Culture Board report was submitted by chairman Dan Richmond.
He said the board worked well to ensure applications were handled appropriately.
“Each one was dealt with individually. I am particularly impressed by the intuitive thinking and contributions of each member. Through this, I believe, that the allocations are acceptable and fair. We also have been able to have enough of a reserve to provide funding for emergency type applications.
“Each year we are able to allocate funds in such a way that I believe meets the needs of the community and still maintain an appropriate service. We are insistent on appropriate application format and will establish communication with program applicants that may be deferred.”
The municipal planning commission approving authority report was submitted by chairman Gerald Ingeveld.
“There are no areas of concern for us,” said Ingeveld. “However, I will mention three questions that perhaps could be discussed at the council table in the future.”
Those questions are as follows (quoted from report):
• Environmentally sensitive areas (ESA) – Should any disturbance be allowed on an ESA identified property which will change its ESA rating?
• Setback relaxations – Could greater latitude be given to AASDA to approve setback relaxations in more cases? These applications are very seldom denied by the commission.
• Secondary suites – Secondary suites for family members are discretionary on certain acreage sizes and not on others. Council may wish to consider amending the rules for secondary suites.
The Carstairs Library Board report was submitted by Donna McArthur.
“A major task for the personnel committee was the hiring of a new Carstairs library manger as Joanne Merrick retired at the end of June,” she said. “They were successful in hiring Megan Ginther from the Edmonton Public Library.”
The Mountain View County subdivision and development appeal board report was submitted by chair Alan Gibson.
The board heard six appeals, with one upheld, four denied and one withdrawn.
The Strings and Keys Music Education Fund Committee report stated that 2019 was the fifth year funds have been distributed.
“This year we were particularly pleased with the number and quality of applications,” said committee member Jamie Syer.
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