Council met on Monday, as they are wont to do, and here are the highlights:
- Dale Bond, Director of Ken Sargent House, gave a presentation about the organization, whose mission is dedicated to providing a comforting, inclusive, and affordable home where families can heal together while receiving medical care in Grande Prairie.
- Council passed Bylaw No. 2174, Meeting Procedures Bylaw. It includes various changes to technicalities of Council meetings by updating the previous Procedural Bylaw, providing added clarity and incorporating legislative changes under the Municipal Government Act. It also consolidates the Procedural Bylaw and Governance & Priorities Committee Bylaw.
- Council passed Bylaw No. 2175, the Economic Development Committee Bylaw, and EDC Terms of Reference. Among other changes, it clarifies the role of the committee and aligns it with other committees of Council.
- Council approved a change to the Business Grant Policy that now allows separate business units within the same building or civic address to apply for grants individually. This responds to an application that was ineligible under previous rules but aligned with the policy’s intent.
- Stemming from a high amount of applications to the 2025 Business Grant Program, Council approved transferring $21,875 in unused 2024 Business Grant Program funds, now in operating reserves, into the 2025 program. Combined with the annual $50,000 budget, this brings total funding for the 2025 program to $71,450 and provides $41,450 for intakes 2 and 3. Intake 1 awarded over $30,000 to five businesses, and six more applications were received for intake 2.
- Council approved reclassifying 1,950 casual hours into a full-time permanent Guest Services Representative position at the Baytex Energy Centre. The change addresses ongoing service and staffing challenges by providing consistent front-counter coverage, supporting facility bookings, and acting as a reliable backup to the Recreation Services Coordinator.
- Council approved entering into a new Joint Use and Planning Agreement with local school divisions, replacing outdated agreements from 2003 and 2005 and meeting new requirements under the MGA. The updated agreement lays out how the Town and schools will work together on shared use of facilities, future planning of sites, and responsibilities like servicing new properties or handling surplus land.
- With the municipal election this fall, Council approved changes to the post-election meeting schedule to align with new provincial training requirements under the updated Municipal Government Act. The October 27 regular Council and organizational meetings will be cancelled and replaced with an organizational meeting on November 3, ahead of the scheduled Governance and Priorities meeting. Council also approved a 90-day extension for required orientation training to allow time for a thorough and well-paced program for new members.
- Council appointed Crystal Owens to the Peace Regional Healthcare Attraction and Retention Committee for a three-year term.
- Council approved submitting a bid to host the 2026 RhPAP Biennial Conference, following a recommendation from the Peace Regional Healthcare Attraction and Retention Committee. If selected, the Town would help plan the event alongside RhPAP.
There's always more!
But for that, check out the full agenda: https://peaceriver.civicweb.net/filepro/documents/?expanded=9574,141215…
You can watch it again on Youtube here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BCQx_xkDiR4
Our next Council meeting is a Governance and Priorities meeting at 5pm June 2, 2025.
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