Suzanne Oel – Division 4
Greetings! Sharing my News Update…
Foothills County Stats: According to census results, 23,000+ people call this beautiful rural municipality “home”. Our County features the foothills, rivers and prairie of sunny, southern Alberta, covering an area of approximately 3,600 square kilometres. The County maintains over 2,000 kilometres of road and features 2 Provincial primary highways. Highways 2 & 22 run through the municipality, giving easy access to Canadian and US markets, an ideal location for homes, farms and businesses. We are next-door to Calgary and 13 other municipal neighbours, and we’ve been around in our current form since 1954 (69 years). Our records show 15,300+ taxable rolls here; that is, separate-titled properties to which property taxes are applied. If your property is one of these tax rolls, located here in Foothills County, your property taxes will be owing every year by September 30.
What is a Municipality? Foothill County is a rural municipality, a separate local- government corporate entity, subject to the provincial department of Municipal Affairs, and laws of Alberta, Canada and our own Foothills County Bylaws. Municipalities come in different forms, including counties, municipal districts, specialized municipalities, cities, towns and villages. A number of hamlets are part of the County’s jurisdiction (not separate corporate entities). Our County is a part of a collaboration of all 69 counties and municipal districts, called the Rural Municipalities of Alberta (RMA). Find more details, here: rmalberta.com
7 Divisions: Foothills County is divided into 7 electoral divisions, each represented by a Councillor. I am writing to you from Division 4. As your local councillor, it is my pleasure to assist you with matters of a municipal nature and also help refer you to other resources. You can search our division map and land use maps on the County’s website: www.foothillscountyab.ca Printed paper maps are available for purchase at the County’s office.
Division 4 Councillor Tasks: I prepare for and attend weekly full-day Council meetings (which are now live-streamed), have on-going interaction (work, support, meetings) with residents, community associations, businesses, school divisions, provincial & federal departments & representatives, attend RMA conferences, and work on current issues… I participate as a member on these Boards & Committees, which were confirmed at our annual re-organizational meeting in October 2023: Alberta Municipal Climate Leadership Council, Bow River Basin Council, Calgary Metropolitan Region Board – Land-Use & Servicing Committee, Calgary Regional Airshed Zone, Cross Conservation Area Board, Dark Sky Initiatives Stakeholders Working Group, Foothills Regional Emergency Services Commission (Chairperson), Foothills Rural Policing Committee, Inter-Municipal Committee – Calgary, Inter-Municipal Committee – Okotoks (alt), Highwood Management Plan Public Advisory Committee, North West Foothills Recreation Board, Priddis – Red Deer Lake Recreation Board, and Rural Fire Board.
Services: Foothills County provides many services (directly or jointly with other municipalities) to support the residents of our large rural area and our hamlets: Aldersyde, Blackie, Cayley, De Winton, Hartell, Heritage Pointe, Millarville, Naptha, Priddis and Priddis Greens. These services include administration of the organization, agricultural services (maintenance, brushing, weed control, education, advice), assessment department, 2x bulk water-fill stations, building permits with safety codes officers, cemeteries, community clean-up support, corporate services and financial management, 7 councillors, council meetings, 911 call answer and fire dispatch, emergency management, family and community support services, fire department (+ equipment, burn permit process, inspections…), garbage disposal (full cost recovery to some hamlets), 2x garbage transfer stations (75% subsidized), grant funding admin, inter-municipal planning, legislative services, libraries, mapping & GIS department, planning and development administration (reviewing & approving applications, permitting, coordinating public hearings…), protective services with bylaw enforcement, recreation and parks (includes facilities), regional landfill and Frank Lake effluent pumping system management, road construction and maintenance by public works (snow removal, grading, gravel, bridge repair, culverts, mowing ditches, equipment, vehicles, dust control product, responses to weather surprises), shared admin building and 3 workshops, staff for all departments, Stars ambulance, tax department, various committees in support of our communities (each councillor participates on numerous committees), water/wastewater services (full cost recovery to some hamlets), website & social media, and Western Wheel subscription (provides minutes, upcoming hearing and development notices).
Planning: As we grow and face an increase in demand for services, we must plan for the future in order to be equitable throughout our municipality, take our residents’ views into consideration, mitigate impacts, consider regional efficiencies, maintain adequate service levels and carefully keep taxes reasonable. Your input has been included in our Municipal Development Plan, Growth Management Strategy, Inter-Municipal Development Plans, and recently on several new topics, including secondary suites. We continue to collaborate with different levels of government and our neighbours to achieve resolutions to problems. We’re planning for and encouraging industrial/commercial development in our Hwy 2A Industrial Corridor, looking for industrial assessment to offset and reduce taxes on residential assessment.
For Other News & Updates:
Facebook: www.facebook.com/CouncillorSuzanneOel/
Email: Suzanne.Oel@FoothillsCountyAB.ca
With Best Regards,
Suzanne
