Morinville Council Briefs Oct. 14

Morinville Town Council joined Champion Petfoods’ David Marshal and a number of local dog owners Wednesday for a groundbreaking photo op at the new dog park, located next to the Bob Foster Skate Park. The park was approved in the 2014 budget at $50,000 and Champion stepped forward with a $20,000 sponsorship. Post were installed last week and fencing is expected to go in this week. The park is set for an official opening at the end of the month.

– Lucie Roy Photo

Council briefs by Ashley Janes

Morinville Council dealt with number of items at their Oct. 14 meeting, including presentations on an in house photo radar program from Mr. Richard Price, a presentation on traffic safety and photo enforcement from the Capital Region Intersection Safety Partnership, an update on the Morinville Festival Society’s Country Fair, and a presentation on Enbridge’s Northern Gateway pipeline project.

Council requests Roseridge assessment

Council voted in favour of directing Town Administration to compile a report that would analyze the feasibility and cost of operating a transfer station in Morinville, to be presented at the Nov. 25 meeting.

Councillor Rob Ladouceur stated that there is an appetite on the Roseridge Waste Commission for a new transfer station. “Part of that is because of the 8,000 tonnes of waste that’s gone to Roseridge this year. Just under 50 per cent has gone through the scales in people’s vehicles and not in waste trucks that go through, so that is a significant amount of traffic going across. Also, what’s been noted is that a lot of that is cardboard or recyclables that could be recycled but aren’t being because they’re mixed in with household waste.”

With some residents reporting wait times up to 45 minutes, Ladouceur explained that another objective is to reduce the amount of traffic traveling on Range Road 25 to the landfill. “I just want us to consider it and if it’s something that’s not feasible this year, that’s okay too.”

A Call for more Details

Three motions were proposed in an effort to enhance the Council minutes that are posted after each meeting. Deputy Mayor Stephen Dafoe suggested that the following components become a part of the administrative process: that the questions asked by Council and media at the end of each meeting be recorded along with all responses, that a small amount of detail be added in order to clarify the subject of a presentation, discussion, or decision, and that all minutes be posted in a timely manner after being approved at the next meeting.

Chief Administrative Officer Debbie Oyarzun requested that the first motion be tabled until the next meeting. “We need to reference the Municipal Government Act, as there is something that specifies minutes without note or comment […] there’s things that we can definitely, absolutely do, very quickly and very easily, but there’s a couple of things that I do just need to check on.”

Council agreed to postpone the first motion, and then voted in favour of the latter two. Therefore, the Oct. 28 meeting minutes will include brief explanatory notes that will clarify the topics of discussion, and will be posted in a timely manner after being approved.

Council De-accessions Museum De-accessioning Policy

Council voted 6-0 in favour of repealing Policy 83-2004, a 10-year old policy that governed how the Musee Morinville Museum preserved heritage resources.

After hearing the Morinville Historical and Cultural Society had developed a Collection Management Policy that defined areas of responsibility and provides guidelines for decision making, Council agreed Policy 83/2004 Museum Deaccessioning was no longer relevant.

Councillor Barry Turner said “this policy was brought about during a transition time at the museum because it was originally located in a convent […] and the items were in the Town’s care as well, so there was a period of time when this motion was necessary. But now that the Historical Society is set up where it is, it’s no longer needed.”

The Musee Morinville Museum received accreditation from the Alberta Museums Association (AMA) in February of 2011, a process the Morinville Museum began working on in 2009.

Proclamations Made

Council voted in favour of proclaiming Oct. 16 as Conflict Resolution Day and Nov. 20 as National Child Day in Morinville.

The former proclamation celebrates dispute resolution by government and non-government agencies working locally, regionally and provincially. The latter proclamation celebrates Canada’s National Child Day, a day enacted in the Child Day Act (Bill C-371). It acknowledges the necessity of federal, provincial and territorial governments to publicize the U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child.

“It’s Our Right to Play” is the 2014 theme, and speaks to Canada’s commitment to children and Morinville’s Community Services Department vision – “Everyone Gets to Play in Morinville.”