Councillor Jerry Lonsbury was absent from the meeting.
Ed Gregor Memorial Stewardship Day
Council received a presentation from Neil Chalmers, Vice President of the Crowsnest Forest Stewardship Society (CFSS), who invited them to attend the 17th annual Ed Gregor Memorial Stewardship Day volunteer event taking place on Saturday, June 4th.
To date, Chalmers estimates more than 2,650 volunteers have donated in excess of $1 million in volunteer hours and donated equipment and supplies to maintain, reclaim and repair trails, walkways, benches, signs, kiosks and campsites.
During that time, approximately 35 tonnes of garbage have been collected from thousands of kilometres of forestry trails and roadsides, and more than 8,000 trees have been planted by volunteers.
“The amount of hours that this organization has put forward is incredible,” said Chalmers. “They do a lot of good work.”
Council informed Chalmers they would attend on an individual basis, as their schedules permit.
The event begins at 7:30 a.m. on June 4th at the Blairmore Forestry Office.
Property Tax Penalties Bylaw
Councillor Larry Mitchell made a motion to recommend that the GPC forward the Property Tax Penalties Bylaw to Council for first reading at the June 7th Council meeting.
The motion was passed unanimously.
Councillor Brian Gallant then made a motion to recommend that Council rescind the existing Tax Penalty Bylaw.
The second motion was also passed unanimously.
The new bylaw authorizes Council to impose penalties on outstanding property taxes.
The previous bylaw did not provide adequate information regarding the penalty process, nor did it allow for a flexible tax due date of 60 days after mailing, according to Administration.
Draft Budget Policy
At the May 10th GPC meeting, Mayor Bruce Decoux informed Council he would like to see the municipality adopt a three-year budget, as opposed to a yearly budget, in order to handle the entire process in a more efficient manner.
“Currently, a great deal of our time is taken up with budget,” said Mayor Decoux. “It could be handled so much better if we worked on a three-year budget.”
