Priddis Post Office: The Priddis Post Office closed as of September 13, 2019. If you are interested to set up a Canada Post Office in the Priddis area, please let me know and I will get you in touch with Canada Post representatives to give you all the details. You’ll need a secured room for the packages, WiFi for use of the CP tablet and the location must be accessible. This type of post office provides prepaid envelopes and parcel pick-up for packages that do not fit in our community mailbox parcel compartments. In the meantime, the location of large parcel pickup has changed to the Bragg Creek Post Office. The Silverado Post Office may be considered in the future, but due to external and internal reasons, Canada Post cannot locate it there yet. Remember that you can use FLEX DELIVERY to send your parcels to a location of your own choosing. Learn how to use Flex Delivery: youtube.com/watch?v=xoFpfo0B-tc#t=25
Meetings with our Justice Minister: The 3,600 sq. kms of Foothills County is part of a few provincial constituencies. That has given me the opportunity to participate in the rural crime meetings for Banff-Kananaskis with MLA Rosin in September and then for Highwood with MLA Sigurdson in October, as Councillor and as the local rural crime watch volunteer president. I am pleased to see that the MLAs and Justice Minister Schweitzer are listening to our ideas and are checking in with us to see if their proposed plans will work or effect change at the grass-roots level. Also, they are asking where and how they can support initiatives to help fight crime and change the system, in need of an overhaul. The High Country RCW Board looks forward to adding their perspective to the October 1 event being held in Okotoks at the Foothills Centennial Centre from 6-8pm. Residents are also invited to attend the meeting and participate in the info-gathering by filling in the Justice Department’s questionnaire. Find it here: hcrcwa.ca/downloads/Talking-Rural-Crime-Questionnaire-2019.pdf
Backyard Hens: Due to Priddis-area residents’ interest, our request to allow Backyard Hens on parcels under 3 acres was brought forward to Foothills County Council on April 17, 2019, while the County’s Land-Use Bylaw was being reviewed. (Various Animal Units are already allowed on parcels of 3+ acres.) On August 28, 2019, Council reviewed a report prepared by our staff outlining Backyard Chicken Bylaws from other municipalities, and we directed our administration to undertake public engagement via online survey regarding the proposed new regulations to allow for Backyard Hens (no roosters) on residential parcels under 3 acres in size. On Country Residential acreages from 2 to 3 acres, we propose that 12 hens be allowed, with no licence required. On acreages of 1 to 2 acres, not in a Hamlet, we propose allowing 6 hens, with no licence required. In Hamlets, the Hamlet residents (HOAs if relevant) will be consulted as to whether they want to allow the keeping of Backyard Hens, and we propose allowing up to 3 hens, with a licence required. To get the complete draft details, look for our online survey in the next few weeks on the Foothills County website. By the way, all chicken owners are supposed to obtain a Premises Identification under the Regulation set out in the Alberta Animal Health Act and should also review the “Guide for Small Flock Owners” published by the Alberta Government. Search: 2015-raising-chickens-alberta-06-15r.pdf
Fire Department Grant Applications: Foothills Officers have applied for grants, which they hope to obtain to finish the County’s Wildfire Mitigation Strategy and to continue FireSmart education. Once this plan is complete, they will identify mitigation work projects and could then apply for further funding the following year to do the work with our community associations, etc. In the spring of 2020, we hope to provide further demos and information to residents.
Dark Sky Country Signs stolen: If you know the whereabouts of the DSC signs stolen from 160 ST W, south of Highway 22X, please let me know. A lot of community efforts have gone into our initiative and we would like to expand our sign locations, not keep replacing them. For now, we won’t put another one up there, as the sign was stolen twice from the same location this summer. Just want to put it out there, that if you like our signs, we will sell you one. If you don’t like the initiative, let us know, but please leave the signs be. If you recognize our sign in someone’s house, perhaps you could encourage them to return. Thanks for hearing me out!
For Other News & Updates: Please visit my website: suzanneoel.com
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Best Regards,
Councillor Suzanne Oel
