During councillor reports at Coronation’s regular council meeting on Mon. Dec. 21 Deputy Mayor Mark Stannard shared his concern for having the outdoor rink unsupervised.
He, alongside Coun. Keith Griffiths, has noticed many (approximately 20) children playing shinny hockey on the local rink when the province has mandated no informal games be played on the ice, limiting the usage to skating by yourself or within your cohort only.
Council directed administration to have the nets taken down while signage be put up to alert potential users of the rules.
Tree project research
The highlight of Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) Flint’s report was a possible tree project involving the town and the federal government.
After a three-hour conversation between CAO Flint, Mayor Ron Checkel and the federal government researchers, it was said this could be ‘a benefit for them as much as it is for us.’
The research team has plenty of knowledge of how willow trees grow in the western side of Alberta including the Rocky Mountains, Calgary and Edmonton but little knowledge in the eastern prairies.
CAO Flint was excited to see this project lead into university and college research making the community a hot spot for this activity and help diversify the town from nearby centres.
If the research spot were to begin, the researchers would plant the trees using one acre of land in or around Coronation and then look after the plot for a couple of years to create a thesis on which strand of plant works best in this climate.
Council will review an official report on this project when more information is given.
SMRWSC budget
The Shirley McClellan Regional Water Services Commission (SMRWSC) has provided a draft to all 16 municipalities having requested their water allocations and reflecting the change to the system rates set at their last meeting.
Council approved the proposed budget which needs approval for the 2021 year to allow operations to continue.
CAO Quinton Flint mentioned the rates to be the same as last year which were fairly accurate in terms of water consumption.
The number has gone down a bit as previous water leaks have been fixed over time.
Palliser grant
Palliser Regional Municipal Services is currently requesting support to apply for an Alberta Community Partnership Opportunity (ACPO) Grant to hire a consultant with the expertise to complete a strategic plan and review their funding model.
In order to receive grant funding, the application needs to be sent from the managing municipality on behalf of a partnership of two or more municipalities.
“We need as many municipalities as possible to pass a motion from council to be a partner in the grant opportunity.
The more municipalities that we can show on the application as being a partner, the better chances we have at being successful in the application,” stated the letter to council.
Council agreed to send a letter of support.
Coronation will be undergoing an Municipal Development Plan review next year as part of their natural review cycle with Palliser.
RDWA Municipal support
The Red Deer River Watershed Alliance (RDWA) sent a letter asking council for financial support towards their programming focused on research and sustainability projects.
They requested 50 cents per capita which is equal to $437.
Council chose to not pay this as they have not been directly involved with this alliance for quite some time, saying they are a part of the SMRWSC and Municipal Water Usage Group which supports RDWA.
Terri Huxley
ECA Review
