Big Valley village council tabled their proposed updated nuisance abatement bylaw to a future meeting. The decision was made at the July 15 regular meeting of council.
Village Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) Colleen Mayne provided councillors with a draft version of the nuisance abatement bylaw, which she explained is necessary to ensure the village can enforce things like community standards.
“Numerous complaints are received by village administration on an ongoing basis and the nuisance abatement bylaw provides direction to the village bylaw enforcement officer when responding to, and enforcement of bylaw contraventions,” stated Mayne’s report to council.
The bylaw included many sections laying out areas of concern for the community, including uncut grass or weeds that may contribute to sightline problems in the village, accumulation of snow on public sidewalks, ensuring construction sites keep material from blowing onto other property and ensuring property is kept in a reasonable state of repair, among other details.
During discussion, the CAO stated the Village of Big Valley dealt with some unmaintained properties recently; one was apparently “cleaned up,” while another apparently wasn’t. It was noted one property had uncut grass as “high as a fence.”
Mayne noted there may be a few other properties that meet the definition of “unmaintained.”
She stated the village sent letters to all of those property owners in 2023.
During discussion it was noted such letters should include what the property owner is expected to do to clean up their property and possible consequences the property owner could face if the property isn’t cleaned up.
Councillors also discussed whether or not the village’s snow removal policy should be included in the nuisance abatement bylaw.
Coun. Dan Houle noted that he’s received the impression that some residents think a development permit is all they need when making changes to their property; Houle pointed out some changes also require further permits such as building, electrical and gas. He stated the village needs to enforce these requirements.
The CAO responded Big Valley’s land use bylaw (LUB) seems to address this but is awkwardly worded. Councillors decided to table the nuisance abatement bylaw to a future meeting.
Police commander
Councillors heard an in-person presentation from S/Sgt. Cam Russell, NCO in charge of the Stettler RCMP detachment, which provides policing service to Big Valley. Russell provided his quarterly report to council.
Overall, Russell noted Big Valley’s crime and incident stats are “quite low,” adding that some prolific offenders have recently been put in jail or convinced to move on to a new community.
Russell pointed out he likes to speak to community members about issues they see and address such things before they become big problems.
Mayor Chantelle Janke observed that the community recently discussed policing at an RCMP town hall meeting.
The RCMP commander stated the Stettler detachment is preparing to see one experienced member leave while another, from Peace River, is arriving. Russell stated a couple of members are out right now with health issues.
The S/Sgt. noted that the RCMP appears to be having trouble recruiting new members as the force has experienced bad publicity; he added that a career in the RCMP used to be seen as desirable, but it now appears to be less so.
Russell was asked if the RCMP still conducts boat patrols, and he confirmed those are still done when possible. Russell pointed out, however, that the Stettler detachment only has one large water body, Buffalo Lake, in its coverage area and the RCMP was recently warned by the Stettler Regional Fire Department about low lake levels that could cause boat damage.
He added that boat patrols on a lake usually involve recreational issues such as alcohol consumption.
Stu Salkeld
Local Journalism Initiative reporter
ECA Review
