First Meeting for New Peace River Council on Monday

Monday, October 25, 2010 will be memorable for five newcomers to Town Council (North Darling, Colin Needham, Cole George, Tom Tarpey and Rob Lafontaine), returning councillor Geoff Milligan, and returning mayor, Lorne Mann. At 5:00 PM, the Organizational Meeting will be convened and they will be sworn in, elect their Deputy Mayor, and decide on items such as councillor appointments to committees and  boards, members-at-large appointments to committees, and the 2011 meeting schedule. An organizational meeting is held every year, and in an election year, must be held within two weeks of the election. Residents are encouraged to attend.

Although Mayor-elect Mann has been on Council and previously served as Mayor for many years, he has not worked under the Council Procedural Bylaw that was adopted by the 2007-10 Council, so this will be a new experience.

Following adjournment of the Organizational Meeting, the first regular Council meeting will be called to order. On this agenda are the routine items of Adoption of the Agenda and Adoption of Minutes for the regular Council meeting on September 27 and the Committee-of-the-Whole meeting on October 4.

There are no Public Hearings, Presentations, Bylaw items, or Unfinished Business items.

Under New Business there are five items:

1.  Peace River Watershed Planning and Advisory Council Formation Workshop. This 2-day workshop is being held in Peace River (Oct. 28-29) and will include a wide variety of stakeholders. The agenda package includes an invitation letter with information about the workshop from Alberta Environment's Environmental Management, Northern Region Director's Office, the Peace Watershed Planning and Advisory Council Formation Information Paper and a Request for Decision (RFD) to appoint a councillor to participate in the workshop and that council advises whether it is interested in participating in the Initiator's Group, which will meet over the next few months.
   
2. Oil Sands Sustainable Development Secretariat appointment. This RFD includes a letter of introduction from Robert A. Fernandez, who has been appointed Acting Assistant Deputy Minister of the Oil Sands Sustainable Development Secretariat and a request to set a date for a meeting with Mr. Fernandez. The purpose of the meeting is to discuss the "Comprehensive Regional Infrastructure Sustainability Plan." The RFD further indicates that Mr. Fernandez is meeting with stakeholders to continue working on the Responsible Actions strategic plan and the Comprehensive Regional Infrastructure Sustainability Plans (CRISP) for the oil sands area.
   
   
3.  Delia Gray Memorial Gala request for contribution. This RFD requests council's approval for an annual request from the Metis Nation of Alberta. There are a number of options presented, and a recommendation that a gift basket be donated (the RFD indicates it is for a silent auction, but I note that the letter says the items will be used for door prize giveaways). This event (the 11th annual) will be held in Edmonton on November 16 and it honors Metis youth recipients of the Delia Gray Memorial Scholarship as well as the Pearl Calahasen Scholarship Award. The RFD also includes a screen capture of the MNA's website Education tab that outlines the various kinds of recognition and scholarship opportunities are available for Metis youth.
   
   
4.  Royal Canadian Legion Remembrance Day service. This RFD asks council to enable the mayor or designate to attend this annual service and to provide a donation to the Legion for a wreath. An enabling motion is required before mayor or councillor can claim reimbursement for attendance at a meeting or event. Some motions will enable all of Council or a certain number. The donation has been included in the 2010 budget. The service is on November 11 at the Al Adair Rec Centre, starting at 10:30. The gym has been overflowing the past few years so if you wish to have a seat, you'll want to be there early.
   
   
5.  Royal Canadian Air Cadet Squadron Annual Promotion and Banquet. This RFD is for an enabling motion for the mayor or designate to attend this event, being held at the Misery Mountain Ski Chalet on November 7.

Under Reports is the routine Cheque Register (to October 20, 2010). This is a listing of cheques produced in the previous period (this does not include paycheques) and enables Council to review transactions and ask questions. This list shows who the Town is doing business with to purchase supplies and have services provided, includes donations made by Council, expense claims, etc. For example, on this report is the cheque for $7,500 to the Weberville Community Forest, which is a contribution towards the community forest's application to become a member of the Canadian Model Forest Network, approved by the previous Council.

There are no Councillor Reports. This is where mayor and councillors can provide minutes of committees they are involved with, reports on conferences attended, etc.

There are five Information items:

• a September 13 letter from the Minister of Municipal Affairs, Hector Goudreau, regarding changes to the Local Authorities Election Act. It outlines changes that were made earlier this year to "enhance the integrity of, and public confidence in, local elections, by clarifying the rules for both voters and those who run for elected office." The letter briefly outlines the key changes in the election rules regarding campaign contributions. (Candidates in the October 18 election received this information in their nomination packages.)
  
  
• an October 13 letter from the County of Northern Lights confirming the adoption of the Weberville Joint Development Area Concept Plan. This was a joint project with the Town of Peace River and involved extensive public consultation.
  
  
• a September 30 letter from the MD of Peace indicating that the Council supports the Peace Region Centre of Medical Excellence in principle but is not prepared to make a financial commitment at this time.
  
  
• an invitation to attend the first annual Metis Nation of Alberta Zone VI Business Mixer and trade show on October 29, 6:00-9:00 at the Sawridge Inn.
  
  
• a congratulatory message to mayor and council from the Peace River African Descendants Society (PRADS).

There are no Notices of Motion.

The In Camera portion of the meeting, which follows the regular public portion, includes two legal matters. There is generally a brief recess between the regular and in camera portions of the meeting. Once Council comes out of the in camera portion, the meeting is adjourned.

Open House on Proposed Upgrades to 12 Foot Davis Grave Site & Dr. Green Cairn

I encourage Peace River area residents to attend the open house on January 26, 2010, 4:00-8:00 PM at the Provincial Building Main Floor Board Room (9621-96 Avenue) to find out what is being proposed for the Twelve Foot Davis Grave Site and Dr. Green Cairn.

This project is a partnership between the Government of Alberta, the Town of Peace River and Northern Sunrise County. The proposed upgrades are intended to improve recreational, educational, and tourism opportunities at the parks.

You'll be able to comment on the plans at the open house and then also online until March 26.

Downtown Revitalization & Tourism Action Plan: Dr. Avi Friedman presentation

On November 28 from 10:00-11:30 at the Belle Petroleum Centre, Dr. Avi Friedman will do a public presentation on his plan for downtown revitalization in Peace River as well as a tourism action plan.

Council will adopt the plan as is or in a revised version to guide future decisions about development in the downtown core and encouraging more tourism. Your input is important.

Local Food & Climate Change

What's on my mind these days, and a suitable topic for 2009 Blog Action Day on climate change, is local food production and how municipalities might help to make it easier for residents to produce food themselves and to buy locally-produced food.

The March 2009 issue of Municipal World ("Canada's municipal magazine since 1891") had an article talking about "foodshed strategy." It provides inspiring examples of ways that municipal governments and other organizations are finding ways to "shorten food chains and build community capacity."

A foodshed strategy, according to the article, includes three basic elements that depend on local resources and experiences:

- direct-marketing venues

- processes that connect producers and consumers

- avenues to develop greater access and security to food

There are aspects of these elements already in place in small ways in our region, and although we haven't completely lost our connection between food production and consumption in this area, we increasingly rely on food that comes from a great distance. Transporting food is a contributor to climate change; it also makes us vulnerable to disruptions in supply.

As a small step in this direction, since Peace River is currently reviewing its Animal Control Bylaw, I asked a local food advocate to do a presentation to inform Council (October 19, 5:30) about whether small scale poultry production Peace River might fit. It will be interesting to see how residents respond to this idea and to the more general idea of increasing local food production capacity.

There are visionary people in the region already working in practical ways on food issues. Municipal governments can provide support and leadership through appropriate bylaws, programs and other initiatives that could lead to a Peace regional foodshed strategy. The Town of Peace River is in the midst of developing a municipal sustainability plan; a foodshed strategy would fit in nicely. I'm looking forward to more discussion, but more importantly, action in this direction.

Peace River's Sustainability Survey

I encourage Peace River residents to take the time to do the survey on sustainability that is now on the Town's website. The results will provide important information for our municipal sustainability plan and the review of our Municipal Development Plan.

Grab a cup of tea and settle in--the survey takes awhile to complete (give yourself 15-20 minutes)--and know that you are making an important contribution by taking this time to respond.

Why Sidewalks Are Important

Avi Friedman from McGill University is in town today and tomorrow with two of his architectural students to do consultations about tourism and downtown revitalization. I expect we'll hear a thing or two about community walkability along with many more thought-provoking ideas.

A new study published in the American Journal of Preventative Medicine that looked at data from 11,541 survey participants in 11 countries came to the conclusion, according to this article, that "those who live in an urban neighborhood are twice as likely to be physically active as those in the suburbs," with the most important factor being "accessibility to sidewalks."

The article goes on to say that the study found that "Those individuals who reported living in a city neighborhood with easy access to sidewalks were 15-50 percent more likely to get moderate-to vigorous activity at least five days a week for at least 30 minutes each day."

Peace River has lots of sidewalks as well as the paved paths along the dike and up the West Hill. This valley is so beautiful--let's take the time to savour it by walking, biking or taking the bus to work or activities, even just once in awhile. It's good for the environment and good for our bodies!

Complete Streets Workshop in Peace River

The Town of Peace River is co-sponsoring a free workshop on December 4 (Thursday) with Transport Canada and the Sustainable Alberta Association. Rebecca O'Brien, the Sustainable Alberta Association Program Director is the presenter.

We'll look at ways to evaluate and improve our sustainable transportation environment (walking, cycling and transit) and the day will include a short "walk-about."

Anyone who is interested in health, environmental and planning issues is encouraged to attend.

I'm attending and hope to see a large number of other participants there. What I'm particularly interested in learning about is how we can adapt principles that have been developed for large urban centres to a small town with the kind of geographic challenges that Peace River walkers and cyclers encounter.

For more information or to register, go to the Town of Peace River website.