The following topics were discussed during the Tuesday, May 26, Council Meeting

Oldman River Regional Services Commission – MDP Update

The Oldman River Regional Services Commission (ORRSC) requested to present to Council an update on the progress towards the Municipal Development Plan (MDP) and to gain feedback. The update included info on a vision statement for the area that says: The mountain community of Crowsnest Pass will be unique, vibrant, cohesive and prosperous in order to provide its residents with an outstanding quality of life. The update also included a mission statement that says: A Municipality that provides accessible leadership and reliable services that respond to the needs of our community through fiscal responsibility and effective governance. We strive to build a strong, vibrant future while always recognizing the history, people and beauty that makes the Crowsnest Pass so unique. The update also provided council with information on how they can create themes for each community in the Pass. The themes presented were Coleman – where artistry flourishes, Blairmore – where business thrives, Frank – where interpretive programming happens, where storytelling lives on, where imagination awakens where learning is fostered, Bellevue – where history comes alive and Hillcrest – where relaxation abounds.

There was also information presented to Council for how different information can be presented to residents and visitors. That package includes an Introduction (User Guide), Planning Context (Building on our Past, Respecting our Landscape), Goals and Policies (Investing in our Economy, Promoting our Urban Centres, Expanding our Housing Options, Designing our Infrastructure, Protecting our Treasured Places, Implementation (Taking Action) and Supportive Information (Appendices). The final part of the update also included a survey that will be available to residents to help move the MDP forward. The municipality is currently looking at different ways to get those surveys to residents and encourages as many residents as possible to fill them out as Council is looking for as much feedback as possible.

Castle Region DMO Discussion

After the DMO presentation was made in the fall of 2019, Council had some additional questions. These questions were sent to the DMO group on October 24, 2019 and after numerous follow up emails, no information has been received to date. A short DMO update and discussion also occurred at the Regional Council Meeting on February 13, 2020. At that time it was expressed that all the Council's still had some questions and requested that further discussion would be needed once more information was provided.

During discussion in this meeting, Council came to the conclusion that they would be better off using some of the tools shown in the DMO on their own. A motion was made by Councillor Ward that Council come up with their own direction starting with the terms of reference for the municipality's own marketing committee and to inform other parties that the municipality is no longer interested in moving forward with the regional DMO.

Ski Hill Lower Lift Project

During Budget 2020, approval was given to do a lower lift extension at the ski hill for $250,000. This would enable skiers to both ski down to the upper lift and to the day lodge, thus improving the experience. The original budget was based on an estimate done by McElhanney, who completed a functional review on the possibility of an extension. Upon further review with the lift manufacturer Dopplemayer, this estimate was low and additional funds will be needed if the project is to proceed. A quote has now been received from Dopplemayer for both a lift assessment along with design and construction of the lift for $327,382.00. This quote also has an allowance for an additional tower if required. Several additional items are outside of the scope that will be completed by Dopplemayer and will be sourced by the Municipality individually including: Site survey Geotechnical review Lift shack construction Permits Treecutting/earthwork 41 Lighting Snowmaking line The overall project is also carrying a 10% contingency for unknowns for a total budget of $420,000.

Tentatively, Dopplemayer and survey are lined up for early June to begin collecting the necessary information from the field and are targeting a mid-September completion date for the lift extension. Councillor Filipuzzi made a motion that Council approves setting an upper limit of 420,000 for the lower lift extension. After further discussion the motion was carried.

2020 Grants issued for Category 1 and 2

During the 2020 Budget deliberations Council approved Grants to various groups under Category 1 and 2. The majority of these grants were paid out in early January 2020. Due to Covid 19, many of the events may not take place or will have a shortened time frame. Administration is looking for direction from Council on whether to ask for all, a portion or none of the funds back and what type of reporting to ask for. The Municipality of Crowsnest Pass provides aide to organizations, that qualify, under Category 1 and 2 grants. Policy 1201-04 Community Funding Support Policy provides direction to organizations for requesting funding assistance from the Municipality.

During budget deliberations, these requests are brought forward to Council for discussion and either approved, approved with amendments to the request or rejected. Once the budget is passed, the funds are distributed to the successful applicants. The use of the grants vary from a single event to assistance with annual operating budget. Council approved $125,800 in Category 1 grants of which all has been paid out and $56,100 in Category 2 grants of which $49,000 has been paid out to date. With COVID-19 resulting in events being cancelled (possibly only postponed) and organizations on mandatory shut down should Council consider asking for the funds back or have Administration contact the recipients and request justification for how the money will be spent in 2020 with any unspent dollars to be held and applied to 2021 request. After discussion, Council decided to wait until later in the year to determine if changes regarding COVID-19 will allow normal spend of the funds before making a decision.

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