At the strike of 6:30 p.m., Stettler Mayor Sean Nolls got ‘the show on the road’ by calling the meeting to order on Tues. March 19.
The provincial government has committed to three more years of Municipal Sustainability Initiative (MSI) funding with the Town of Stettler in a letter addressed to the CAO and Mayor.
In order to continue providing this funding though, Municipal Affairs requested council approve an amending agreement as the current agreement expires on March 31.
One of the ‘devils in the detail’, according to Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) Greg Switenky is how much funding they receive.
The government does announce a large sum allocation for the entire province but municipalities are kept guessing as to how much of this sum they will receive.
“They talk about holistic, big dollar amounts but you never know exactly what your allocation is going to be and what is going to happen under the next government, whether it’s this one or a new one.
“However, the agreement should stand and it’s something for MSI,” said CAO Switenky.
Council passed a resolution to accommodate for the expiration and create a new expiry date for March 31, 2022.
Physician incentive
Town council supported the Physician Retention and Recruitment Committee’s request to provide an incentive payment of $22,500 for the newest doctor who has joined the Stettler community.
Each year, an incentive of $22,500 each from both the town and County of Stettler is given to a physician who comes to the area to practice as a way to help the individual with startup costs.
The County passed a resolution at their most recent meeting accepting this amount.
Mayor Nolls asked if council still wished to supply this amount to which they agreed to continue.
“I think it would be in our best interest,” he said.
Mayor Nolls did mention there will be more collaboration between the local board and government as AHS continues to oversee the process.
Along with this request, the committee has also asked if council will sit down with them and other partners to discuss a proper policy to fine-tune the current practice.
Council agreed to participate.
“It’s all about making sure our community has what we need to have on behalf of our citizens and our residents and maintaining our vitality because we greatly appreciate what our medical community, not just doctors, but all our health care professionals do the best to serve our area. Very appreciative of it,” said CAO Switenky.
Fitness Stepper purchased
The 2019 capital budget previously did not include an $8,000 fitness stepper, a Stettler Recreation Centre (SRC) piece that would be used to help the older population remain active.
Council agreed to purchase the fitness piece to encourage active living and make the centre more convenient for its main base of customers as they felt it was valuable to the facility.
Fitness Centre demographics have been changing as a result of a partnership with Alberta Health Services and the programs they are offering the elderly population.
Groups of seniors under the watch of AHS staff are trained daily in the fitness centre but one of the key pieces of equipment that are constantly requested is the fitness stepper or also known as the Recumbent Stepper.
This machine was developed with the elderly in mind as well as injury recovery.
Because the SRC does not have this specific piece of equipment, many are going to other fitness centres in town just for this fitness stepper yet still choose the SRC for overall choice in centres.
The product will be purchased from the Apple Fitness Store in Edmonton including delivery charges.
Terri Huxley
ECA Review
