Sturgeon County Council Recap | February 22, 2022

Here are the highlights from the February 22, 2022, Sturgeon County Council Meeting and Committee of the Whole Meeting: 

Continued access to Edmonton Garrison Fitness Centre 

Council approved releasing a $300,000 grant to CFB Edmonton as part of a Recreation Cost Sharing Agreement that allows Sturgeon County residents to have access to the Edmonton Garrison Fitness Centre.   

Updates to Council COVID policy 

Council approved amendments to the Council COVID-19 Policy to align with the Province of Alberta’s three-step plan to phase out the COVID-19 public health measures. 

No change to Carbondale land zoning  

Council voted against rezoning a parcel of land in Carbondale to permit an off-road transportation company to continue operations. In their decision, Council noted the current use is not consistent with the residential nature of the community and that the business would be better located in one of the County’s industrial parks. 

Public Engagement on Resource Extraction to continue 

Sturgeon County will move forward with more public engagement as part of the Resource Extraction Regulatory Review, which had started in 2020. The engagement plan will provide further opportunities for public to provide input on the final report and recommendations. The engagement sessions will include hosting both in-person and virtual open houses on the east side of the County. 

Council establishes new committees 

Council approved amendments to the Council Committees Bylaw to establish an Audit Selection Committee and a Capital Committee, along with the appropriate supporting policies. The Audit Selection Committee assists in the procurement process for an independent financial auditor, while the Capital Committee provides oversight to the multi-year capital budgeting process. 

Contract approved for Fort Augustus Subdivision road work 

Council approved the Contract Award for the Fort Augustus Subdivision Rehabilitation, which will including 1.07 km of road rehabilitation within the subdivision. The value of the contract is $959,500, not including GST.  

Data Processing Facility Regulations 

Council held a Public Hearing for Bylaw 1570/22 - Data Processing Facility Regulations. The proposed bylaw is in response to the potential use of natural gas well sites to power data processing centres that are used for the “mining” of cryptocurrency, non-fungible tokens, and blockchain transactions. If passed, Bylaw 1570/22 would address potential concerns with these types of facilities including the aesthetics of any proposed development. The bylaw will come back to Council at a future meeting for further consideration. 

During the Committee of the Whole Meeting, Committee received an update on the Sturgeon County Broadband Initiative. The project continues to move forward, with construction anticipated in the spring. 

The Committee also discussed outcomes of the reviews of the Committee of the Whole and Governance and Council Services Committee Bylaws. Both bylaws were required to be reviewed by March 1, 2022, two years after the bylaws were passed. No changes to the bylaws are being recommended at this time. 

Next Council Meeting 

The next Sturgeon County Council meeting will be held at 9:00 a.m. on March 8, 2022.  

Future agendas and past meeting minutes can be found online.