Morinville Council Briefs – April 28

by Colin Smith

Land use bylaw

Council approved first reading of a bylaw to rezone an area of Grandin Heights to allow construction of single-family homes.

The zoning change for the 4.94-acre parcel of undeveloped land at 96th Avenue, west of Eastview Drive is being sought as part of a subdivision application by Prism Engineering/Grandin Heights Properties Ltd. The bylaw redistricts the land from Urban Reserve (UR) District to Single Detached Residential (R-1A) District, and is supported by Town of
Morinville Planning and Development.

A report presented by Planning and Development Director Greg Hoffmann said the proposed redistricting and subdivision are consistent in character and compatible with the existing residential neighbourhood.

A public hearing on the proposed bylaw will be held during the May 26 Town Council meeting.

Tax bylaw

A 3.39 per cent rate increase was approved by Town Council at its regular meeting Tuesday. Council gave second and third readings of the 2015 Property Tax Rate Bylaw. With this rate increase, the municipal taxes for a home assessed at $300,000 will rise by about $65 per year. For a property valued at $300,000, total taxes for 2015 would be $2,735.84 compared to $2,664.73, an increase of 2.67 per cent or $71.11 per year.

The Town of Morinville needs to raise $8,160,137 in municipal taxes to meet its expenditures and debenture debt, in line with its 2015 Operating and Capital budget approved in December. In addition, it has to cover this year’s Education Property Tax Requisition in the amount of $3,091,592.65 for the Alberta School Foundation (ASFF) and Greater St. Albert Catholic Schools, and the Sturgeon Foundation Tax Requisition in the amount of $115,861.26, for a total of $11,316,388.

Tax assessment notices will begin going out immediately.

Proclamations

May 3 to 9 will be Volunteer Firefighters Awareness Week in Morinville. The inaugural proclamation is intended to help to create awareness of the need for volunteers in fire departments across our region. While Morinville Fire Department has 49 active volunteers, considered a healthy number, and a waiting list of three, a Volunteer Alberta survey found many fire departments serving populations under 5,000 lack volunteers.

Mayor Lisa Holmes will also proclaim May 3 to 9 as North American Occupational Safety Health Week. First launched in June 1997, the aim of the week is to “focus employers, employees, partners and the public on the importance of preventing injury and illness in the workplace, at home and in the community.” More information about NAOSH can be found at www.naosh.org.

Print Friendly, PDF & Email