RCMP Presentation – Staff Sergeant Chris Murphy (Hinton detachment), Sgt. Kevin Gaal (Edson detachment), and Sgt. Brian Topham (Evansburg detachment) presented to council. Staff Sergeant Murphy expressed the value of the ongoing relationship between RCMP and Yellowhead County Protective Services, and cited the excellent cooperation between YCFD and RCMP during incidents such as the Brule evacuation. In brief, Staff Sergeant Murphy named the following priorities for the year: Reducing property crimes and break and enters; improving the mental wellness of internal staff; engaging with the community to improve relations and visibility; and monitoring crime trends. Staff Sergeant Murphy also noted that the year has seen an overall reduction in criminal investigations in the region (a 6-year low), a reduction in break and enters, but an increase in vehicle theft. County residents are urged to lock up their homes and vehicles, and keep valuables out of sight as well as to call and report all criminal activity. Visit www.ruralcrimewatch.ab.ca for more tips.
Robb Area Structure Plan Consultant Presentation – Invisitec Consulting Ltd., planning consultants for the Robb Area Structure Plan rewrite, presented to council. Stephen Yu, Senior Planner, and Fabio Coppola, Planner, expressed their gratitude for the community’s participation in two public engagement events. The focused feedback gleaned from those open houses, along with distributed surveys, will help inform and guide the consultants towards an area structure plan that represents Robb’s residents. A draft re-write will go to public hearing in the coming months.
Clearwater County/Yellowhead County ICF – The Municipal Government Act requires municipalities that have a common boundary to create an Intermunicipal Collaboration Framework Agreement (ICF). Council passed three readings of the ICF with Clearwater County. In essence, this ICF maintains an agreement towards existing services, chiefly mutual fire aid and the Sasky da Sasquatch environmental campaign.
Letter to the Minister of Transportation – As Highway 16 continues to fall further into disrepair, a letter to the Honourable Ric Mclver, Minister of Transportation, has been drafted on behalf of council to bring further attention to the issue. The letter notes the complaints issued by residents and travelers and highlights that this is a pending safety concern. Moreover, photos of the highway are attached for the minister’s review. Council endorsed the letter.
St. Mary Church Purchase – The Ukrainian Catholic Eparchy of Edmonton has contacted the county to see if the county is willing to buy the old St. Mary’s church in Wildwood. County council declined to take ownership of the church as it does not have any long-term strategic value for the county.
Evansburg Street Rehabilitation – The 2020 Evansburg Street Rehabilitation project involves construction of a new water main, sanitary sewer, storm sewer, sidewalks, and paved roadway surface (in phases). 20 tenders were submitted in total for this final phase. Council awarded the contract to Barsi Enterprises Ltd. (lowest bidder) at a total tender price of $2,724,175.00.
Motor Grader Replacement – Council approved the purchase of four new Cat 150M Motor Graders from Finning in the amount of $923,400 plus GST, which would replace four near-end-of-warranty graders. The county aims to replace its graders at 7,500 hours or five years whichever comes first. This replacement plan ensures that the motor graders have full warranty and that the county has a guaranteed buyback value.
Swanson Road Grading and Other Work – Council awarded the tender for clearing and grading on Swanson Road from Highway 16, north to Little Sundance Creek (approximately 16.7 km) to Northern Road Builders LP (lowest bidder) in the amount of $9,380,295.84.