Rocky View County (RVC) council held its most recent meeting on April 11. Here is a brief rundown of some of the items that council discussed:
Library funding going up
During their budget deliberations on April 11, council approved a per capita funding increase to help bolster the County’s contributions to local libraries.
In previous years, RVC has funded local libraries at $4 for every county resident they serve, but that total will now being going up to $6 per county resident in 2023.
The subject of proper library funding has been a passion project of Division 7 Coun. Al Schule for a while now, and not surprisingly, Schule was the councillor to make the motion during last Tuesday’s meeting to increase library funding.
Schule has cited the impending construction of a new County-funded library in his division (Langdon), the first in the County’s history, as being a strong motivator for his desire to ensure local libraries are funded properly.
However, Langdon residents will not be the sole beneficiaries of the funding increase. All current libraries in the region that serve RVC residents will be eligible for the same per capita increase in funding.
Schule’s motion passed unanimously on April 11.
Chambers of Commerce to receive County support
Also during the April 11 meeting, RVC's executive director of Corporate Services Kent Robinson asked that council put aside up to $75,000 to establish a new fund to support local chambers of commerce in the county.
According to Robinson, the County has received a request from the business community to provide support to the chambers of commerce. There is currently a chamber in Bragg Creek and Langdon, and a Business Association in Balzac, which has a similar function.
At the end of 2022, a total of $50,000 was carried forward from last year’s budget and set aside for such a fund, with an additional $25,000 being added to the pot from the 2023 budget.
Council approved the fund in principle when it passed its 2023 operating budget on April 11, but administration will still have to return to council once it comes up with the policy criteria as to how to distribute the funding.
Aggregate Resource Plan's terms of reference approved
Another decision of council on April 11 was to approve the terms of reference, with amendments, for the Aggregate Resource Plan, which provides a high-level framework for the overall project, with a focus on Phase 1 relating to establishing a Stakeholder Advisory Committee comprised of appointed RVC residents and aggregate industry representatives.
Council also approved a budget adjustment of $75,000 to fund Phase I of this initiative.
Previously, RVC’s Governance Committee had recommended during its March 7 meeting that council approve the terms of reference for establishing a stakeholder advisory committee to consult with the public and gravel industry representatives on how to best utilize the County’s wealth of gravel resources – with particular emphasis on the proper citing of new gravel pits in the future, and the development of new gravel pits in an environmentally responsible way.
The Stakeholder Advisory Committee will include both RVC residents and industry representatives.
Gravel is an essential component of highway construction and maintenance, as well as the production of asphalt to pave streets, roads and parking lots.
RVC does not currently own any of its own gravel pits that can provide sufficient quantities of aggregate for its infrastructure needs, despite having an abundance of undeveloped gravel resources within its jurisdiction. RVC is heavily reliant on private industry for its supply needs.
