Unanimous approval was given to proceed with a plaque to ‘Honour Treaty 7’ at the Delburne village council meeting Oct. 26.
The next step will be to work with Ryan Willert, native artist, to develop a vertical flag that could be moved outside for the Day of Truth and Reconciliation on Sept. 30 or for other special events.
A letter was also received from the Metis Nation of Alberta asking that the village fly a Metis flag during Metis week Nov. 15 – 21.
The flag was first used in 1815 after being presented by Alexander MacDonnell of the North West Company.
Council was in unanimous agreement to accept the flag to honour Metis Week.
During the flag discussion it was also noted that the Canadian, Alberta and County of Red Deer flags were all displayed at the arena but not the Village of Delburne flag.
The Council agreed this should be rectified.
Due to the business hardships surrounding COVID-19, last year the penalties for late payment of licence fees were waived.
Business licenses bring in about $4,400 per year. A decision for the upcoming year will be made at the next council meeting.
Council would be supportive should the Chamber of Commerce decide to move ahead with the SnowFlake Festival, subject to AHS COVID protocols.
CAO Karen Fegan advised that she is often asked about a mandatory vaccine policy for village staff.
Many council members expressed frustration that vaccination mandates were pushed down to the municipal level. Since the RCMP said they would not enforce COVID restrictions and the province gives no back up, no action would be taken by the village.
As Coun. Tim Wilson concluded, “we (the village) don’t have a leg to stand on”.
All indoor staff are fully vaccinated.
The village had placed some netting at strategic spots to protect public property and individuals from errant golf balls at the Fawn Meadows Golf & Country Club. The golf course was to install netting to protect campers.
In an email received from Vice President Jim Hunter, he advised that three full-time seasonal campers in one area of concern requested no nets, and the other two sites reported no balls coming across the fence.
Council agreed to this non-action by the golf course based on Hunter’s email and the club’s commitment to continue monitoring the situation.
The quarterly Community Policing report that covers the July 1 to Sept. 30 reporting period was received from Sgt. Jamie Day of the RCMP detachment in Three Hills.
During this period, property crimes dropped 10 per cent, whereas failure to comply and breaches of the criminal code increased 3.3 per cent.
At an online event hosted by the RCMP with the communities it serves, the RCMP reported an increasing number of calls related to mental health issues, including an increased amount of time spent by officers waiting in hospitals with individuals in distress.
A letter received from Jessica Bernard from Red Deer County requested permission to use the community garden lands for a crokicurl facility.
Crokicurl is ‘croquet on ice using curling rings’. It is a great outdoor winter sport for families and seniors.
A motion was passed to accept the Red Deer County crokicurl request, but a site would be chosen that is on village property, rather than negotiating with CN, the owner of the land where the community gardens are located.
CAO Karen Fegan reported that a daycare business in the village was moving forward.
She also advised that she and Gary Rusaw, public works foreman, had a meeting with MPE Engineering to get started on the Geographic Information System (GIS) project funded through a $50,000 grant from the Canadian Federation of Municipalities.
Brenda Schimke
ECA Review
