Council approves new Fire Services Agreement with the Town of Peace River
The MD of Peace No. 135 contracts the Peace River Fire Department to provide fire fighting services to the area immediately west and southwest of the Town of Peace River. The prior agreement governing this arrangement expired at the end of 2023. A temporary agreement covering only 2024 was signed at the beginning of 2024. Council has now approved a new agreement to be in place from January 1, 2025 through December 31, 2027, at a rate of $55,000 per year.
Ratepayer Appreciation Event Preparation
Councillors reviewed the agenda and plans for the Ratepayer and Farmer Appreciation Night at the Grimshaw Royal Canadian Legion on April 5, 2024 with doors opening at 5:00 pm. The appreciation event includes a dinner, MD information overview, and an opportunity for residents to engage with Council. All MD of Peace councillors will be in attendance. Those planning to attend are to RSVP by calling the MD office at 780-338-3845 or by emailing admin@mdpeace.com.
Council Reviews Recreation Policies
Council reviewed and approved Policy Rec-1 as amended and approved the removal of Policy Rec-2. Policy Rec-1 relates to renting the Lac Cardinal Community Recreation Area, and Policy Rec-2 relates to the construction and operation of trails within the MD of Peace.
Minimum Tax
Council approved a $25 minimum tax for the 2024 taxation year.
Land and Capital Purchase Funding
Council reviewed different funding options for the road work on Cessna Road that was completed in 2023. They ultimately decided that $500,000 would be funded through reserves (which requires investments to be liquidated) and the balance to be funded through the MD’s Municipal Sustainability Initiative (MSI) Grant funding.
MD of Peace Road Standard Assessment
Council directed administration to hire a third party to review and assess the MD’s current road related policies, and if needed to assist the MD in developing new policies informed by industry standards and best practices.
Brownvale Community Club
Lyle McKen and Myrna Alexander from the Brownvale Community Club requested financial support, and a letter of support for a grant application for funding to renovate the roof, ceiling and interior walls at the Brownvale Community Hall. The Brownvale Community Club is applying for various grant funding opportunities to help cover costs. Lyle and Myrna provided information relating to the usage of the facility and shared that 22 different clients used the facility over 78 times in 2023. Council approved to allocate $40,000 in capital funding for the renovations.
Holy Family Catholic Regional Division
The Board Chair, trustees and the Superintendent from the Holy Family Catholic Regional Division provided an overview of information regarding their schools, enrolment, program highlights and HFCRD results from the Alberta Education survey results. HFCRD has 7 schools, 1700 students and employs 122 certified and 170 support staff. Council thanked HFCRD for engaging and sharing information with Council.
