Leslie Ayre-Jaschke

Peace River Library Grand Opening

noreply@blogger.com (Leslie) — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 00:12:00 +0000

Tomorrow, September 13, the Peace River Municipal Library & Cultural Centre will have its Grand Opening! There is a formal, by invitation event at 11:00, and then the public is invited to stop in for cake and Tim Horton's coffee between 3:00 and 8:00.

Come see the beautiful new facility with an art gallery, fireside reading lounge, public computers, over 100 magazine and newspaper subscriptions, and of course, more than a few books (about 38,000, with access to thousands more through Interlibrary Loan). There are also public meeting rooms and much more. If you've never been in a 21st century library, come and see how different it is from what you may remember from childhood.

The library is located behind the Greyhound Bus Depot at 9807-97 Avenue.

Regular hours will resume on Wednesday, open 10-6.

16th Annual Aboriginal Gathering and 8th Annual Powwow: June 11-12, 2011

noreply@blogger.com (Leslie) — Wed, 08 Jun 2011 23:59:00 +0000

It's Powwow time in the Peace Country, and in a new location this year--the Agricultural Grounds in Northern Sunrise County, East of Peace River. This is where the opening and closing ceremonies were held last year for the Alberta Summer Games and it should be a great venue for this important event.

As much as I love the Twelve Foot Davis Ball Park, where the event was held for the past two years, it poses many challenges, such as not enough space for camping, no kitchen, and traffic control over the Heart River bridge. At the Ag Grounds there is lots of room for camping, plus space for the drumming, dancing, jigging, and fiddling events, food booths, displays, and merchants. But I'll miss hearing the sounds of the drums and singing coming up from the ball park!

It's a great family event and a wonderful opportunity to see highly-talented individuals celebrating their culture. Plan to attend!

Poster

Town of Peace River News Releases: Fire ban/Misery Mountain evacuation centre

noreply@blogger.com (Leslie) — Thu, 19 May 2011 13:02:00 +0000

Two news releases yesterday from the Town of Peace River:

TOTAL FIRE BAN
Due to windy conditions and high wildfire risks, the Town of Peace River is implementing a total fire ban effective immediately, and until further notice.

The fire ban prohibits the use of all wood and briquette fires, including those contained in designated fire facilities and portable fire pits. Gas and propane stoves and/or barbeques, when approved for cooking, are permitted.

Media inquiries may be directed to:
Neil Tkach
Deputy Chief of Operations
Town of Peace River Fire Department
Phone: 780-624-0927
Cell: 780-618-8597

EVACUATION CENTRE AT MISERY MOUNTAIN SKI CHALET/SLAVE LAKE DONATIONS

The Town of Peace River would like to extend a sincere THANK YOU to all individuals, community groups, and businesses for their incredible support and contributions during this time of hosting the evacuees of Loon River, Red Earth Creek, and Little Buffalo.

The Misery Mountain Reception Centre registered 335 evacuees and continues to provide food services to approximately 250 individuals per meal.

Due to the generous donations received to-date, the Reception Centre does not require any further donations at this time.

If you would like to volunteer your time, please call the Misery Mountain Ski Hill at 780-624-4881 to register. Volunteers will be contacted when there is a need, as each day changes.

The Town would encourage all citizens to please provide privacy to the evacuees by not coming to the Reception Centre and we would ask that you please take extra care while driving as the evacuations have brought many additional children to our community.

For donations to the Slave Lake fire please go to the Red Cross Website at www.redcross.ca.

Media inquiries may be directed to:
Renate Bensch
Public Information Officer
Town of Peace River
780-624-2574

Public input sessions on proposed Off-Highway Vehicle Bylaw

noreply@blogger.com (Leslie) — Sun, 17 Apr 2011 12:49:00 +0000

A regional Off-Highway Vehicle Committee was formed in about 2008 to examine the issues surrounding off-highway vehicles--noise, safety, potential for trails/tracks, etc. (Off-highway vehicles include snowmobiles, dirt bikes, quads, etc.)

A bylaw has been drafted to try to address the needs of urban and rural residents with regard to these vehicles. The participating municipalities are now looking for feedback at a series of open houses.

Open houses are all at 7:00 PM (no information on how long they run):

April 18: Grimshaw Elks Hall (MD of Peace No. 135)
April 19: Manning Legion Hall (County of Northern Lights)
April 20: Marie Reine Cultural Centre (Northern Sunrise County)
April 21: Belle Petroleum Centre (Town of Peace River)

Come out to learn about how the bylaw might affect you (whether or not you use off-highway vehicles) and to offer your feedback.

Choral Music Week in Peace River: May 2-7, 2011

noreply@blogger.com (Leslie) — Sat, 09 Apr 2011 18:25:00 +0000

Peace Region residents will want to check out this exciting week of choral music.

Monday, May 2, 7:30 PM: Holy Family School in Grimshaw
The University of Alberta Mixed Chorus and Faculty of Education Handbell Ringers. Admission is $5.00 per person.

Tuesday, May 3, 7:30 PM: St. James Anglican Church in Peace River
The Augustana University Choir will present its concert "Earth, Wind, Water, Fire." Admission is $15/adult, $10/child, and $40/family.

During the week, the Alberta Opera will be visiting various schools in the area.

Saturday, May 7, 7:30 PM: St. James Anglican Church in Peace River
The Peace River Community Choir will hold its season finale recital. The choir recently achieved a superior rating at the North Peace Performing Arts Festival. Congratulations! Admission is by donation.

Not an April Fool's Joke: The Peace River Bus is Done

noreply@blogger.com (Leslie) — Fri, 01 Apr 2011 04:34:00 +0000

Peace River's innovative transit system is finished, and this was abruptly brought home tonight when I spoke with a young couple who have relied on the bus for years. They are tremendously disappointed with this decision by our Town Council. In fact, I haven't spoken with anyone in weeks who thought this was a good idea. The Chamber of Commerce didn't think it was a good idea. Just who is Council listening to, besides the taxi drivers?

And as of tomorrow, the lives of this couple will once again contract to the East side of the river, to wherever they can get to by foot (he will push her in a wheelchair), and finding rides from others. Gone is the freedom and dignity they've enjoyed to choose when and where they went in this sprawling town, for an affordable price.

They and others will have to scramble to find rides to work, to college, to daycare, to get groceries, to get to the doctor or hospital. Back to having to depend on friends, scrounging rides as they can get them, or paying expensive cab fares.

And if Deputy Mayor Darling's still-in-development plan is eventually implemented, they may have the opportunity to get subsidized taxi passes if they can prove they belong to some less fortunate group that he has deemed worthy of this help.

How demeaning and disempowering. "Here's my T4 to prove I'm among the working poor;" "Here's my AISH status, my birth certificate ...") On the bus, everyone was equal and you didn't have to prove you were eligible to ride.

And now our Mayor is trying to blame staff because there hasn't been a "seamless transition" to some as-yet-to-be-decided alternative. How noble.

Has there been clear direction to staff from this Council in the form of a motion? Has Council ever clearly articulated to the public that the Town was working on something to replace the bus--if so, this is news to the riders and the concerned members of the Peace River Transit Stakeholder's Group. Why was Deputy Mayor Darling dabbling with an "enhanced" taxi pass scheme if staff had been directed to do this? And why did NADC withdraw from doing a proper a transit study? So many questions, so few real answers. So much for transparency.

What a sad day for our town--Peace River was actually starting to look like a progressive place that welcomed all kinds of people and considered the quality of life for everyone. Now? Not so much.

Tell Alberta Views About Peace River (deadline Tuesday, March 29)

noreply@blogger.com (Leslie) — Tue, 22 Mar 2011 02:12:00 +0000

Alberta Views magazine has an interesting monthly feature on communities by postal code and next up (for the June issue) is T8S--Peace River! It would be great to see a variety of responses from our residents.

You are asked to respond to three questions:

(1) What do you love about your community?

(2) What do you, well, not love so much?

(3) What would you love to change?

Submit your responses to Peter Worden at peterw@albertaviews.ab.ca by Tuesday.

Town of Peace River Parks & Trails Public Consultation

noreply@blogger.com (Leslie) — Tue, 08 Feb 2011 13:37:00 +0000

The Peace River Community Services Department invites community input into the proposed Parks and Trails Development Plan. Read over the plan, then share your thoughts on trails, parks and playgrounds with the public input form and at two drop-in opportunities:

Thursday, February 10 between 4:30 and 7:00 p.m. at the Kinsmen Arena

Saturday, February 12 between 10:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. at Riverdrive Mall

Peace River Public Transportation: Mixed Messages

noreply@blogger.com (Leslie) — Wed, 02 Feb 2011 22:13:00 +0000

The Support the Bus meeting on Monday night was an exciting show of community mobilization. Erin Steele has an informative overview ("Community rallies around bus issue") in this week's Record-Gazette, so I'll keep my comments to what I observed and what I've been thinking about since Monday night.

Beyond the courage it took for many of the people to get up and speak to a crowd of this size (bravo for them!), a number of things stood out for me:

Cohesion: This is not yet a cohesive Council and might never be. There was no coherent message that told me these policy-makers had truly considered the pros and cons of this decision. Each person who spoke seemed to have a bit of the picture, but no one presented a full one. And the concerns I had back in October (Builder or Divider?) still hold true based on what I saw on Monday and in previous Council meetings.

Mixed Messages: Mayor Mann started out his comments by saying that Council hadn't cancelled the bus service, but rather it was that the current contract wasn't working. I doubt this nuanced distinction was very comforting for the people in the audience who had just bared their vulnerabilities by describing how not having a bus would affect them. The comment raised the question in my mind as to whether Council or Town staff are negotiating with another provider? If so, let's hear about it, in the spirit of the "transparency" that we hear Mayor Mann wants to see (such as with the airport negotiations) and so people can stop worrying about April 1.

However, despite the Mayor's comment, others appear to support the decision to give notice on the contract solely from a financial perspective, saying that the service is too expensive for the number of people who ride it. Councillor Lafontaine said it "stood out like a sore thumb" when Council first reviewed the budget. If that's the case, why summarily cancel without going back to administration for other ideas, suggestions for creating efficiencies, etc.? The arena also stands out like a sore thumb when you look at what it costs, but it's unlikely that Council would decide to shut it down without checking first with staff and user groups. This seemingly hasty decision was done around the same time Council was busy getting rid of its highly competent CAO. She might have provided valuable guidance about how best to address the issue in a way that would not result in widespread public backlash.

But back to the question--which is it? Is it just a case of a contract that isn't working and that could perhaps be fixed so people will still have transportation on April 1, or it is a big ticket service that Council (or some of Council) isn't prepared to continue to support?

Where's the plan? The decision to cancel the bus service (sorry, cancel the contract) appears to have been done with no plan in place and none developed since. If there IS a plan, it is not being communicated to those most interested—the riders, employers whose employees rely on the service and various service providers. And there was scant indication on Monday that Council cared much about what impact their decision will have on regular riders. Empathy and solutions were in short supply.

This decision was made quietly in December without any communication until mid-January. We heard the suggestion on Monday that a committee could be set up to secure funding and run the service. If Council thought that was a good idea, perhaps it could have directed Community Services to set up a consultation with stakeholders early in January. I find it discouraging to have this tossed back to volunteers in such a cavalier manner and with so little time left to plan.

Where is the professional guidance? Why is Council making this kind of decision apparently all on its own? Where was the involvement of the Town's professional staff? Has the Director of Community Services been completely sidelined in all of this? If she wasn't she invited by Council to speak to the issue on Monday, then why not?

Mayor Mann's comment that this council has experience in business and budgets and that it will “go through the budget line-by-line” showed an astonishing lack of understanding about the role of Council. In my world, this is called micro-management. Do the Mayor and councillors want to both govern and manage? That’s never a good mix.

The Town has qualified, professional staff whose job it is to plan and bring forward ideas and budgets for Council to consider and to take Council's ideas and figure out how to implement them. A municipality is a complex set of businesses from museums to recreation to water and sewer. Councillors are amateurs and they are part-time and ought not to be meddling in the day-to-day management of the corporate body. Their knowledge and expertise is far more suitably applied, with the help of staff, to high level thinking about future direction and priorities, reflected in the policies they set, not wasting their time and that of staff going though a budget line-by-line.

Who does the Town exist to serve? One councillor apparently said that "the taxpayers wouldn't like it" if the bus service was retained. Hmmm, does the municipality exist only to serve taxpayers? (And don't renters pay taxes indirectly?)

Mayor Mann referred several times throughout the evening to the "core business" of the Town. I agree that roads, sewer and water are important, but I'll remind him that people don't tend to move to a community or decide to set up a business because the place has great roads. The quality of life available to residents--those with money and those without--is a major factor in relocation. And good quality of life for all requires some spending as well as leadership from the municipality to build a diverse community that "fosters rich cultural, social, educational, and economic opportunities for ALL" and where "we take pride in our safe, healthy and environmentally friendly community where we live, play and work cooperatively with our neighbours" (Peace River Vision Statement, 2009).

Surely this Council doesn't intend to convey the message that Peace River really doesn't care about people who are not taxpayers! Unfortunately, this decision and the lack of follow-up to help those who rely on the service does tend to send out this message.

I hope I'm wrong, but I got the sense that Council has no intention to revisit this decision. Yet nothing much was offered to the concerned residents in attendance or those who signed the petition except platitudes about how hard it is to make choices and old ideas that toss the matter back to the community to solve (and with not enough time to do anything).

Is this what being fiscally conservative means--just cut and damn the consequences? It was a highly unsatisfying response from a group of smart men who ought to be able to do better than that. And I didn't once hear the Mayor ask his favourite question: "How can we help YOU?"

Public Meeting to Support the Peace River Bus: January 31, 2011

noreply@blogger.com (Leslie) — Thu, 27 Jan 2011 14:55:00 +0000

Following is more information about the public meeting on the cancellation of the Peace River bus service.

7:00 PM Monday, January 31, 2011

Belle Petroleum Centre

Call 780 624-4800 if you need a ride. Bus service will be available after the meeting.

Format of the Meeting

The meeting is being facilitated by Larry Stewart from the Department of Culture & Community Spirit
Those present will be given the chance to explain by speaking or writing how the bus cancellation will affect their lives (written comments will be read out at the meeting).
If you cannot attend the meeting but want your story included of how the bus service cancellation will affect you, your family, your business, or your community, send an e-mail to Joan Wahl at jfwahl@telusplanet.net and it will be read at the meeting.
There will also be a chance to write out questions, which will be read out, for the Town Councillors who attend the meeting.
Questions about the meeting or format: Call Joan at 780 624-2369 or e-mail at the above address.

Plan to attend if you have an interest in retaining this important service. Bring a friend. And if you can't attend, but want to be heard, be sure to send an email to Ms. Wahl.

Further Thoughts on Bus Service Cancellation

noreply@blogger.com (Leslie) — Tue, 18 Jan 2011 16:34:00 +0000

I've been working on the issue of a lack of transportation options in Peace River for nearly 10 years. When the health centre moved from the South Side to the West Hill, some clients of the prenatal nutrition program that I worked with had difficulty getting to appointments because they now needed to take a cab, which was expensive for anyone on a low or fixed income. The program assisted by paying cab fares, but we could see that this would not be sustainable for long given the program's small budget.

I then chaired the Peace Regional Transportation Committee when I worked for the Peace Health Region and conducted a small study about the issue. The study, and advocacy by Fairview College, the Women's Shelter, and the PDD (Persons with Developmental Disabilities) board among others, helped convince Town Council to start a bus service.

Unfortunately, the service suffered from uncertain year-to-year funding and it was difficult for Community Services to promote or develop the service when it could be easily cancelled. The former Council gave the service a five-year funding window to prove itself, but the present Council decided, apparently based solely on financial considerations, to cancel the service halfway through that window, effective March 31.

If it's true that Council considered only the cost of the service, does that show a good decision-making process? The bus service is an easy target because it is a contract, the riders don't tend to be people with a big voice, and if you don't personally use something, it's very easy to think that something is underused, too expensive, or not necessary.

Not to say that there isn't room for improvement to the service, but to summarily cut without exploring options? Good public policy work requires more than a knee-jerk reaction to a budget that is larger than you'd like. The budget deliberation process is a time for Council and staff to discuss, explore options, run scenarios, consider what is necessary and what is not, and consider what could be improved or done differently. This is a Community Services program, so why would Council make a decision about one of its programs apparently without input from the department or its board? Why cancel without a proper evaluation?

Public transit is never inexpensive and is always supported by tax dollars, just like arenas, swimming pools, and other municipal services. If Peace River's transit service broke even, or even came close, it would probably be the first in the world to do so.

Other than financial, Council might have considered that most public housing units and apartment buildings are located on the East side of the river, while Northern Lakes College and most of the grocery stores and fast food restaurants (important sources of employment) are on the West side.

If you've ever walked or cycled from the East to the West side, even in the summer, you'll know that it's a long and arduous journey. But a taxi ride could cost upwards of $20 one-way. If you're a student or working in a lower-wage job, could you afford to spend $40 a day on transportation? (Last week's Peace River Record-Gazette had an informative article on the issue that highlighted comments from some users of the service.)

Council is suggesting that the Town's taxi pass program is available and could perhaps be increased. The people riding the bus now wouldn't qualify for taxi passes. And if passes were offered more broadly, I suspect it wouldn't take long to run up considerable costs. If Council is prepared to subsidize more taxi rides, why not just continue with the bus service, which is also a local business and employer?

Mayor Mann ran on a platform of listening to "elders, youth and everyone in between" and with a commitment to ask the question "How can we help YOU?" It's an excellent question, but only if it is asked of everyone. I hope there is a strong Council presence at the public meeting on January 31 to hear from people about how Council can help them.

Peace River's Bus Service Cancellation: Petition locations & public meeting

noreply@blogger.com (Leslie) — Sat, 15 Jan 2011 19:59:00 +0000

If you're concerned about Council's decision in December to cancel the Peace River bus service, you have a few options:

Petition: This petition asks Town Council to revisit the decision, but is not one that will be legally-binding, since those take enormous effort because of the requirement for each signature to be witnessed and the witness swearing an affidavit. But the organizers hope it will give Council an indication of interest in the issue.

There are 32 petition locations. Here are a few--if you care about the loss of the service and are a resident of Peace River, be sure to make an effort to sign:

In the Downtown area:

A&W
Value Drug
The Bargain Store
Liquidation World
Sagitawa Friendship Centre
The Dollar Store

On the West Hill:

No Frills
IGA
Shopper's Drug

In the North End:

Sugar Plum Tree Daycare

Public Meeting: A public meeting is scheduled for Monday, January 31, 7:00 at the Belle Petroleum Centre. This is an accessible location (unlike Council Chambers). Transportation will be available. The organizers hope that Mayor and councillors will attend. People who are affected by the service cancellation will have the opportunity to speak to the issue, and all points of view will be welcome during this facilitated discussion. More details coming.

Peace River Town Council Signals New Direction: CAO, Transit, Airport, Fire Service

noreply@blogger.com (Leslie) — Mon, 10 Jan 2011 20:55:00 +0000

The minutes of December 13 and 20 are contained in the January 10 agenda package available on the Town's website. They signal how the new Council plans to distinguish itself from the former Council.

December 13, 2010
Chief Administrative Officer (CAO)
After a 2-hour in camera session, Council moved to accept Norma MacQuarrie's resignation on a "without cause" basis. In my limited experience, the term "without cause" has applied in the case of a dismissal (the recent firing of Stephen Duckett by Alberta Health Services is an example), not a resignation. To whom or what does "without cause" apply? Perhaps someone with HR experience can enlighten me.

The rest of the motion indicates that compensation will be "based on the CAO's employment contract." Will the public know the cost of Ms. MacQuarrie's leaving?

The CAO position is being advertised in the Record-Gazette and on the Municipal World Job Board. The ad indicates that Council is looking for a "dedicated, motivated, and dynamic professional" to join the team. As well "The successful candidate will be a leader with excellent communication and interpersonal skills that will promote strategic development and improvement of municipal services to create a vibrant and sustainable community. The individual will be responsible to provide leadership and direction to a staff of 62 full-time and 5 part-time employees." These are exactly the qualities of the highly competent and ethical CAO that the Town had, and who will be a very difficult act to follow.

December 20, 2010
After another 2-hour in camera session, three motions of significance resulted:
1. That a letter be drafted to the Airport Committee stating that, while the Town of Peace River is committed to a high level of regional cooperation, the newly elected council requires time to fully assess the proposed airport governance structure and would like to meet with the regional partners to help address the following concerns:
1) Governance model - “Society” vs. “Authority”
2) Operational Components - issues surrounding existing staff
3) Proposed memorandum of understanding with Northern Air Charter
4) Membership Agreement - one year commitments
5) Cost sharing formula
6) Alberta Health Services Building Location

Council wants to understand the implications of this regional cooperation initiative, which is important. But it also needs to have some trust in the previous work done to investigate governance models thoroughly and to negotiate on cost sharing. Most importantly, Peace River Council should not unnecessarily hold up this important process. It would be easy to lose momentum and leave the Town once again completely responsible for the airport, which is a significant cost to our taxpayers. Asking partners to share costs also means that power and control need to be shared.

2. That administration provide 90-days notice of termination to Napp ‘n Sons Ventures Ltd. with respect to cancelling the Peace River Transit Service effective March 31, 2011.
This is an extremely disappointing decision given the previous Council's decision to allow this innovative service a few years of stable funding to get established, build ridership, and establish an advertising base.

Questions that arise in my mind:

What evidence base did Council use to come to the decision?
Was Community Services and the Community Services board consulted on this decision? If not, why not?
Was Northern Lakes College consulted since it could affect the ability of its students to get to class? If not, why not?
Were employers consulted who have employees that count on this service?
How influential was the taxi company lobby in this decision?
Has Council directed administration to identify other ways to help low income people get around this very inaccessible town? If not, why not?
Why was there no news release announcing this decision that affects so many people and explaining the rationale?

If you are concerned about this decision, let Community Services (780-624-1000) and Town Council know.

3. That administration contact the Town of Slave Lake and the Town of Hinton to determine the level of service provided by their fire departments and their annual fire department budget.
It's important that Council understand how other communities manage their fire services. Peace River's fire department has aspirations that may go beyond the Town's abilities to fund without cutting other important programs. I hope Council has already considered the comprehensive review the former Council undertook, which if I remember correctly, included comparatives with other small Alberta fire departments.

Support for Your New Year's Resolutions

noreply@blogger.com (Leslie) — Wed, 05 Jan 2011 21:49:00 +0000

Smoking Cessation

Did you resolve to quit smoking in 2011? If so, the Peace River Alberta Health Services Addictions Services is offering a program called QuitCore to help. It's a free 6 session group smoking cessation program for adults, running on Wednesdays in February (2, 9, 16, 23) and March (9, 30) from 6:30-8:00 at the AHS Addictions Office – Peace River Provincial Building (9621-96 Avenue) (formerly AADAC). Register by January 31 at 1-866-710-QUIT (7848).

The STEPPING UP Program

Is family violence an issue for you? The North Peace Society for the Prevention of Domestic Violence is a nonprofit organization that runs free educational groups for men and women involved in domestic violence, with separate groups. These run for 15 weeks for 2 hours once a week. The program helps participants learn a healthier way to share the worries, anger and the joy of being a family. All information is confidential and will not be shared without the participant's knowledge.Registration is through a Probation Officer, Child Welfare Worker, or Community Helper or individuals can sign up directly by calling 780-624-8235 or emailing: npspdv@telus.net.

Village on a Diet

Made a resolution to get fitter or slimmer (or both)? Taylor, BC is on a path towards increased fitness and well-being and you can watch the progress on CBC's new program on Tuesday nights called Village on a Diet. This is part of CBC's Live Right Now initiative. On the website you can watch the Village program plus others full of excellent information. You can also sign up to track weight loss and activity, participate in challenges, and join or start a group to help support you in your efforts.

Resolved to Read More or Learn More?

The Peace River Municipal Library has some new programs starting this month, including Easy eBooks and Audio Downloads on Saturday, January 8 from 10:00 to noon and The Great Courses Lunchtime Lecture Series on weekdays from 12:15 to 12:45, starting on January 11.

Happy Holidays/Merry Christmas

noreply@blogger.com (Leslie) — Thu, 23 Dec 2010 15:02:00 +0000

All the best to you in this holiday season. I hope there is lots of time to relax, spend time with friends and family, and reflect on the past and coming year. The question each of us can ask is: What can I do in 2011 to make a positive difference to life in the Peace Country?

Leslie

Town Council Holiday Open House

noreply@blogger.com (Leslie) — Thu, 16 Dec 2010 15:53:00 +0000

Today's open house is from 3:00-7:00 PM at the Peace River Museum, Archives & Mackenzie Centre (10302-99 Street). It's an opportunity to meet your new mayor and council members and talk to them about where they see Peace River heading in 2011 and beyond.

Light refreshments will be served and the Peace River Community Choir will perform.

For more information, call the Town Office at 780-624-2574.

Peace River Town Council Regular Council Meeting: December 13, 2010

noreply@blogger.com (Leslie) — Mon, 13 Dec 2010 01:14:00 +0000

On the agenda for Monday, December 13:

Adoption of minutes, including those from a special Council meeting held on November 29 at the Belle Petroleum Centre, without staff present, where the decision was to appoint Renate Bensch as Acting CAO.

There is a public hearing on an amendment to the Land Use Bylaw to add two discretionary uses: "recycling depot" within the Mixed Commercial Residential District (C-R) and "indoor participant recreation services" under the Neighbourhood Commercial District (C-N) (this is a discretionary use under the C-R designation). There appears to currently be only one area of town with a C-N designation, but expanded residential development could lead to the creation of more of these districts. If the bylaw goes ahead, the way will be cleared for the Municipal Planning Commission to consider an application for a bottle depot at the former Ackland's building (behind the funeral home) and a "recreation service" in the North end where the bowling alley once stood.

There are four presentations to Council:
Don Good on what is probably his vision for changes in how taxation revenue is distributed (5:15)
The Mighty Peace Golf Course on assistance in funding improvements (6:00)
The Library Manager and I on the 2011 library budget (6:30)
The Oil Sands Sustainable Development Secretariat (7:30)

Under New Business:

Council will be naming its choices for the Community Enhancement Awards
Appointment of a new member to the Subdivision & Development Appeal Board
Request from the Women's Shelter for land for expanded parking
Request to approve an interim budget
Making decisions on a number of grants and donations requests
Reviewing the Mutual Aid Agreement
Reviewing current economic development projects
Reviewing the proposed change to the assessment services contract

Mark Your Calendar: Creating Rural Connections 2011 Conference – April 12 to 14, 2011

noreply@blogger.com (Leslie) — Fri, 10 Dec 2010 23:08:00 +0000

The Alberta Rural Development Network (ARDN) is hosting its second rural development conference at the Mayfield Inn & Suites, Edmonton, Alberta April 12 to April 14, 2011. Further details available in January.

There is a call for presentations out, due January 14, 2011, which can be about rural projects or programs underway or completed; rural research under development, in progress or completed; or training/learning opportunities that are available throughout rural Alberta. Groups can showcase existing partnerships between researchers/post-secondary institutions and communities. It would be good to see some sessions from Northern Alberta.

There are also opportunities for showcasing services, products, or organizations, with two levels of trade show sponsorships (information available at the same link as presentations).

Last year's conference in Lethbridge was very successful, bringing people from diverse sectors together to explore topics and mutual interests.

Council Committee of the Whole Agenda: December 6, 2010

noreply@blogger.com (Leslie) — Sat, 04 Dec 2010 18:02:00 +0000

The agenda package for Monday's Committee of the Whole meeting of Peace River Town Council is available for downloading or viewing.

At 5:00, Council will hear an economic development update.

Other items of interest:
Selection of the 2010 Community Enhancement Award recipients (one individual and one business). Nominees include:
Individual: Dave VanTamelen and the Alberta Summer Games Committee; Frank Light (fire safety training)
Business: River City Cinema; Peace River Town & Country Realty; Twilight Videos & Games; Java Domainn

Draft Parks & Trails Plan. According to the agenda package, this plan "provides an overview of the existing parks, playgrounds and trails within the municipality. It encompasses recommendations on the enhancement of existing trails and future development of new trails . . . [and] includes the existing 5 year Parks Upgrade plan" (the full draft document is included in the agenda package). The report references a number of important policy documents from the past three years, including Avi Friedman's downtown revitalization report, the new Municipal Development Plan, the Municipal Sustainability Plan, among others.

The Process Steps and Timelines are laid out in the Request for Decision, projecting (among other critical dates) a February 2 Public Input Open House and March 14 Council approval of the plan.

The AUMA Elected Officials Education Program (EOEP) motion that I blogged about previously is on this agenda.

Council Meetings in December and 2011: Councillor Lafontaine's request that Council consider meeting on December 20 and also on every Monday of every month throughout 2011 will be discussed. This would be a grueling schedule for staff and Council. It would mean that staff would be working prior to every long weekend to prepare the Council agenda package and that Council and some staff would lose every long weekend of the year to meeting preparation and attendance.

More troubling to me is that this schedule would also likely mean that there would be less than full Council in attendance for many of the meetings. This could allow for agenda manipulation on contentious items in order to limit debate or ensure passage of motions. I think it's important that as much as possible, every agenda item gets full attention by all or most of Council. When there are gaps built into the meeting schedule (monthly, for long weekends, or to allow for a longer summer or Christmas break), it can allow Council members to plan around those to ensure he can attend most meetings as well as have a break from Council work.

Council work can put a lot of strain on family and personal life and this proposal, while perhaps practical in terms of predictability, seems unnecessarily punitive for the CAO, Directors, other staff, and the families of mayor and councillors as well as Council members themselves.

RCMP September and October 2010 Mayor's Reports: The reports provide detailed crime statistics, broken down by category (e.g., assaults, break and enter, drugs, etc.) and by the area (Peace River municipal boundaries; the rural area around Peace River, and Grimshaw municipal boundaries). There are also traffic statistics and a "year in review" for crime and traffic statistics for the whole region. The 9 year overview provides a higher-level look at crime and traffic statistics for the region.

Great news for Peace River library project: Feds extend timeline for infrastructure stimulus project completion

noreply@blogger.com (Leslie) — Fri, 03 Dec 2010 20:12:00 +0000

This announcement about a 7-month extension for infrastructure stimulus projects is very welcome news and will give everyone involved in the Peace River library renovation and expansion project some breathing room. Peace River wasn't the only municipality facing challenges to complete by the deadline, but our lone voice did not hold much weight. When the former Council spoke with MP Chris Warketin about this, we were told the deadline was the deadline, no exceptions.

But when many of the major cities began to lobby for this change and the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) stepped in to put pressure on the government to extend the deadline, I was encouraged and am now delighted. The local project appears to be on track for substantial completion by March 31 despite the relatively late start and the setback caused by the foundation failure, but this announcement does take off some of the pressure. Many thanks to FCM for advocating on behalf of all Canadian municipalities with stimulus funding.

AUMA's Top Priorities for 2011

noreply@blogger.com (Leslie) — Mon, 29 Nov 2010 17:07:00 +0000

The Alberta Urban Municipalities Association has released its top priorities for 2011:

Government transfers to municipalities
Municipal infrastructure funding
Municipal water and wastewater systems

At the AUMA convention, priorities are voted on in population-based segments of cities, towns, villages or summer villages. AUMA notes that this is the first time in many years that all segments agreed on the top three priorities. That's a good sign and allows AUMA to take action knowing there is this support from all sizes of Alberta urban municipalities.

Entrench the Education of Elected Officials: AUMA Request to Councils

noreply@blogger.com (Leslie) — Sun, 28 Nov 2010 18:07:00 +0000

The Alberta Urban Municipalities Association (AUMA) is asking councils across the province to consider a motion to entrench a commitment to enable mayors and councillors to make use of the Elected Officials Education Program (EOEP).

Here is part of the preamble:
The Elected Officials Education Program (EOEP) began offering education on roles and responsibilities of elected officials in Alberta in 2008. The EOEP was developed to provide municipally elected officials with an opportunity to broaden their knowledge and skills and helps raise the quality of municipal government ... To raise awareness of the program and provide some consistency across the province, the EOEP asks for your support in presenting the following motion to council in support of elected official education: "that the Council approve Administration bringing forward a report on the educational opportunities available through the EOEP, and that consideration be given during budget discussions to allocating monies to training and education of municipal elected officials throughout the 3-year term of the Council."

Although the motion does not require Council members to take the courses (and until they are available via videoconference, it is difficult for Northerners to take them), passing this motion could at least serve to recognize the value of having council members make a commitment to learning about their very great responsibilities and being as effective as possible in this role.

Rural/Urban Divide?

noreply@blogger.com (Leslie) — Sat, 27 Nov 2010 20:18:00 +0000

I thought I'd pass along the link to an insightful blog about the perceived rural-urban political divide as it relates to political parties here in Alberta.

Alberta Urban Municipalities Association (AUMA) convention: Nov. 23-25, 2010

noreply@blogger.com (Leslie) — Wed, 24 Nov 2010 14:58:00 +0000

Peace River's new Council will be attending the annual AUMA convention this week. Although the main convention started yesterday, there were pre-convention sessions on Monday that included:

Now That You've Been Elected
Is Your Municipality Viable: How to Find Out
What New Elected Officials Need to Know
Water Conservation Planning
Effective Decision Making (a module of the Elected Officials Education Program). I was only able to attend one of the EOEP courses during my term on Council--the one on municipal financial statements and management--and it was excellent.

Tuesday there were policy debates on the various resolutions submitted by municipalities. When passed, these resolutions provide direction to the AUMA board and administration. A quick scan of the titles will give you a glimpse into what issues are on the minds of municipalities around the province.

For instance, Grande Prairie presented a resolution to request the government to establish a renewable energy expert panel. The resolution passed according to a tweet from Mayor Bill Given. Peace River's former Council submitted a resolution on the establishment of a Renewable Power Incentive Program In Alberta. Once I hear how the vote went, I'll update here.

The AUMA convention also has a huge trade show featuring products and services relevant to municipalities and many opportunities for social activities and networking that are valuable over a councillor's term.

Peace River Town Council Regular Council Meeting: November 8, 2010

noreply@blogger.com (Leslie) — Sun, 07 Nov 2010 16:45:00 +0000

Here are a few highlights from Monday's agenda:

At 5:00, Shell Canada is updating Council on the Carmon Creek regulatory process, Three Creeks emissions, and proposed winter activity for the Peace River Venture Area
Council is being asked to do first reading on two changes to the Land Use Bylaw (the former Acklands-Grainger building to allow for a bottle depot and the site of the former bowling alley for a "indoor participant recreation service facility). The proposed date for a public hearing is December 13
A request to make the proxy appointment to the newly-formed Peace Regional Waste Management Company (the former East Peace Landfill Authority. Also included in the package are the articles of association and memorandum of understanding
A request to appoint public members to the Peace River Municipal Library Board (me) and to the Community Services Board (Neil Martin). One November 1, the motion to appoint me to the Library Board was defeated. I was subsequently asked to provide a resume to support my application, which is in this week's package. This item also shows a list of various boards that have vacancies, for anyone interested in volunteer opportunities.
Council is being asked to support the Mackenzie Municipal Services Agency (MMSA) in its application for grant funding under the Alberta Municipal Affairs Regional Collaboration Program to enable the agency and region to be proactive in the development of a Land Use Framework.
Update on the Medical Centre of Excellence business plan undertakings and a request that Council use the joint advisory committee mechanism within the Capital Cost Sharing Agreement with Northern Sunrise County to discuss funding the development of the business plan. This would be allocated from the joint future facilities and infrastructure reserve. If approved, a committee would be formed to oversee the initiative.
Dr. Dave Willox's PowerPoint slides making the case for the Centre are included in the agenda package. Health Minister Zwozdesky recently visited Peace River to discuss the Centre so let's hope Alberta Health Services gets behind the project and does it quickly. As the recent letter from Peace River doctors indicates, the limited clinic space is exacerbating an already-critical situation with doctor retention and recruitment.
Minutes from the Peace River Regional Airport Marketing Plan Committee are included along with the marketing plan
Under the Information section of the agenda are letters from Northern Sunrise County and the County of Northern Lights indicating the appointments made from the Councils on various regional committees (Off-Highway Vehicle Committee, Regional Airport Committee, Library Building Committee, Inter-Municipal Development Plan Committee, Regional Assessment Board)

There is much more on the agenda so scan through to see if there are items of interest to you. If there are, consider attending the portion of the meeting where these are discussed. It can help to understand a decision if you've been able to observe the discussion.