Here are some highlights from the September 3, 2024, Town Council meeting. This is not an official record of the meeting. For more information – including the full agenda listing – you can read the Regular Council Meeting Agenda and its attachments.
Staff report: Administration report
- Sarah Bittner joined the Town of Coalhurst as Director of Corporate Services on September 3, 2024. Ms. Bittner is responsible for the Town’s financial operations, including property tax collection, human resource administration, budget preparation and analysis, and assistance with the annual financial audit.
- A public hearing will be held on Tuesday, September 17, 2024, for proposed Bylaw 454-24: the GreenTree Area Structure Plan. The public hearing will begin at 6:00 p.m. in Council Chambers. Public hearings are an opportunity for Council to hear from anyone affected by specific proposed bylaws. Members of the public may provide written comments or speak at the public hearing, which will be livestreamed and recorded on the Town’s YouTube channel.
Anyone wishing to submit written comments regarding the proposed Bylaw should send them to the Director of Legislative Services by email to [email protected] no later than 12:00 p.m. on Wednesday, September 11, 2024, to be included as part of the agenda package.
Summertime youth programming
Council received a report regarding the summertime youth camps that were held in Coalhurst throughout July and August. The camps were hosted by Barons-Eureka-Warner Family and Community Support Services (BEW FCSS) and Family Ties Lethbridge and took place at the Coalhurst Community Centre. There was no cost for kids to participate in the camps and no additional cost to the municipality for the services provided by FCSS and Family Ties.
Activities at the camps included outdoor sports and games, crafts, science experiments, team building exercises, leadership development, Indigenous-based learning activities, a puppet show, and time at the park, playground and spray park. Special guests to the camps included Big Brothers Big Sisters Lethbridge and Destination Exploration.
Overall, response from participants, parents and staff was extremely positive and the Town is already in discussions with FCSS and Family Ties about bringing the camps back to Coalhurst again in summer 2025 with some minor modifications to improve the registration process and participation for families.
The Town would like to sincerely thank the staff, volunteers, and community partners of both BEW FCSS and Family Ties Lethbridge for their time and dedication to Coalhurst youth this summer.
Community Standards Bylaw
A new bylaw for Community Standards was given first reading and then moved to the Committee of the Whole meeting of September 10, 2024, for further discussion.
The draft bylaw is intended to consolidate and simplify multiple other bylaws and policies into a single bylaw, for ease of understanding and application. The draft Community Standards Bylaw proposes to combine regulatory components from six existing bylaws and three policies, including:
- Smoke and/or Vape Free Playgrounds and Athletic Fields Bylaw No. 432-22
- Noise Control Bylaw No. 315-06
- Unsightly Premises Bylaw No. 303-04
- Weapon Control Bylaw No. 291-02
- Rollerblades, Skateboards, Golf Clubs, Golf Balls, and Off-Highway Vehicles Bylaw No. 288-02
- Weed Control Bylaw No. 116-86
- Boulevard and Alley Maintenance Policy No. 32-01-03
- Unsightly Premises Action Policy No. 66-02-01
- Weed Control Policy No. 62-01-01
The draft bylaw is not intended to introduce new rules to the community, but rather to consolidate existing rules and reduce some of the more prescriptive language contained in the existing bylaws and policies it is intended to replace.
To learn more about the draft bylaw and the documents it’s intended to replace, you can read the complete September 3, 2024, Council meeting agenda.
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