M.D. of Taber council briefs from Jan. 9

Posted on February 1, 2024 by Taber Times

By Heather Cameron
Taber Times
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

The following are selected briefs from the M.D. of Taber Council Meeting that took place on January 9.

Announcements or Recognitions

Council discussed that the Taber Chamber of Commerce will be hosting their Annual Awards Night on January 19, and with that, three winners of the Spirit of Taber Award were announced as follows: Business of the Year was Horizon Family Dental, Citizen of the Year was Christopher Nguyen, the Spirit of Taber Award went to the Trail 77 Association, while the Employee of the Year nominees are Fenny Harpell of Seasons Cafe & Eatery and Shelley Tilleman of Taber Home and Farm Centre.

Grant Approval Discussion

Council discussed how the following communities were approved for grants:

The M.D. of Taber was approved for a grant of $114,000 under the Intermunicipal Collaboration component of the 2023/2024 Alberta Community Partnerships in support of their Regional Emergency Project.

The Town of Bow Island was approved for a grant of $200,000 under the Intermunicipal Collaboration component of the 2023/2024 Alberta Community Partnerships in support of their Regional Water Treatment Plant Infrastructure Assessment project.

The Town of Coaldale was approved for a grant of $200,000 under the Intermunicipal Collaboration component of the 2023/2024 Alberta Community Partnerships in support of their Regional Potable Water Concept Development Study Along Highway 3 Corridor Project.

The Town of Taber was approved for a grant of $200,000 under the Intermunicipal Collaboration component of the 2023/2024 Alberta Community Partnerships in support of their Regional Wastewater Concept Development Study Project.

The Village of Stirling was approved for a grant of $200,000 under the Intermunicipal Collaboration component of the 2023/2024 Alberta Community Partnerships in support of their Barons Eureka Warner Family and Community Support Services Needs Assessment Project.

A motion was made to receive the correspondence and carried.

Upcoming Events

Council discussed how there were six tickets available to the M.D. for the District Chamber of Commerce Annual Dinner if anyone wanted to attend.

Council stated that they were invited to attend and have two tickets available to the Prolife Annual General Meeting and Banquet at the Evangelical Free Church that will be held on February 9, 2024 at 6 p.m.

Council discussed how a previously scheduled Talk of the Town was changed to an event called Review of the Region that is scheduled for Saturday, February 10, 2024, and is being held at the Taber Auditorium. The idea with the event, Council discussed, is to highlight the region and allow community members to ask questions. That said, the Town of Taber invited MP Shields and MLA Hunter to attend, and Council discussed if anyone from Council wanted to attend. Later in the meeting, a motion was made for the M.D. of Taber to participate in the Town of Taber’s Review in the Region that is being held on February 10, 2024, and that motion was carried.

Council also discussed how they have been invited to be involved with Green Shirt Day, an event that is held on February 19, 2024 to promote organ donation awareness. Council discussed how there will be three hockey games that day and they have specifically been invited, along with the Town of Taber, to be part of the puck drop, say a few words, and also attend and promote the event on the M.D.’s social media.

Council also discussed that the TCAPS fundraiser will be held on March 16, 2024, and that TCAPS is looking for help to serve the VIP tables.

RMA, Council said, is March 18-20, 2024.

Enchant Speed Limit Study

Arlos Crofts, Chief Administrative Officer for the M.D. of Taber, shared with Council that an individual from the Hamlet of Enchant put forward a request to Council asking for advocacy assistance to have the province of Alberta consider a speed limit change on Highway 526 adjacent to Enchant. The current speed, Crofts said, is 100 km per hour. Crofts stated that Administration did endeavour to work with Alberta Transportation throughout the spring, summer, and early fall months to attempt to get speed data capture equipment temporarily installed to accompany said request to the province, but support was ultimately unavailable due to limited equipment unavailability. Given that, Crofts said, the M.D. Administration has decided to take the situation into their own hands and do that portion of the process on their own should it be a priority for Council. After the data is collected, Crofts said, then the M.D. can make an official request to Alberta Transportation and Economic Corridors with the collected data. Councilor Hildebrand recommended doing this when the traffic merits the request and Deputy Reeve DeGroot asked what the study would be like and what the cost would be like if the study was done by Alberta Transportation and Economic Corridors versus the M.D. of Taber. Administration responded by saying that the study would be the same, but the costs would be very different. There were also several other questions discussed among Council including what kind of equipment would be acquired, how widely throughout the M.D. the equipment would be used, and what kind of data the equipment would or could capture. Ultimately, Councilor Turcato made a motion that the M.D. of Taber direct Administration to investigate and research the purchase of a digital speed device to place in Enchant that may be used and moved throughout the municipality for future use, and bring it to the January 22 regular meeting of council for consideration. Councilor Hildebrand then made a motion the M.D. of Taber direct Administration to continue to collaborate with Alberta Transportation and Economic Corridors to address the concern regarding speed monitoring and control on Highway 526 adjacent to the Hamlet of Enchant. That motion was carried.

Donation Request Application

Arlos Crofts, Chief Administrative Officer for the M.D. of Taber, presented a Request for Decision regarding a donation request application from the Barnwell 55+ Seniors Group to Council. The group, Crofts said, requested $5,000 with respect to the programs they provide as part of their association. Ultimately, a motion was made that Council grant a donation to the Barnwell area seniors’ group in the amount of $5,000 and the motion was carried.