Edson Town Council updates

October 16, 2018 Organizational Meeting

1. Council Boards and Committees. One of the duties as Mayor is to appoint Councillors to specific boards and committees. The Trans Canada Yellowhead Highway Association has been added back onto the list of committees. The updated schedule was approved, and the new list is attached.

2. Meeting Schedule. The Council meeting schedule has been changed. In order to increase public access to Council Meetings, Council has changed both the Regular Council Meeting and Committee of the Whole Meeting times to 5 p.m. Regular Council meetings will be held the first and third Tuesdays of each month and Committee of the Whole meetings on the second and fourth Tuesdays of each month. There were two recorded votes on this matter. The original motion was to change the times of both meetings to 4 p.m. There was a recorded vote to amend the motion to read 5pm and was passed 5-2 with Mayor Zahara and Councillors Baier, Bevan, Currie and Sorensen voting in favour, and Councillors Chouinard and Wilkinson opposed. The motion to set the 5pm times for Council and Committee Meetings was also passed 5-2 in a recorded vote with Mayor Zahara and Councillors Baier, Bevan, Currie and Sorensen voting in favour, and Councillors Chouinard and Wilkinson opposed.

3. Summer Schedule. Council has set the summer (July/ August) meeting schedule for 2019. Regular Meetings of Council will be held at 5pm on July 9, 2019 and August 13, 2019, with Committee of the Whole Meetings being held July 16, 2019 and August 20, 2019. After a recorded vote, the motion was passed 6-1 with Mayor Zahara and Councillors Baier, Bevan, Currie, Sorensen and Wilkinson voting in favour, and Councillor Chouinard opposed.

4. Deputy Mayor Rotation. Council will continue to rotate the position of Deputy Mayor every 4 months between each Councillor in alphabetical order.

5. Deputy Mayor Appointment. Council has appointed Councillor Currie as Deputy Mayor commencing November 1, 2018, expiring the first day of March 2019.

6. Legislating Responsibilities. Council received a memo from CAO Mike Derricott, outlining the legislative responsibilities of Council, as information.

7. Important Dates 2019. Council received a memo on upcoming Council related events as information. October 16, Meeting

1. Land Use Bylaw – Cannabis Related Businesses. A Public Hearing was held regarding changes to the Land Use Bylaw to accommodate cannabis related businesses in the Town of Edson. Council heard a presentation from Administration on changes made to the proposed bylaw to lessen restrictions on locations for cannabis related businesses. This includes removing setbacks from government buildings, from other cannabis related businesses, and from drinking establishments. Council also heard from a few prospective business owners regarding the bylaw. Second and third readings were given to the amended bylaw. More information can be found at www.edson.ca/bylaws.

2. Road Closures. Council has given second and third reading to close a portion of road right of ways at 70th Street and 5A Avenue. The roadways are adjacent to the airport boundary and have no municipal or public access purpose.

Council also gave first reading to Bylaw 2227, to close a portion of road right of way east of 42nd Street, just south of 6th Avenue. Further readings, and Public Hearing, will be on hold until approval is provided by the Minister of Transportation.

3. Bylaws. Council has given second and third readings to the Community Standards and Public Conduct Bylaws. The Public Conduct Bylaw deals primarily with human behaviours within the community. The Community Standards Bylaw has a primary focus on the maintenance requirements of properties in the Town boundaries.

4. Council Code of Conduct Bylaw. First reading of Bylaw 2228, amending the Council Code of Conduct Bylaw, was approved by Council. The amendments include the addition of an informal complaint process and adjusts the formal complaint process.

5. FCM and AUMA Attendance Policy. Council has adopted a new policy regarding Council attendance at the Federation of Canadian Municipalities Conference and the Alberta Urban Municipalities Association Conference. The new policy gives all Council members the option to attend the conferences if they choose. It also mandates a reporting process following each conference.

6. Council Remuneration Policy. Changes have been passed to the Council Remuneration Policy to reflect the changes made to the Federal tax exemption rules regarding elected officials. The changes include:

- Amended 2019 gross monthly earnings to reflect the after tax net pay, similar to 2018 levels; - Deleted the reporting clause, which is better suited in the Procedural Bylaw;

- Effective date of January 1, 2019 (Same date as the new Federal tax changes).

7. Santa Claus Parade. Council has accepted a letter regarding the annual Santa Claus Parade from the Edson and District Chamber of Commerce as information. The parade will be held on December 7, 2018 and will follow the same route as 2017, leaving from Parkland School, travelling down 6th Avenue, and ending at the Boys and Girls Club.

8. Budget Summary. Council was presented with a quarterly report budget summary, outlining Town operations up to September 30, 2018. This was accepted as presented.

Next meetings - The next Committee of the Whole Meeting is scheduled for October 23, 2018 at 5 p.m. The next Council Meeting is scheduled for November 6, 2018 at 5 p.m.