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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2003-09-02 Council Minutes0 U is To Gene Kiviaho Reeve Hoppms Members of Council From Rob Mayhew Date- September 2, 2003 Issue Background Discussion Council Agenda Item #5(a) To amend Policy 14.9 Guidelines for Future Water/Wastewater Systems The present Policy of February 20, 2002 amended the March 10, 1998 Policy The amendments clarified guidelines required for the installation of new water systems — County owned or private in County right of ways In the past years, there has been considerable drought in the County As a result, two new water systems are being planned — Three Hills West (providing funding can be obtained) and the Kneehill Regional Water System (this project is proceeding) Kneehill County currently has services such as Telus cable, oil, gas and power lines in the right of ways In reviewing the placement of water/wastewater lines in County right—of-ways, Counties contacted were Lacombe Leduc, Strathcona, Mountain View and Beaver Strathcona County is the only County surveyed that would consider allowing a regional water system in their right of way but only if its ratepayers are going to be part of the system The disadvantage of having such systems in the right of ways is the cost of maintenance and construction issues Existing oil and gas services do allow for some maintenance as depth is not as crucial This is not the case with water lines, so depth and location would have to be determined Once these lines are placed in the ditch there is a cost in lowering or moving them when necessary to do so The options available are to follow the March 10, 1998 Policy, February 20, 2002 Policy or to follow the new amended Policy Kneehill County s priority should be, to continue to have control of the right of ways and what work is done in them in order to accommodate the best interest of its ratepayers By doing so the County will consider approving the plans for the water lines to be placed in or near County right of ways This eliminates any negative results that could arise if the project's cost is trimmed i.e cost overruns that could affect the accessibility of water for our ratepayers Financial Implications No financial implications at this time Recommendation That Council approve the Amended Policy #14 9 Guidelines For Future Water Systems as presented (see attached) LJ • • Council Agenda 4 5(c) TO Gene Kiviaho Reeve Hoppms Members of Council FROM Rob Mayhew DATE September 2 2003 Issue Wimborne Road Upgrade Background I' $550,000 00 for the Wimborne Road Upgrade Project was allocated in the 2003 Budget The Wimborne Road into the Devon Gas Plant had been identified in the 2002 Road Study In discussion with the Province on the Resource Road Funding, this project did not meet the criteria for this particular funding program ICAP has funds available for Kneehill County in the amount of $321074 00 and the application for these funds was sent in for the Wimborne road upgrade We have received approval of the project from Council and approval from ICAP to tender the Project subject to approval of funding by the federal and provincial governments Discussion Mr Ross has been working on the land agreements for this Project Two landowners Mr Alex Benedict (S 1/2 2 34 26 W4), and Mr Lawrence Frere (SE 1 32 26 W4) who would be suppliers of a mayor portion of dirt for the road project, want a guarantee that Kneehill County will, upon construction completion, pave the road within two years Devon Canada has the same opinion on this construction project Devon Canada is not willing at this time to contribute to this project, although a letter of support was submitted by them and submitted as part of the ICAP application In checking with ICAP, August 26, 2003, the environmental assessment has not been completed and could take another 2 12 weeks for a response Kneehill County would have to apply for a transfer of the budgeted funds and resubmit a project for the ICAP funds if Kneehill County is unable to do the Wimborne Project We are still waiting for funding approval of the Wimborne Project Council has three project options 1 Wimborne Road Upgrade Project subject to ICAP funding approval and with the awarding of the tender subject to further Council approval for reconstruction and guaranteed paving within two years 2 Linden Road the County could apply the $550,000 (budgeted for the Wimborne Road Project) and transfer any approved ICAP funding (from the Wimborne Road Project) for resurfacing the Linden Road Project 3 Buffalo Jump Road The base and paving of the gravel portion of the Buffalo Jump road (estimated at $ ) using the $550,000.00 (budgeted for the Wimborne Road Project) and transferring any ICAP funding (from the Wimborne Read Project) for this protect Financial Implications Budget for 2003 for the Wimborne Project = $550,000 00 construction ICAP Funding Applied for $321,074.00 $871,07400 Estimated cost for the construction & paving = $1,327,400 00 including engineering costs Recommendation 1) That Council not proceed with the Wimborne Project, and the $550,000 budgeted for this project be allocated in the 2004 budget for the surfacing of the Linden Road 2) If successful in receiving ICAP funding for the Wimborne Road project, Administration be approved to make application with ICAP to transfer this funding to the Linden Road project. k' "-/ - Ro ay' lew Gene Ki iaho 0 • L' To Gene Kiviaho Reeve Hoppins Members of Council From- Barb Long (prepared for Terry Nash) Date September 2, 2003 Issue Internet Policy Council Agenda Item # 5(f) Background Internet use is now essential in the performance of daily routine activities As Spyware and virus softwares have become extremely sophisticated diligence is required in order to protect the integrity of data and investments in technology This policy has been drafted in order to avoid potential misuse, and is not being presented in response to any existing situations Amendments, as noted at the August 19"' Council meeting, have been made to the Draft Internet Policy Recommendation 1 That Council approve the draft Internet Policy e0'r Barb Long for T y Nash C' L' - Gene Kiviah , CAO 31 • • 0 POLICY STATEMENT The County provides employees and elected officials with access to the Internet for business purposes PURPOSE Access to Internet -related systems enables employees and elected officials to gather information relevant to the County's business from external sources, and to provide information to residents potential residents businesses and business prospects This policy outlines the County's requirements regarding acceptable Internet and Internet Electronic Mail (E mail) usage SCOPE This policy applies to all the County's employees and elected officials For the purposes of this policy "employee' means both employees and elected officials Employees have access to these systems consistent with the requirements of their job and are encouraged to use the systems "Internet" means all activities undertaken through the County's Internet resources including electronic mail and browsing external web sites unless otherwise specified ACCESS Electronic mail access via Internet is automatically provided to all employees Additional approval is not required Access to other Internet functions is determined by the requirements of the employee's position It is the responsibility of the Director of each department to assess employee needs when granting access Requests for Internet access must be submitted via E mail to the Director of Corporate Services by the employee's Supervisor In the case of elected officials the request must be approved by the Chief Administrative Officer 32 L� • i • GENERAL PRINCIPLES 1 Ownership County provided Internet/Intranet and E mail privileges like computer systems and networks, are considered Corporate resources and are intended to be used for business purposes only 11 Privacy of communications Correspondence via Internet E mail is NOT guaranteed to be private While network administration provides a high level of privacy and security on the network, users should be aware that E mail messages can be recovered even though deleted by the user III Data security Employees must safeguard their login ID and password from disclosure to any person except the staff of the Information Technology Division Users must use their own login ID and password, are responsible for all activity on their login ID and must immediately report any known or suspected compromise of their ID to the Information Technology Division IV Monitoring The County will monitor all employee usage to ensure proper working order appropriate use by employees, and the security of data Also the County will retrieve the contents of any employee communications in these systems from time to time Management may access user files including archived materials of present or former employees without the user's consent for any purpose related to maintaining the integrity of the network, or the rights of the County or other users or for any other reasonable purpose The distribution of any information through Internet related systems is subject to the scrutiny of the County to determine suitability Users may also be subject to limitations on their use of Internet related resources r] is • 0 r V Personal use pof Personal use of systems is authorized as long as it does not interfere with or conflict with business use and is not performed on County time If an employee receives E mail that conflicts with any section of this policy they must notify the Information Technology Division immediately The employee or staff from Information Technology will notify the sender of such E mail that it is not appropriate and to cease sending any further such type of E mail Subject to Part VIII of this policy, individual departments are responsible for creating guidelines concerning personal use of Internet related systems however, in the absence of such policies, employees should be guided by departmental policies on personal telephone use In case of doubt, employees should contact their supervisor or manager VI Downloading Downloading of non -executable files for business use is permitted These would include reports adobe pdf files, information flyers etc from other institutions or government agencies that may be useful to the County Executable software may not be downloaded without checking to ensure that antivirus software is active Executable software may contain viruses which could harm the County's network VII Freedom of Information All electronic documents which are created by or with the County's computers or network, including Internet related systems, are records for the purposes of the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act and may be a public record for the purposes for this Act 34 0 0 • • VIII Unacceptable use of Internet related systems 00 T Communications and Internet access should be conducted in a responsible and professional manner reflecting the County's commitment to honest, ethical and non discriminatory business practice In furtherance of these goals the following restrictions shall apply Employees shall not visit Internet sites that contain obscene, pornographic hateful or other objectionable materials, send or receive any material that is obscene or defamatory or which is intended to annoy harass or intimidate another person Employees shall not solicit E mails that are unrelated to business activities Employees shall not solicit business for personal gain or profit Employees shall not use or permit the use of the Internet or E mail for any illegal purpose Employees shall not use continuous access technology such as "Push or Pull" 10, Employees shall not represent personal opinions as those of the County Employees shall not make or post indecent remarks proposals or materials Employees shall not upload, download, or otherwise transmit commercial software or any copyrighted materials belonging to the County to parties outside of the County Employees shall not download any executable software unless antivirus protection is active Employees shall not intentionally interfere with the normal operation of the network including the propagation of computer viruses and sustained high volume network traffic which substantially hinders others in their use of the network Employees shall not examine, change, or use another person's files output or user name for which they do not have explicit authorization Employees shall not perform any other inappropriate uses identified by Information Technology staff 35 • 0 • 0 L Employees shall not connect unauthorized equipment o the network for any purpose inconsistent with the business purpose of the County Employees shall not deliberately waste computer resources including but not limited to bandwidth, disk space printer paper and ink cartridges Employees shall not use the County network to gain unauthorized access to any computer system IX Education To promote the efficient use and to avoid misuse of Internet related features a copy of this policy statement will be distributed to all employees having access to Internet related systems Employees are required to familiarize themselves with the contents of this policy Internet training will be conducted in conjunction with the Information Technology Division X Enforcement Employees who violate any of the guidelines set in the policy will lose their access privileges Depending on the severity of the violation, employees may be subject to disciplinary action from written warnings through to employee termination The County also retains the right to report any illegal violations to the appropriate authorities XI Amendments The County may amend this Acceptable Use Policy from time to time as necessary All employees with access to Internet related systems will receive prompt notice of any amendments XII Disclaimer The County will not be responsible for any misuse of Corporate Internet related systems Persons found to be misusing the County's Internet related systems will be responsible for any costs or damages sustained by the County or a third party and will be obligated to indemnify the County for any claim against the County by a third party 36 0 To. Gene Kiviaho Reeve Hoppms Members of Council From Barb Long (prepared for Terry Nash) Date September 2, 2003 Issue Financial Reserves Policy 416 1 Council Agenda Item # 5(g) Discussion A financial reserve is an unspent dollar amount that is designated for a future purpose that extends beyond the current fiscal year This amount includes an Equity in Fixed Assets component and also for us, an accumulated surplus component The enclosed policy establishes reserves and segregates them by their purpose, establishes a range or an appropriate amount of funds to be held in financial reserves and provides for reporting and review of reserve balances As requested by Council at the August 19"' Council meeting, a designated reserve has been established for municipal disasters Recommendation That Council approve the draft Financial Reserve Policy replacing Policy #16 1 Barb Long Gene Kiviaho CAO 37 C� 0 U Financial Reserve Policy Purpose To ensure that surplus and reserve funds are established and managed in an effective manner Segregation of Financial Reserves The following reserves are hereby established 1 Separate reserves to hold funds that are restricted in their use by Provincial Legislation or by Legal Agreements a Planning Cash In Lieu Reserve 2 Funds specifically committed to future programs a Operating Contingency Reserve b Road Renewal and Replacement Reserve c Municipal Disaster & Emergency Reserve 3 Future Asset Acquisitions included in Capital Budgets a Capital Reserves by function Amount of Financial Reserves The minimum amount in reserves will be sufficient to provide liquidity and cash flows during the first part of the fiscal year until the majority of its annual property taxes are collected The maximum amount to be held in Financial Reserves is the sum of the funds that are restricted by legislation and agreements, plus those funds that are committed in the future to financing specific purposes Reserves shall not include any deposits or deferred revenues for which funds have been received before the corresponding services have been provided Council Approval is required for 38 L� U r1 U r The establishment of and purpose for new reserves 1 The closure of reserves that are no longer required 2. The transfers of funds to and from reserves via the annual budget review process 3 Long term plans to draw funds from reserves in conjunction with approving longer term operating and capital plans 4 Individual reallocations of funds held in reserves that are not included in Annual Operating or Capital Budgets 5 Allocations of unspent funds from one fiscal period to the next period via accumulated surplus Review of Uncommitted Reserve & Accumulated Surplus Balances Council will annually complete a formal review of uncommitted reserves and accumulated surplus balances and determine how each year s annual operating surplus will be designated for future use Assurance of Reserve Liquidity At each year end the municipality shall attempt to retain a total amount of Cash, Investments and other net liquid assets that is sufficient to fund its reserve balances This liquidity factor is to be monitored to ensure that Reserves are supported on an ongoing basis by real available dollars that can be readily drawn upon Financial Policy #16-1 is hereby replaced 39 • C7 .7 0 To Gene Kiviaho Reeve Hoppins Members of Council From Barb Long (prepared for Terry Nash) Date September 2 2003 Issue Signing Authorization Council Agenda Item # 5(h) Background Council requested Administration investigate alternative methods of authorizing expenditures that would allow Council to concentrate on items of significance Depending on where Council Dates fall, several due dates for payables may fall prior to the meeting being held Payments may be delayed where the required second signature is unavailable Payroll remittances and utility bills are the late payments that repeatedly result in penalty levies being imposed Discussion The draft Signing Authority Policy has been amended as requested by Council at the August 19`x' Council meeting and has been reviewed and approved by Mr Al Martmot of BDO Dunwoody A copy of the amended policy has been attached for your review Recommendation 1 That Council approve the draft Signing Authorization policy � . ecw Cl t B Long for Terr ash Gene Kivi o CAO M U U C7 � nQA� l PURPOSE ' V To establish the signing authorities for all financial instruments POLICY STATEMENT Kneehill County needs to have controls in place to ensure that all financial instruments are properly authorized and reflect the intent of Council POLICY GUIDELINES 1) The Reeve/Deputy Reeve and Administration shall exercise due diligence when exercising their signing authorities to ensure that Council s intent is being carried out Signing Authorization is reviewed and granted by resolution at the annual organizational meeting 2) Council recognizes that in the interest of efficiency that is not necessary that every cheque be signed by the Reeve/Deputy Reeve and that there are more efficient alternative methods for the Reeve/Deputy Reeve to discharge their fiduciary responsibilities 3) The signing authorities for Kneehill County will be the Reeve, Deputy Reeve Chief Administrative Officer the Assistant Chief Administrative Officer and the Executive Assistant 4) Cheques drawn on the bank accounts of Kneehill County shall be signed and countersigned as hereafter provided a. Cheques issued for payment of Payroll Remittances for source deductions shall be signed by any two of the authorized signing authorities b All Accounts Payable cheques up to $ 10,000 00 shall be signed by any two of the authorized signing authorities c All Accounts Payable cheques exceeding $10 000 00 shall be signed by the Chief Administrative Officer/Assistant CAO and countersigned by the Reeve/Deputy Reeve A listing of all cheques will be presented to Council for their review and payment approval 5) Direct Deposit Payroll 41 The Payroll Register and the Transmission Confirmation Listing must be signed dated by the Chief Administrative Officer/Assistant CAO signifying approval o e payroll The files that house information on the Personal Computer will have security applied to them in the form of a password with only the Payroll Clerk, the Assistant CAO • �' and anyone deemed necessary by the Chief Administrative Officer will have access to the password 6) To avoid late fees, Utility and Telephone Bills will be paid through preauthorized payment withdrawal Verification of bills for accuracy will be the responsibility of the appropriate department head 6) Signing authority is cancelled upon leaving employment/office is is 42 0 0 To- Gene Kiviaho Reeve Hoppins Members of Council From Barb Long (prepared for Terry Nash) Date. September 2, 2003 Issue Kneehill County Logo Council Agenda Item 4 5(1) Discussion Skytone Printing and Graphics was hired at a cost of $450 to finalize the artwork on the logo and prepare samples suitable for use on Letterhead, Pins Signage Corporate attire, and Vehicle identification For this price, the logo is provided in a variety of digital formats and resolutions Quotes for signage will be obtained and presented at the 2004 budget deliberations At the August 19th meeting Council passed a motion approving the purchase of items using the new logo as inventory is depleted As requested by Council, other samples were obtained from Skytone Printing & Graphics, and these will be presented for Council approval Recommendation 1 That Council adopt the new County logo design as presented by the committee, selecting the font style and color to be used Barb Long Gene Kivi o CAO M • • 0 Background The 2004 Convention will be held in Edmonton on May 28 31 at the Shaw Convention Centre and attract approximately 2,500 delegates I have held discussions with the FCM Convention Coordinator with respect to ensuring that rural issues are on the next FCM agenda To that end an opportunity exists for Kneehill County to play a pivotal role at the Convention The agenda is in the development stage and I have requested time for Kneehill County to present a session on `Coping with Rural Issues — an Alberta perspective" Kneehill County could present this session alone or partner with a few other rural jurisdictions to present an overall Alberta picture Discussion To date no one has stepped forward with a similar proposal or has requested time on the agenda, therefore Kneehill County can capture a leadership role and lead a plenary session on agricultural issues I indicated to the Convention Coordinator that I would discuss the concept with Council and with approval would prepare a session outline for review by the Convention Committee Many recent issues have adversely affected the plight of the agricultural sector and we are well positioned to share our experience and strengths with the rest of Canada and thank them for their generosity and assistance There is a broad range of challenges and topics may include • Defining moments — Grasshoppers, Drought and Mortality • Leadership during Diversity KRWSC — A Success Story The Plight of a Farmwife Stress on the Prairies This is a super opportunity for Kneehill County to be a leader amongst peers and demonstrate our rural resolve to the rest of Canada I encourage Council to endorse the concept and submit a proposal to the Convention Committee Recommendation That Council submit a proposal to the FCM Convention Committee to lead a session on rural issues at the FCM Convention in Edmonton on May 28 31 ow 1La, GeKiviaho Chit Administrative Officer 72 Council Agenda Item # 5(f) To. Reeve Hoppms Members of Council From Gene Kiviaho CAO Date- Sept 2 2003 Issue A presentation at the 2004 Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) Convention Background The 2004 Convention will be held in Edmonton on May 28 31 at the Shaw Convention Centre and attract approximately 2,500 delegates I have held discussions with the FCM Convention Coordinator with respect to ensuring that rural issues are on the next FCM agenda To that end an opportunity exists for Kneehill County to play a pivotal role at the Convention The agenda is in the development stage and I have requested time for Kneehill County to present a session on `Coping with Rural Issues — an Alberta perspective" Kneehill County could present this session alone or partner with a few other rural jurisdictions to present an overall Alberta picture Discussion To date no one has stepped forward with a similar proposal or has requested time on the agenda, therefore Kneehill County can capture a leadership role and lead a plenary session on agricultural issues I indicated to the Convention Coordinator that I would discuss the concept with Council and with approval would prepare a session outline for review by the Convention Committee Many recent issues have adversely affected the plight of the agricultural sector and we are well positioned to share our experience and strengths with the rest of Canada and thank them for their generosity and assistance There is a broad range of challenges and topics may include • Defining moments — Grasshoppers, Drought and Mortality • Leadership during Diversity KRWSC — A Success Story The Plight of a Farmwife Stress on the Prairies This is a super opportunity for Kneehill County to be a leader amongst peers and demonstrate our rural resolve to the rest of Canada I encourage Council to endorse the concept and submit a proposal to the Convention Committee Recommendation That Council submit a proposal to the FCM Convention Committee to lead a session on rural issues at the FCM Convention in Edmonton on May 28 31 ow 1La, GeKiviaho Chit Administrative Officer 72 • Council Agenda Item # 6 (g) To- Reeve Hoppms Members of Council From Gene Kiviaho, CAO Date. Sept 2, 2003 Issue Attendance at the Canadian National Summit on Municipal Governance Background A Canadian National Summit on Municipal Governance is being held on September 25 and 26, 2003 in Niagara Falls The speakers will provide information to elected officials and CAD's on governance strategies and initiatives to enhance community performance and strengthen public confidence The opening Keynote speaker is George Cuff and he will define the roles of Council and Administration This 2 -day summit has direct relevance and allows the selection of a `rural' stream focused on performance public private partnerships and organizational change strategies Given the wealth of knowledgeable speakers I would encourage Council to send the Reeve or the Deputy Reeve plus one other member of Council to attend the Summit on Municipal Governance Financial Implications The estimated cost to send two (2) delegates is calculated as follows Registration ($995 x 2 — 5% discount) Accommodation (2 nights x 2 x $160) Mileage (200 kms @ $.40/km) Car rental Airfare ($194 x 2 via Toronto) ($318 x 2 via Hamilton) Total _ $1890.50 (plus GST) _ $640 (plus tax) _ $80 _ $120 _ $388 (plus tax) or _ $636 (plus tax) _ $3366 50 (plus tax) Note The registration fee includes breakfast, lunch, receptions and course material Recommendation That Council send the Reeve or Deputy Reeve plus one member of Council to the National Summit on Municipal Governance L-. - Gene viaho Chief Aaministrative Officer 11 73