Morinville Council Briefs

by Colin Smith

Council had a mild agenda and six members at the Mar. 24 meeting. Councillor Nicole Boutestein was not in attendance due to being on vacation, leaving six members to do the voting.

Small Communities Fund

Morinville is applying for $3,696,000 from the Small Communities Fund for the South Reservoir Expansion Project. At its Mar. 24 regular meeting, Town Council approved the application for funding through the recently announced joint federal-provincial program.

Council previously approved spending of $5,544,000 on the South Reservoir Expansion Project, with funding to be provided through Offsite Levies and Water Capital Reserves. If this application is approved, it would reduce the amount of Offsite Levies and Capital Reserves funding required.

The vote passed 5-1 with Deputy Mayor Barry Turner voting against the motion.

Odour and stormwater

Council received a report on odour and stormwater concerns it requested from the administration in response to calls about a smell in the Brookhaven area.

According to the report prepared by senior planner E. Tim Vrooman, the odour results from an increased inflow of stagnant and unaerated water due to spring thaw. Odours within homes can often be controlled through attention to traps and vents.

The report is available at http://www.morinville.ca/index.php/doc-library/water/693-odour-and-stormwater-concern.

Land Use Bylaw

Council gave unanimous First Reading to a bylaw that would allow commercial and business industrial development in an area along 100 Street north of Cardiff Road. Bylaw 3/2015 would amend the Land Use Bylaw to redistrict a 24-acre parcel from Urban Reserve (UR) District to Corridor Commercial (C-3), Commercial and Industrial Service (CIS), and Parks and Open Spaces (POS) Districts. Application for the redistricting was made by IBI Group.

A public hearing is required prior to second reading of this bylaw. As required, the hearing will be advertised in the newspaper, and surrounding landowners will be notified by mail.

Recreation Cost Sharing Agreement

The Town will be renewing the annual Recreation Cost Sharing Agreement with Sturgeon County for 2015. Council voted 5-1 in favour of authorizing the Mayor and Chief Administrative Officer to sign the agreement, as requested by the County.

Under the agreement, Sturgeon County provides a financial contribution to Morinville to offset costs incurred in providing equal access to recreational and cultural facilities, programs and services for Sturgeon residents. Revenue from this agreement for 2015 will be $54,573.75, a five per cent increase from the $51,975 Morinville received in 2014.

Sturgeon County has similar agreements with the other four towns within its boundaries: Legal, Gibbons, Redwater and Bon Accord.

A new cost sharing formula has been in the works for some time, dating back to work the Sturgeon Regional Partnership of Bon Accord, Gibbons, Legal, Morinville, Sturgeon County and Redwater did in the fall of 2012 with Stantec.

Councillor Stephen Dafoe was the only member of Council to vote against the motion to approve the agreement.

Planning and development processes

A report on the processes used by Morinville’s Planning and Development Department was presented to Council in accordance with a Feb. 24 motion to bring the info forward following a public hearing.

Planning and Development Director Greg Hofmann prepared a report that included a planning process map and a Council orientation module providing an overview of department functions. Council received the report as information, and the documents are to be posted on the Town website for public access.

Council requested a brief document for the public that would include some definitions of commonly used land classifications and terms, including Urban Reserve.

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