Notes from the Mayor's Desk: February 2014

Council and administration have been working behind the scenes meeting with local residents, Mountain View County and the Province to address the flood mitigation and erosion issues that arose after the 2013 flood event.  We have been working very closely with Mountain View County to determine viable solutions and propose solutions to the Government of Alberta.

The Federal and Provincial governments hold responsibility and regulatory authority over changes to any river.  The Provincial government has acted quickly to deal with devastating floods in many communities in Alberta through Disaster Relief Programs.  Sundre has been approved to receive $659,000 to fund 8 flood recovery projects.  Emergency operations costs were reimbursed $175,000, Greenwood Campground damage was $250,000, wastewater and water treatment plant repairs were $80,000, and repair of the rock spurs south of the bridge will cost $70,000.  Also, 10^th Street erosion repairs, recreation trail erosion and storm sewer cleaning amounted to $84,000.  We are grateful for the Disaster Recovery Program funds allocated to us for these flood recovery projects.  Efforts are ongoing to complete the listed projects.

Flood Recovery and Erosion Control (FREC) is another Provincial program that we have been seeking clarity about.  In November, 2013, Town Council and County Council representatives met with Environment and Sustainable Resource Development (ESRD) administration to express concerns of residents and to be sure that we followed guidelines and procedures as set out by FREC.

Councillor Myron Thompson organized a meeting with residents of Sundre and District on January 9^th, 2014.  After that meeting, a letter was written to ESRD Minister Robin Campbell requesting that he meet with both local Councils to clarify procedures and plans.  Representatives from Town Council met with Minister Campbell on January 17^th to outline community concerns.  Minister Campbell also agreed to meet with Town and County Council before the middle of February.

Since the 2013 flood event, two engineering firms have been studying the river, the effects of the flood, changes in the river basin and potential predictable impacts in another high water event.  Town and County Councils had commissioned those firms separately.  Those research findings were shared with each other as Councils, with the Province at meetings on January 21^st and 23^rd, and with Associate Minister of Municipal Affairs, Kyle Fawcett, on January 30^th.

If this all seems complicated - it is.  To simplify, we have been approved to receive $659,000 from the Province for flood related damage and we are grateful for the support and quick action of our Provincial government. The Town of Sundre and Mountain View County Councils are working together to present solutions for longer term "river mitigation" strategies that will protect residents, property and water quality to local and downstream residents and river users.  Those suggestions are backed by science and research from engineering studies. Nobody wants to "rush to failure" as Minister Fawcett stated.  Not all projects will be completed by June 2014.  Of 40 flood-affected municipalities, 8 have applied for FREC funds of $2.5 billion.  Long-term river mitigation will require Federal as well as Provincial financial support.

We will keep you informed as new information becomes available.  If you would be interested in more detailed information please call me (403-638-3535 at home) and we can set up an open house to provide you with clarity on some of these issues.

Mayor Terry Leslie

Notes from the Mayor's Desk: January 2014

The New Year brings us the chance to look forward to the year ahead.  In the first few days of the New Year the biggest issue faced by all of us in the community is snow - more than we have seen in decades. The staff work to safely and efficiently move that snow and address the calls and concerns you have. Thank you for your help and patience as we all try to deal with Mother Nature and all the gifts she brings.

January will see Sundre’s Council, working together with Mountain View County Council, pressing the Provincial Government to outline plans for action on flood mitigation.  We will continue to support Mountain View County proposals and plans for upstream work.  We will work with our MLA, Joe Anglin, to advocate for work to be done in the river basin upstream of the bridge so it can be protected.  It is critical to our community that action is taken before the spring run off.

February will see us preparing a "Strategic Plan" which is just a fancy term for setting goals for the near and distant future.  "Continuous Improvement" is a goal we will be talking about.  Our residents expect us to seek methods of improvement in all areas of the organization.  It is easy to say we will try to continuously improve, but it is another thing to have an attitude and a mindset that everyone agrees to focus on.  We need to continuously look for more efficient ways to do business.  Our strategic planning process will look at specific methods and ideas that we will outline and work towards.

Taxes are always a concern to residents and businesses.  We have reduced the tax rate from last year by a percentage point, but we must continue to try and keep taxes down.  We would all agree that government can't continue to grow - and yet we all expect services to be reasonable.  We need community growth, efficiency in our business and innovation that allows us to enhance service levels with little impact to the residents and businesses.  These ideas will also be part of the strategic planning process in February.

We want to support and recognize volunteers, groups and organizations that give our community the character that is our reputation.  Council and staff want to recognize the fact that if we are all working together, our community morale, spirit and attitude will be filled with optimism and hope for our future and pride in our past.  It is not always easy to be an optimist.  What choice do we really have when we are modeling for our children and grandchildren - optimism or pessimism?  Council will encourage and support the work you do to help others in our community.

On behalf of Council and staff I thank you for all you do in our community.  I encourage you to talk with us about your thoughts.  Together we will make 2014 a great year :)

Terry Leslie,

Mayor, Town of Sundre