COUNCIL HIGHLIGHTS

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Council meets every second Wednesday at the Lesser Slave River Administration Building, to discuss and decide upon matters that affect our communities. Council meetings are open to the general public; however, the municipality is aware that it's not always possible for all interested parties to attend.

This section is designed to keep our staff, residents, media, and neighbouring municipalities advised and updated of decisions, issues, initiatives, and debates that take place in Council.

January 25, 2011 Council Highlights

Financial Overview
Administration provided Council with the Statement of Financial Overview confirming that the MD is in good financial position.

Grant Processing for Sawridge First Nation
Once recovery projects are endorsed through the Tri-Council, the Regional Recovery Coordination Group will work with municipal staff to complete conditional grant applications. The CAO of either municipality (TOSL or MD) will sign off on the application and provide to the Minister of Municipal Affairs (or minister involved) for approval.  As the Sawridge First Nation is a private enterprise, but included in the Recovery Plan as a regional partner, funding for projects managed by the Sawridge First Nation will flow through the Town of Slave Lake or the Municipal District of Lesser Slave River.

At this meeting, Council made a motion to act as the intermediary/grant applicant for the Sawridge FireSmart Program Implementation as per the Tri-Council endorsement of $500,000 towards the program.  Once funding is received by the Province to the Municipality, a cheque will be issued to the Sawridge First Nation to carry out their work.

FireSmart Fire Equipment
In the same method of processing grant applications, Council made another motion to act as the intermediary/grant applicant for the fire equipment ($940,000) under the Slave Lake Recovery Plan endorsed by Tri-Council. Once the equipment is received and grant funding provided to the Municipality, invoices for the equipment will be cleared.

Brand Identity Refinement & Naming of the Widewater Firehall
Administration has been working with Bleed Communications to enhance the Municipalities branding and communications strategy.  The proposed Lesser Slave River brand identity is an evolution of the classic MD crest while retaining the same graphic features and highly apropos “Rugged and Real” tagline. Council approved the new brand and looks forward to seeing more resources implemented in the MD.

The Regional Fire Department submitted four names to the Governor General’s office for naming the Widewater FireHall in recognition of the William and Kate’s visit to our region and awaiting approval.

Slave Lake & Area Regional Library Budget
Council adopted the 2012 Slave Lake & Area Regional Library Budget as recommended by the Inter-municipal Committee which reviewed the budget with members of the library board at their last meeting.  The temporary library is now open in the Lakeland Centre with a Grand Opening scheduled for Saturday, February 11, 2012.

Purchase or Lease of MD Land & Road Allowance (Gramiak)
In December, Grant Gramiak approached Council requesting the purchase or lease of land owned by the municipality. A Notice of Intent was published in two consecutive issues of the Lakeside Leader to enable citizen’s feedback.   A public hearing will be held on February 22, 2012 in accordance with the MGA Section 606 (2) for the purchase or leasing of the public lands Plan 0424083, Block 6, Lot 31.

Municipal Development Plan
ISL Engineering and Land Services Ltd. were contracted by the Municipal District to make revisions to the Municipal Development Plan reflecting key objectives provided in the Terms of Reference for the contract.  Suggestions by Council of the draft plan will be provided to the Planning and Development Officer to forward to the contractor.

Mitsue-Poplar Lane Draft Area Structure Plan
The Combined Poplar Lane and Mitsue Industrial Area Structure Plan was initiated by the Municipal District for the purposes of updating the previous plans for Poplar Lane and Mitsue Industrial. By combining the planning for both areas, the MD is able to achieve some economies of scale by examining a larger land base, combining the public information program, and examining existing and potential infrastructure opportunities that could be shared by both areas.

Council confirmed that they will provide feedback to the Planning & Development Officer on the draft plan.

Tri-Council Top Priorities
Council reviewed the top three priorities of the Recovery Plan shared by the Town of Slave Lake, Municipal District and Sawridge First Nation at the last Tri-Council meeting highlighting on the common visions by all three groups.

Erosion Issues at Marten Beach
Council discussed the on-going issue of erosion on properties within the municipality.  Administration confirmed that they will further the efforts of the municipality to help residents in these areas of concern.