Thursday 28 March 2019

March 28th Update - Remembering Roy Mclean, Foothills Salvage and Recycling Society, RMA Convention and Tree Maintenance Workshop

Note: If your are receiving this in your email and the video below does not show up, click the headline above it to be taken to the website to view it. 



Remembering Roy Mclean

I want to start off this update with acknowledging the passing of Roy Mclean.  For those of you not aware, Roy was a Municipal Councillor for the Foothills for 21 years.  Of those years, he served as the Reeve or 10 of those years.

He spent the better part of his life in the Foothills having moved here from New Brunswick with his family in 1942.  His contributions to the municipality were many and we should all be grateful for his many years of service.

Roy was a true cowboy and gentleman in every sense of the word and he will be missed.  

For more on Roy's life, click here.


Foothills Salvage and Recycling Society (@ 1:16)

DID YOU KNOW... 

At the Foothills Regional Landfill there is also a salvage centre where you can donate used items that are resold and the funds invested back into the community?  

On their website they state:

"The Foothills Salvage and Recycling Society (FSRS) is a Not For Profit Society dedicated to keeping usable and recyclable items out of the landfill. In doing so the FSRS makes their items accessible through their facility: to purchase at an affordable price or free through programs such as the Family Resource center in Okotoks. The FSRS’s goal is to help the residents of the Foothills area, not only with affordable items, but also through donations of proceeds to charitable organizations within the Foothills, annually."

Every year, they donate in the neighborhood of $175,000+ back into the community.  So, if you have items that you no longer use taking up space in your house/garage/shop, instead of throwing them into the garbage/landfill, you should see if they can be taken at the salvage centre.

It is a true Win-Win!

For more information on the Salvage centre, visit: https://fsrsonline.com/.
For more on the Landfill, visit: https://foothillslrrc.com/

Rural Municipalities of Alberta Spring Convention (@ 2:53)

From March 18-20th, some of Foothills Council attended the Rural Municipalities of Alberta (RMA) Spring Convention.  For those of you not familiar, the RMA is:

"an independent association comprising Alberta’s 69 counties and municipal districts. Since 1909, we have helped rural municipalities achieve strong, effective local government." 

The conventions are an opportunity for all of the 69 rural municipalities to come together to pass resolutions in order to lobby the provincial government for rural specific needs.  They provide a great deal of education and opportunities to network with councillors and staff for other rural communities.

With the 2019 Provincial Election having been called during the event, there was not as much interaction directly with the provincial government but was still a valuable event to attend.
Image from: https://www.thehitch.ca/

One of the highlights was an energetic and well documented presentation from Vivian Krause about the campaign to shut down Alberta's tar sands and where the funds from the campaign has come from.  Very interesting insight.  If you would like more information, visit her website at:  https://fairquestions.typepad.com/rethink_campaigns/


Final Tree Workshop - April 10th (@ 2:40)

Topic: Tree Planting & Maintenance Workshop
Location: Scott Seaman Sports Rink at Heritage
Time: 9-11:30 am

See image below for more details:




Thursday 14 March 2019

March 13th Update - Responsible Dog Ownership Bylaw, Secondary Suites Implementation Plan and Tree Workshops

Note: If your are receiving this in your email and the video below does not show up, click the headline above it to be taken to the website to view it. 



I was unable to do this video Live as Facebook had crashed so I recorded it separately and am including this in my updates now in case you missed it previously.

Here are the timestamps for the items I discussed:
  • Responsible Dog Ownership Bylaw @ 0:00
  • Secondary Suites Update @ 1:15
  • Tree Workshops @ 2:40
For the text details on this post, see my website post here: https://jasonparkermd31.blogspot.com/2019/03/march-13th-update-responsible-dog.html

Wednesday 13 March 2019

March 13th Update - Responsible Dog Ownership Bylaw, Secondary Suites Implementation Plan and Tree Workshops (Square Butte Hall)

Responsible Dog Ownership Bylaw

Today Foothills Council provided 2nd and 3rd Readings to the new Responsible Dog Ownership Bylaw.  

For more information on the bylaw, CLICK HERE for my previous post where I go into more detail on it.

It may be a bit before the new bylaw is posted on the County website, but for information on the previous bylaw, you can visit: 
www.mdfoothills.com/services/protective-services/.  This is likely where the updated bylaw will be posted.  As soon as hear it is live, I will be sure to let you know.

Secondary Suites Implementation Plan

On January 30, 2019 Foothills Council gave first reading to the draft Land Use Bylaw amendments to allow for secondary suites on parcels 2 acres in size and larger.  At that time, Council requested staff come back with details on how these amendments may be implemented.

Today, staff discussed with Council the proposed implementation strategy.  The strategy outlined the following:
  • Education for the public on Secondary Suites
  • Comprehensive Information for the public
  • Details on the permitting process and Safety Code approvals
  • Secondary Suites registry
  • Timelines for coming into compliance
  • Enforcement of Non-Permitted Suites
  • Next Steps for future phases
Council accepted the implementation plan and a more finalized version should come back before Council prior to the Land Use Bylaw Amendments to allow for Secondary Suites receiving second and third readings.  For more information on Secondary Suites, see my post HERE.  For the most recent version of the proposed amendment, CLICK HERE.

Tree Workshops and Square Butte Hall and Seaman Sports Rink

Wednesday 6 March 2019

Mar 6th Update - Foothills County Protective Services Update

Note: If your are receiving this in your email and the video below does not show up, click the headline above it to be taken to the website to view it. 



Foothills Protective Services - Year In Review

Today Foothills Council had the Protective Services before Council to provide a Year in Review for 2018.  Watch the video above for details (if the video above does not show, click this link to be taken to the webpage: https://jasonparkermd31.com).

For more information on Foothills County Protective Services, CLICK HERE.