January 11, 2011 Council Meeting Highlights

Youth Councillor’s First Meeting

Grant Hendricks, a grade 12 student from GESS, attended his first Council meeting as a Youth Councillor. In December of 2010 Council approved the idea of having a Youth Councillor attend Council meetings to add another perspective to Council’s discussions. The Youth Councillors are able to participate in Council discussion, but will not be voting on any decisions. Grant comes to us highly recommended from Vianne Kitzinger, GESS Principal. Grant has lived in Lake Country for 10 years and his academic interests include English/Arts, Creative Writing and Political Science. Vicki Boitchencko, our other Youth Councillor and grade 12 student from GESS, will be taking part in the January 18^th Council meeting.

Towns for Tomorrow Grant Application

Staff will be submitting an application to the Provincial Government “Towns for Tomorrow” Grant Fund for a maximum of $375,000, which, if successful, will be applied to the costs of improving Lodge Road. Pedestrian and traffic safety is a huge priority in the community, especially along Lodge Road because of the high pedestrian and vehicle traffic and narrow roadway. The estimated cost for Phase 1 of the Lodge Road Multi Modal Transportation Corridor Project is $1.3 million which will re-construct Lodge Road from Bottom Wood Lake Road to the 90 degree corner, add bike lanes on both sides of the road, a separated pedestrian pathway and streetlights. If the $375,000 is received through the “Towns for Tomorrow” grant, design will occur in 2011 and construction in 2012. The remaining $925,000 portion of the project will be funded from the District’s allocation of federal gas tax funds from the years 2010 to 2012. Check out more details on the project in the Transportation Action Plan Discussion Paper.

Pest Control

During Public Comment section of the meeting, Council was presented with a complaint from a resident who fears that the raccoon population in Lake Country may be underestimated. It was suggested that staff look into drafting a pest control policy that would offer possible solutions for a variety of pests in the municipality, before the problem gets out of control.

Zoning Amendment Bylaw

Sonata Ridge Zoning Amendment Bylaw 767, a bylaw to change the zoning from Direct Control 6 to RM5, Medium Density Multiple Family, received approval from the Ministry of Transportation and was given final adoption by Council. The property is intended to be the site of the future ‘Sonata on the Ridge’ condominium development and the bylaw is a minor zoning amendment intended to bring the property’s zoning in line with Council’s original intent.

Discharge of Land Use Contract Bylaw

Council approved staff’s recommendation to discharge the Land Use Contract on a group of properties located on Hallam and Camp Roads. The Land Use Contract is a 32 year old document that outlined the subdivision of the properties and restricted the uses. Subdivision on the property is now complete and the property will be required to adhere to Zoning Bylaw 561, 2007.

Officers & Other Exempt Employees Amendment

Recent amendments to the Local Government Act (LGA) dealing with the submission of subdivision and building permit applications required the District to amend their bylaw to ensure that the Approving Officer was also a designated officer appointed by bylaw, rather than by Council Resolution.

Woodsdale Security Issuing

The District is moving forward with the next steps in finalizing the debt for the Woodsdale Local Water Service Area. Property owners within the local service area were given an opportunity to commute their portion of project and the net balance requiring the issuance of long-term debt is $371,212. This will be funded through a low-interest loan from CMHC (Canadian Mortgage & Housing Corporation) under the Government of Canada’s Economic Action Plan.