Village of Clive council heard a report from the municipal enforcement department describing plenty of “sidewalk” warnings in early 2020.
The report was given at the Apr. 27 regular meeting of council.
Mark Sproule, Lacombe County peace officer who is also contracted to the Village of Clive, gave two reports to council, the 2019 annual report and the 2020 first quarter report.
Village Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) Carla Kenney stated the village contracts a certain number of hours per year from the Lacombe County peace officers, mostly related to traffic enforcement and bylaw issues.
Sproule reported that the peace officers met their required hours and in the past year issued three tickets and seven warnings.
Kenney noted that Clive usually doesn’t see a lot of tickets issued, as the village prefers an education-first approach.
Those tickets that are issued are usually traffic-related, such as distracted driving.
Looking at the first quarter of this year, Sproule reported there were a lot of “sidewalk” warnings in Clive, specifically for people who hadn’t shovelled snow off their sidewalks within the required timeframe, which is 48 hours after the snow falls.
Sproule stated there had been 62 warnings issued within the quarter and nine tickets.
Kenney stated the village likes to see people shovel the snow as quickly as possible, because if it’s left too long, it may snow again and make the problem that much more work.
While Sproule was present, it was noted that community peace officers have the authority to enforce Alberta’s Public Health Act, including measures intended to slow or stop the spread of coronavirus.
There was one one other occurrence mentioned. Sproule reported the peace officers discovered a pick-up truck parked in the village with one person sleeping inside.
It resulted in the operator being charged with an unregistered and uninsured motor vehicle.
Member at large eligibility
A question arose about the current chair of the Municipal Planning Commission (MPC), Wayne Thiessen, a longtime resident and volunteer who recently moved out of the village.
Councillors were asked to clarify who is eligible to sit on the MPC, and they agreed a “member at large” is someone who is not an appointed or elected official of the Village of Clive.
Thus, Thiessen will remain on the MPC.
Highway 12 and 21
Kenney reported that during a recent meeting of the Hwy 12/21 regional waterline group, it was reported that the next expansion will be to the Village of Clive.
Property tax deferral
Councillors approved a deferral of three months for property tax penalties, in effect extending the amount of time Clive residents have to pay their property taxes.
The deferral was intended to help out those residents affected financially by the coronavirus pandemic.
Kenney stated tax bills will be sent out as normal in June but no penalties will be assessed until Dec. 1, three months later than normal.
She noted a lot of residents pay when the bills first come out anyway and if this is the case this summer the village should have little or no cash flow problem.
Provincial stimulus
As the provincial government’s stimulus plan encourages municipalities to forward “shovel ready” projects to get the economy going, Kenney stated Clive sent in requests for engineering costs for two such projects, the 47th Street and 49th Avenue road rehab project and the sanitary force main replacement.
Both projects combined totalled less than $20,000 in engineering costs.
Skate park closed for now
Councillors decided to close the municipal skate park in accordance with COVID-19 social distancing guidelines.
Kenney stated soccer pitches and ball diamonds were already closed. With the more pleasant spring weather it was noticed that gatherings were occurring that weren’t in accordance with guidelines, she said.
Expensive time-consuming problems
Councillors decided to support the International Water Industry position statement on flushable and non-flushable labelled products.
Kenney stated a recurring problem during the coronavirus pandemic is the flushing of items down toilets that don’t belong there.
The statement generally outlines that which is acceptable, something that breaks down into smaller pieces.
Kenney noted inappropriate material can cause expensive, time-consuming problems for wastewater systems.
Communities in Bloom
Kenney stated councillors discussed the Communities in Bloom event in light of the coronavirus pandemic.
Apparently the Communities in Bloom 2020 edition has not been cancelled due to the pandemic and the Village of Clive as submitted an application to participate this year.
There won’t be a competition and no on-site judging will occur.
Otherwise, the event will go ahead.
Stu Salkeld, Local Journalism Initiative reporter
ECA Review
