Notes From The Mayor's Desk: April, 2014

What is a Strategic Priorities Chart?

It is a planning document and a business plan that turns into a report card.  In the attached photo, you will see the 2014 Strategic Priorities Chart that was developed by Town Council and Staff in February.  When we speak of wanting government to be more like business, this is the Town business plan for this year.  The goal is to have this document act as a report card to you at the end of the year where we report to you about what has been accomplished with your tax dollars.

There are three sections to this chart.  The "Corporate Priorities" section is the direction Council sets.  There are target dates to accomplish those priorities.  The "Advocacy" section indicates items where Council will work with others who have the responsibility to deal with issues in our community.  The "Operational Strategies" section is where the real work gets done.  Each Town department sets goals, timelines, and individual staff members who take the lead - and responsibility, for accomplishing each listed task. Council has set priorities and administration carries out those priorities with the operational strategies.

There will be emerging issues throughout the year that we haven't planned for.  The report card part of this document will be the quarterly review of what has been accomplished and what new, unplanned "stuff" had to be taken care of.  We expect to monitor these goals and keep an ongoing list of accomplishments so we can report to you on our progress.  We want to have everything checked off by January 2015 - and then we will make another plan.

It is important to note that these goals fit within the framework of all our long term plans like the 20 year Municipal Development Plan and the 10 year Recreation Master Plan.  Even though it seems like we are making plans from year to year, we must always be setting yearly goals to meet our long-term plan - just like in business.

If you have any questions, or if you would like to discuss any of these items, please call me at home at 403-638-3535, or chat with any of us on Council.

Mayor Terry Leslie

Town of Sundre:  2014 Strategic Priorities Chart

Notes From The Mayor's Desk: March 2014

There is a very important public meeting coming up Tuesday, March 11^th, 7:00 PM, at the Sundre Legion, where Government of Alberta representatives will be in our community to hear questions and provide answers to residents regarding follow up plans after the 2013 Floods.  Local Councils and administrations will also be present.  Please come to this meeting to hear about progress to date. Please bring your questions, concerns and ideas about how we can all protect people, property and the environment.  This is your chance to have your voice heard.  

There is a plan.  Local concerns and questions have been taken to Provincial Government Officials, both at the Minister and Administrative levels.  The Town of Sundre and Mountain View County have been meeting with those same Officials and Ministers.  Both Councils have commissioned separate engineering studies to "do the science" of learning from studying past river flow patterns and predicting possible future river flow patterns using advanced scientific technology.  Sundre and Mountain View County have submitted requests to the Province for projects to help prevent predictable disaster from high water events in the future.  The Government of Alberta has also been studying the science of the entire Red Deer River Watershed.

There is a short-term plan to deal with what happened in 2005 and 2013, and there are some long-range ideas for reviewing the entire Red Deer River Watershed into the future.  This is a community meeting because all of us are concerned about our river.  Please come to the meeting to become better informed about what the issues are, what some of the ideas might be to deal with those issues, and bring your ideas and questions as well.

Flood Preparedness Information Session

Tuesday, March 11^th

7:00 PM

Sundre Royal Canadian Legion

If you would like more information to better prepare for this public meeting please contact me at home, 403-638-3535. This is your opportunity to find out what is happening with plans for keeping us all safer in the future.

Check out the Province’s Flood Mitigation website: http://alberta.ca/floodmitigation.cfm or if you are interested in what happened in Sundre during the 2013 Flood Event, please go to http://sundre.com/2013-sundre-flood.html

We hope to see you there.

Mayor Terry Leslie

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