Coun. Greg Boehlke will serve as Rocky View County (RVC) reeve for a another year, following a vote Oct. 23 at council’s annual organizational meeting. Boehlke was elected reeve by secret ballot after being nominated by Coun. Al Schule. Coun.
Coun. Greg Boehlke will serve as Rocky View County (RVC) reeve for a another year, following a vote Oct. 23 at council’s annual organizational meeting.
Boehlke was elected reeve by secret ballot after being nominated by Coun. Al Schule. Coun. Kevin Hanson was nominated for the position as well, by Coun. Samanntha Wright.
“I appreciate the support of council to put me in as reeve,” Boehlke said. “I’ve enjoyed my time as reeve…. There’s dramatic changes going on in RVC, and it’s fun to be a part of it.”
This marks Boehlke’s second consecutive term as reeve and his fourth since he was first selected for the position in 2015.
Schule will replace Coun. Jerry Gautreau as deputy reeve for the upcoming year, after beating out both Gautreau and Hanson.
“I’m honoured council is supporting me in that role,” Schule said. “I hope, with my past experience as reeve and on council for many years, that I can assist not only the reeve, but all of council, with some of my knowledge.”
Coun. Kim McKylor was reappointed as head of council’s Policy and Priorities Committee (PPC) for a second term, as well.
Council also set meeting dates for the upcoming year and appointed both councillors and citizen members to a number of committees at the organizational meeting. A full list of appointments can be found at rockyview.ca
Snow Budget
Council unanimously approved a $1.2-million budget adjustment to account for additional snow and ice control expenses.
According to Roads Maintenance Manager Howard Bell, the particularly severe winter in early 2018 depleted RVC’s operating budget for snow and ice control by mid-May. The budget adjustment will support snow control to the end of the year.
“Going forward, for 2019, we will be increasing the budget by about half a million dollars, and that will be an ongoing increase,” Bell said.
Westbrook School
Council directed administration to send a letter to Rocky View Schools (RVS), convening a joint committee to discuss a capital funding application made to the Ranchlands Recreation Board for $100,000 to support the redevelopment of Westbrook School.
According to Corwin McCullagh, manager of Recreation and Community Services, RVS made the decision to self-fund a replacement school in Westbrook with $6 million of internal reserve funds.
“On Sept. 28, the Friends of Westbrook School, which is the fundraising arm of the school council, submitted a capital funding application…to assist with the redevelopment of Westbrook School – specifically, to offset costs for an expanded gymnasium design,” he said.
According to a letter from Colette Winter, director of Facility Planning with RVS, the school division supports the proposal for a larger gym, which would be available to the larger community for a wide range of uses.
“RVS is willing to loan Westbrook School, on behalf of the Westbrook School Community, $100,000 if the Ranchlands Recreation District matches the amount to support the gym expansion,” the letter stated.
The application falls under the jurisdiction of the Reserves Agreement, signed by RVC and RVS in 1998, McCullagh added.
“Under the agreement, there is an established Reserves Co-ordinating Committee, consisting of appointed councillors and RVS board members, which acts as the forum to discuss appropriate municipal financial support for gymnasium development,” he said.
McCullagh said convening the Reserves Co-ordinating Committee to discuss the capital request would also provide an opportunity to replace the current dated reserves agreement with a modernized version, and to review future joint projects that may require municipal support. To that end, McCullagh said, administration prepared a Letter of Notification to convene the committee.
Council voted 8-1 to send the Letter of Notification. Gautreau opposed the motion, saying he was not supportive of the capital request at all.
“It looks like RVS is lending the money to [Friends of Westbrook School], yet we’re giving them the money,” he said. “I think I have a problem with that.”
Tax Cancellation
The cancellation of approximately $600 in 2018 municipal taxes for two properties leased by the Dalroy Gymkhana Club was approved by council.
“[The] properties have been used for community purposes for a number of years for the benefit of RVC residents, and have previously had the municipal taxes cancelled by RVC council,” said Barry Woods with RVC’s Financial Services.
Woods added the club is a non-profit, community-based organization, which aims to provide opportunities for family fun on horseback. While it does not currently qualify for exemption under the Community Organization Property Tax Exemption Regulation due to non-registration with the province, Woods said the group plans to undertake efforts to qualify in the future.
Council approved the cancellation 8-1, with McKylor opposed.
“If we continue to support recreation through tax relief, we’re actually not capturing how much money we’re spending on recreation,” she said. “I don’t think the tax-relief program was designed for this.”
