Coming Up: January 27th

Council meets on Monday. The agenda includes:

  • Aquatera Agreements Review

  • Display of Address Bylaw

Following is more information and my take on agenda items.

As always, any mistakes or opinions belong to me and me alone, not to Council or City staff.

While I express my current views below, I work hard to go into meetings ready to listen and with an open mind. I learn new information and participate in debate. This always informs, and sometimes changes, how I vote on issues.

If you would like to watch the meeting or read any of its supporting material for yourself, you can do so by clicking here. The City will post the highlights of Council’s decisions here.

Aquatera Agreements Review

Aquatera is owned by the City, County, Sexsmith, and Wembley. How Aquatera operates and relates to shareholders is governed by a series of agreements which these municipalities signed.

The Aquatera Master Agreement has a review clause. Every six years, parties to the Agreement have the right to “enter into good faith discussions concerning any changes desired.”

2020 is a year in which the Agreement allows for review. It has been recommended that Council direct Mayor Given to write a letter to other Aquatera shareholders to initiate a review of the Aquatera agreements.

I intend to support this motion. Aquatera is very important to our community and to the finances of residents and of the City- it is good governance to review it periodically.

Something worth noting: the City is the majority shareholder of Aquatera. However, this doesn’t mean that it gets to dictate anything. Most decisions regarding Aquatera require all original shareholders (the City, County, and Sexsmith) to unanimously agree.

Display of Address Bylaw

The Display of Address Bylaw lays out requirements for properties to make their municipal addresses visible.

If a property does not meet the requirements of this bylaw, the owner can be given 30 days to bring the property into compliance. If they fail to fix the problem, they can be issued a $250 ticket and a summons to appear before a judge.

Council will be debating recommended amendments to this bylaw. They would have two major effects:

  • If an owner is issued a ticket, there would be no obligation to appear in court- they could just plead guilty and pay the fine

  • If an owner contravenes this bylaw a second time within one calendar year, the fine would increase to $500

I intend to support these amendments. They seem common sense to me. Additionally, recent court cases indicate that requiring someone to appear before a judge for a violation of this nature is not allowed under provincial regulation.

That’s what is on our agenda for Monday. I’d love to hear your thoughts.

You can comment below. Or, you can contact me at dbressey@cityofgp.com or 780-402-4166. I'm happy to talk online or over the phone. I'm also always willing to setup a time to meet for coffee.

We also always have great conversation in the GP Round Table group on Facebook.

After Council meeting, you will be able to find highlights posted by the City here.

Thanks for reading!

-Dylan

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