By Kevin J, Sabo
For the Independent
The County of Stettler council is growing concerned with alleged harassment targeting County staff.
The latest incident, discussed during the Sept.7 council meeting, stems from Chief Administrative Officer Yvette Cassidy making a personal stop at the UFA after work.
While in the parking lot, someone apparently took a photo of her County-issued vehicle and posted it to social media, citing that the County vehicle should not be used for personal matters.
“Our (Chief Administrative Officer) takes the County vehicle home, because (she) gets dragged to many different areas of the County,” said Coun. Wayne Nixon.
“She has to have that vehicle to go on those calls.”
Coun. Les Stulberg agreed with his colleague’s assessment.
“Every (Chief Administrative Officer) has had consent to use the County vehicle,” said Stulberg.
“This is ridiculous to point fingers that she is doing something wrong. Council has shown support for her that she has done nothing wrong.”
Reeve Larry Clarke summed up his support of County administration by saying, “We do, at the County of Stettler, have some of the best staff of any county in Alberta.”
Water line
County council has approved the connection to a County water service line for a ratepayer.
“The cost of the connection fee will be just a bit more than cost of hook-up (to the ratepayer),” said Director of Municipal Services Andrew Brysiuk.
In order to connect to a County waterline, ratepayers need to pay a $15,000 initial hookup fee, either all at once, or in amortized payments over 15 years.
Coun. Ernie Gendre motioned to proceed with the connection.
Culture Days
Stettler County council has approved a $500 donation to the Stettler Culture Days committee to help them put on events during the month of September.
This year, the focus of Stettler Culture Days is the region’s Estonian heritage. Throughout the month, restrictions allowing, attractions will include an art exhibit at the museum, a blacksmithing demonstration, a market, and several other activities.
The donation is similar to the one council made in the fall of 2020, however instead of coming from the County of Stettler’s donations fund, the money will come from the Rural Development Fund.
Bylaws
Council reviewed three bylaws during their Sept. 8 meeting.
The first, Bylaw 1664-21, was a Land Use Bylaw amendment dealing with bylaw variances. The new bylaw, now past third reading, allows council to vary a development setback greater than the previously allowed 25 per cent in order to grant the Municipal Planning Commission “more latitude” in their planning.
The second, Bylaw 1665-21, which also passed third reading, was the Slope Assessment amendment to the Land Use Bylaw. This bylaw removes the blanket coverage of building near slopes, and instead allows the construction of small structures within 30 metres of the toe or crest of a 15 per cent slope.
The amendment also allows for greater flexibility in the placement of structures near slopes, based on slope assessments.
Finally, the third, Bylaw 1667-21, the Gadsby Cancellation of Road Bylaw passed first reading and set a public hearing for the October council meeting.
The bylaw will allow three parcels of unused road allowance in Gadsby to be removed from County ownership and attach them to the titles of the adjacent properties.
“We’ll attach it to their titles,” said Cassidy.
“It just cleans things up. The situation has caused the Village of Gadsby a lot of grief. It’s the cleanest way to do it.”