CLEARWATER COUNTY TAXPAYERS ASSOCIATION
MEETING MINUTES
JUNE 11, 2019
ARBUTUS COMMUNITY HALL
1.0 Welcome

At 7:30 p.m. President Marianne Cole called the meeting to order.

2.0 Approval of Agenda
Items 6.2, 6.3, 6.4, and 6.5 were updated. Dan Warkentin moved that the agenda be approved with updates and additions. Laverne Ahlstrom seconded. Carried.
3.0 Minutes of the previous meeting
Marianne Cole read the minutes of our last meeting from April 16, 2019. Marlene Brattberg moved that minutes be adopted as recorded. Ken Qually seconded. Carried.
4.0 Financial Report
Pat Butler read the financial statements for May 2019. Pat Butler moved that the financial statements be accepted as presented. Al Gaetz seconded. Carried.
5.0 Business Arising From The Minutes

5.1 Letter to the AER - was sent to three individuals on May 21, 2019 ( Mrs. Sheila O’Brien, Chairman of the Board, AER, Sonya Savage, Minister of Energy and Mr. Gordon Lambert, President & CEO of AER) with concerns of the operation and control of the AER and fracking. It was noted that Jason Nixon is overseeing the AER under his portfolio.

5.2 Prices of Grazon – the prices haven’t been looked into. The County has a sheet published with their prices.


5.3 Tax Rate info – council voted for a 0% tax increase in municipal taxes for this year but there is an increase in taxes due to the increase in the school tax.



6.0 New Business
6.1 County council meeting highlights
· Presentation by Mountain Rose Woman’s Shelter – new shelter should be completed by August. They would like representation from County council on their working group.
· North Saskatchewan River Park Update – a grant has been received and work will begin soon on a covered grandstand.
· Grant Funding for Community Halls Policy – council approved a policy that will see annual allocations based on hall capacity.
· Tax Rate Discussion – there may be a 5.41% increase for residential and farm and a 13.8% increase for business.
· Audited Financial Statements – county is in a favorable financial position. Revenue has increased 13.14% with expenses only increasing by 3.59% over 2017.

6.2 Friends of Corridor School
Fundraising has been postponed due to no clear answers from the provincial government. Until that is received, there is no clear target for fundraising.
6.3 Name Update

Alberta Clearwater Association has changed its name to Alberta Freshwater Alliance Society.

6.4 Memorial for Roy??

It was discussed and decided to contact friends to donate to a cause or charity in his name. Robert Brattberg made a motion to donate $100.00 to charity of their choice. Pat Butler seconded. Carried.

6.5 Clearwater Broadband Foundation
This foundation was established in 2016 to improve broadband in the county. They have a P3 partnership that is a combination of public and private. There is a fiber optic network that is up and running as a pilot project. Discussion took place about whether the county should be involved in providing internet service. An informal vote was taken and was overwhelming against the county being involved.


6.6 County Concerns
There were concerns that the county didn’t change the fire signs to a ban, but it was only a restriction, not a ban. There is a concern with a county vehicle being seen in Red Deer on a “shopping trip”. This will be looked into. The county has a number that can be contacted 24 hours with concerns.
** Marianne Cole read a thank you note from Coral Ahlstrom
7.0 Future Meeting: Tuesday September 17th @ 7:30 p.m.

8.0 Adjournment - Ken Qually moved for adjournment @ 9:09 p.m.