Kevin Hanson – Division 1
2022 Budget Finalization
Council approved the 2022 full budget January 18th, after two full days of presentations from staff and Council deliberations. It supersedes the interim budget passed in December, which only served to “keep the lights on” and staff paid in the new year. The approved budget allows the County to fully operate on justified departmental spends and approved administrative initiatives can proceed on schedule. RVC’s operational budget is based on a rolling 3-year budget.
Administration’s recommendation for most budget items were accepted, with 3 items being adjusted by Council: minor revision to snow control in Langdon, reinstating dog license fees by 2023, and I championed the transfer of $550K from RVC’s reserve for small stormwater improvements (policy A-459 Storm Water Drainage Projects) into this years’ spend. This enables mitigating some long-standing and niggling little drainage problems – with a report coming to Council by end of May detailing which projects from Admin’s long list of candidates provide the best bang for your buck.
Amendments to this budget can continue to happen up to end of April when assessments are all in and tax rates are finalized. I will provide highlights of the capital budget (a 5-year rolling budget) in a future column. The approved budget should be on the County website by the time you are reading this.
Signage by Entrance to Tsuut’ina Lands from Wintergreen Road
A single access to a provincial ROW was negotiated with the Federal Government’s requirement to accommodate oil & gas well reclamation as part of the original land transfer. The chosen access is considered by RVC as roughly equivalent to a private driveway approach from a County road.
The sign is in County ROW, by about 30-40 metres, but the location was chosen with Administration’s input to ensure folks could stop and turn around safely at this point, as there is room to do so. To help, a temporary stop sign has also been erected, with a permanent replacement to follow.
Bragg Creek Wild – Canadian Mountain Network
I will be participating in preliminary investigative conversations with the Canadian Mountain Network. The goal of BCW working with this organization is to explore ways to gather scientific knowledge and data to support a model of integrated living in its natural environment – a place where both community and wildlife thrive. Hopefully the discussions prove fruitful and ongoing.
The Master Plan for the Bragg Creek Trails is due for its 10-year update. I attended a BCW online presentation of their thoughts on the updated Terms of Reference, and I encourage the community to respond to the Alberta Parks and Environment Survey and other engagement activities that will take place throughout the coming year.
Springbank ASPs / Bragg Creek Hamlet Expansion update
Just a quick update that the Springbank ASPs updates are now budgeted and continue to move forward. More details will be forthcoming from Administration regarding the schedule for re-engaging with the community. Similar story for BC, work on the new development forms by planning staff is ongoing and a mid-2022 update to Council is in the workplan for the Hamlet Expansion ASP.
CAO Hiring Progress
Early January saw Council shortlisting candidates and scheduling brief 20-minute online presentation opportunities. This is a pre-interview step we are employing that allows each short list candidate to make a sales pitch and put some colour to their resume – questions are for clarity – we are not asking interview style questions at this filtering stage. We believe this is the best use of everyone’s time and is also respectful of COVID-19 protocols.
Please e-mail me if you would like to be added to my contact list for e-mail and online communications Kevin.Hanson@RockyView.ca or call 403.463.1166.
