Notes from the Mayor's Desk: September 2014

How are we doing as a Council and Staff?

It has been almost a year since the lead up to the election last fall.  For all of us who ran for Council, we spent time meeting with people asking what you wanted to see continued and changed in the next term of Council.  The last election also marked a change in the term of all municipal Councils in Alberta.  We were all elected for a 4-year term rather than the 3-year term that had previously been the norm.

We all spent time listening to voters, we had a public forum, and we were all judged at the ballot box, based on what you hoped we would do for the community for the next 4 years.  We know you don't want to have to wait until the next election to be asked about what is happening in town and on Council.

So, how are we doing?  Council and Staff want to know your thoughts, your concerns, suggestions, what we need to keep doing and what we need to improve.  We have had a year in our Council chairs.  I will tell you some of the things we have spent our time trying to accomplish over the past year in this article, but more importantly, we want you to come see us at Neighbor's Day, the Welcome Back Bar-B-Q, or at our website, to "give us a report card".

We could hire a consultant… or we could spend some of your money giving you a chance for a $100 credit on your utility bill in a draw if you choose to fill out a form where we ask you for three things -1.  Tell us one thing you like that we have done in the last year, 2.  Tell us one thing we need to fix, or attend to in the next year, and 3.  Give us a grade of A, B, C, D, or F.  Let us know your thoughts and get your name in for the draw.

Taxes. This is the single biggest concern we hear about from residents and businesses.  It costs money to have what we have in town.  We need to keep taxes as low as possible so we can have an affordable community to live in - and for businesses to operate and grow.  Council passed a residential tax increase of 2.94% and a non-residential (commercial) increase of 1.59%.  Commercial vacant property tax decreased by 3.23%.

Council and staff are mandated to operate a municipal corporation providing services to residents and businesses as efficiently as possible.  We can decide we want to have a 0% "flat-line" budget, if we are all willing to see cuts in services provided (for example: like not doing snow removal last year after we blew through the budget long before the snow stopped falling).  Part of the tax increase goes toward putting money away in reserves to save for the replacement of 30-40 year old pavement, sidewalks, pipes in the ground and replacement of our sewage treatment plant and water system components.  We are probably heading into a two year budget cycle in the next few months and we want to be crystal clear as to your thoughts - keep taxes as low as possible and look for more efficient ways to do business.

In the last year, we have spent a tremendous amount of time attending to community concerns and fears surrounding the 2013 Flood event and the possibility of more flood devastation.  We have worked very closely with Mountain View County, Clearwater County, Red Deer County, Provincial Ministers, Alberta Environment, various engineering firms, our MLA, Joe Anglin, MPs, and community members.  The Alberta government has agreed to fund a proposed berm upstream that would prevent overland flooding through Mountain View County and Sundre.  There is still a great deal of work to do on that project - and on the flood mitigation file as well.

We have heard you say you want Council and Staff to provide better "customer service" where we show you we work for you.  Are we improving?  We have heard we should communicate with residents better. How are we doing?  What can we do better?

Please take some time to talk with us - and to fill out a "report card" to get your name in a draw for $100 credit on your utility bill.

Mayor Terry Leslie

Town of Sundre

How Are We Doing?

Please tell us one thing that you like about what we have done in the past year.

Please tell us one thing we need to fix, or attend to, in the next year.

What grade do you give us for our work in the past year. Circle  A.  B.  C.  D.  F. 

Thank you for taking the time to let us know your thoughts :)

________________________________________________________

Your Name & Phone Number

(if you want to be entered into a draw for $100 credit on your utility bill)

Notes From The Mayor's Desk: August 2014

What does the approval of the Mountain View Senior's Housing Project mean to Sundre and District?

It means that we are a big step closer to the goal of keeping seniors and their families together in Sundre and District.  Upon completion of this 103-unit facility, seniors and their families throughout Mountain View County will be able to receive the care and housing they deserve.

In Sundre, as in many rural communities in Alberta, when seniors require 24-hour care due to a health crisis, or deteriorating health, they are either cared for in emergency beds in hospital or placed in available care beds in other centers.  The strain on seniors and their families was apparent and the need for higher quality of support for seniors was determined as a need.  The pressure on our own hospital critical care beds was also increasing.

More than 2 years ago, the Sundre Seniors' Care and Housing Committee began advocating for seniors in our community.  They worked very closely with Mountain View Seniors Housing to demonstrate the need in the community and they pressed local and provincial governments to respond to the needs in the community.  Shovels will be in the ground this fall and the doors are expected to open in the summer of 2016.

This is a $26.6 million project that will see the 45 beds at Foothills Lodge (which provide level 1 and level 2 care) moved to these new accommodations.  Along with replacing Foothills Lodge, there will be an additional 40 beds to accommodate 24-hour care (level 4 and 4D).  Level 1 and 2 care is independent living with some assistance while level 4 and 4D is care requiring 24-hour monitoring and assistance.  These new beds will reduce strain on our hospital acute care beds also.  In addition to these 85 beds, there will be 18 independent life style "life lease" units so seniors of all abilities can live together - no matter what their ability - in a "campus of care" complex model.

Mountain View Seniors Housing provides "housing" options for seniors.  They are a "not for profit" organization providing affordable and subsidized housing options.  I pay about $50 per year through my taxes to support MVSH. The ratepayers of Sundre, Didsbury, Olds, Carstairs, Cremona and the County of Mountain View contribute to Mountain View Seniors Housing each year through a requisition.  The residents of the housing facilities pay for their housing - and there is some subsidy for some residents paid for by municipal taxes.

Without the space and staffing for level 4 and 4D care in Sundre, seniors have been placed in available, appropriate beds for their needs in other communities, sometimes very far away.  Although this building will be located in Sundre, it will mean that seniors from all corners of Mountain View County will be able to have options of appropriate care beds in Sundre, Olds and Didsbury when available.  As our population grows older there will be a need for more of these options for seniors.  The Board and staff at Mountain View Seniors Housing will continue working with all communities within the County of Mountain View to provide affordable housing options for seniors.

As always, if you have questions about any of this information, please give me a call at home at 403-638-3535. Thank you for taking the time to read about this very exciting project in our community :)  Thank you to all who worked so hard over the past years to make this dream come true.  Our seniors deserve it.

Mayor Terry Leslie

Notes From The Mayor's Desk: July 2014

It is Canada Day as I write this and I am both grateful and proud today to be able to live where I do, surrounded by so many opportunities, blessings and great people.  We have just "weathered" another June with a typical spring run off.  We had rain for the 35th Anniversary of the Sundre Pro Rodeo Parade but the spirit of everyone in attendance was not dampened.  

The community came together to celebrate Grad 2014 at Sundre High School.  The graduates received unconditional support and encouragement to go do their part to make the world a better place for their future and that of generations to come.  June is such a great month as we get out from under the long winter - finally - and spend time in the outdoors.  It is why we live here.

In June, the teacher in me feels there should be a report card for Council - but I think it would be better if the report card came in the fall - as the election was last fall. Council wants to know how we have been doing. What has changed in the year since last fall?  What needs to change in the next year?

There were some recurring themes and concerns of residents that I heard in the lead up to the election.  There were concerns about taxes, communication, fear of flood in coming years and what could be done to avert it, resolution of cost sharing for water and waste water on the east side, the relationship between Town Council and Mountain View County Council, annexation possibilities on our Town boundaries, the attitude of Council and staff toward "service" to our customers (taxpayers), and how we deal with concerns from the public.  There were some suggestions as to what we might do to improve as well.

To get information for our report card, Council members will be out "where people are" this fall. Watch for us at community and school events.  Stop and let us know your thoughts and ask questions.  We will be asking you to tell us one thing you like, and one thing we need to do better - and we will ask for your grade (an old school grade of A,B,C,D,F).  We will compile a list and report to you about what we find.  We will use your suggestions and your thoughts about what we need to fix to develop our plans for the next year in our Strategic Planning process.

We hope you will take some time to let us know how we are doing and give us some ideas.  Please call me at home at 403-638-3535 if you want to chat about any of the above.

If you are able to take a holiday break in July, on behalf of your Council, I wish you a safe and relaxing holiday.  You deserve it.

Mayor Terry Leslie

Notes From The Mayor's Desk: June 2014

Spring is finally here and we are all so glad that winter is a memory.  May Queen is over, the grass has had its first cut and the trees are finally green.  We are all looking forward to enjoying the beauty of spring and being outside.  We have had a rain and watched the river come up - as it does every year, and that has led some of us to wonder if this June will be like last June.  A year ago we saw devastating floods in Alberta.  Locally, we saw some flood damage and it caused us to wonder about years to come.  We all learned a lot about Mother Nature and this beautiful river we live so close to.

We have learned that it is large amounts of rain that causes flooding conditions.  Last year we saw saturating rain one week, followed by a rain event, which was not typical.  This year we haven't received as much precipitation in April and May as we did last year.  Can we predict another high water event year this year?  Statistically, we probably won't see another flood event similar to that of 2013.  Statistically, we have had two 1/100-year flood events (2005 and 2013) so we should be statistically good for almost 200 years.  However, we cannot always rely on statistics.  Since 2013, the Government of Alberta has improved their weather forecasting, river monitoring and communication protocols with municipalities.  We can expect better information - sooner - than ever before.

What we learned from last year is to prepare for emergencies - and we have prepared.  The serious concerns from the community were taken to the Provincial Government.  Town Council and County Council worked together to bring the same messages forward.  Engineering firms studied the river history, mapped possible breakouts of the riverbank as the volume of water increases, and the Government of Alberta approved a recommended berm, which is to be constructed to prevent overland flooding through the County and the Town.  That berm won't be constructed by this June, but it should be finished by June 2015.  

Alberta Government officials have told us that the Highway 27 Bridge across the Red Deer River is good for another 35 years - and that they will undertake a study to further review the safety of that critical transportation link.  Officials have said there is no need for dredging upstream of the bridge to protect it.  Engineers and government officials are also examining the riverbank breakout points on the Bearberry Creek that caused overland flooding in 2005.  Decisions made to spend millions of taxpayer’s dollars must be made with facts, science, and viable creative options.  What we have learned is that solutions to managing the river take longer to figure out than one year.  Be assured that work continues behind the scenes to push for a long-term strategy to manage the entire Red Deer River watershed.  

My Mother told me to live my life - every day.  She didn't say live your life in fear of something that may never come to pass.  We all chose to live where we do.  There are risks.  Prepare for them.  We need to get the message out to people who come to our community to visit - that things are great - like they have always been.  Our businesses depend on the optimism of all of us, encouraging visitors to come to Sundre to stop, shop, play and explore.  There is a misperception out there that the river is contaminated from an oil spill - and it is not.  There is still a fear that people shouldn't take a chance and come here because of the floods of last year.  The economic impact of 2013 flood event saw a 30% drop in sales in many businesses.  We need to counter that fear and negativity with optimism and resiliency - because that is who we are.  

So let's get ready for June with all the excitement it deserves - and that we deserve.  Let's get out to the parade and celebrate the 35th anniversary of the Sundre Rodeo.  Let's celebrate all of the grads going out into the big wide world.   They will do us all proud.  Get out on the trails for a walk, ride a bike, say "hi" to a stranger and welcome them to our community.  Let's live our lives - without fear - as a model to our kids.

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. 

Be prepared in an emergency; go to www.getprepared.gc.ca to see what you can do to help keep your family safe.  In the event of an emergency, the Town will post critical information on sundre.com, Facebook and Twitter.

Mayor Terry Leslie