Sarah Elmeligi - MLA
Constituency Office
300-709 8 St
PO 8781
Canmore AB
T1W 2B2
Phone: 403-609-4509
Email:
Legislature Office
503C Legislature Building
10800 - 97 Avenue NW
Edmonton, AB T5K 2B6
Phone: 780.643.1027
Fax: 780.638.3506
MLA UPDATE – SARAH ELMELIGI – BANFF- KANANASKIS – SEPTEMBER 2024
Hello Banff-Kananaskis! As the back-to- school season arrives and routines reset, it’s hard to believe how quickly the summer has flown by. Our summer calendar was bustling with community events across our riding, and it’s been a joy to participate in so many of them.
We enjoyed attending a variety of events, including Indigenous Peoples’ Day celebrations in Banff, pancake breakfasts in Priddis and Exshaw, and Stampede festivities in Calgary. We also participated in Canmore Public Library’s events, BBQs in Waiparous, Bragg Creek Days, the Canmore Folk Festival, Alberta Innovates’ HYRS Open House, and the Priddis & Millarville Fair. Other highlights included visits to the Kiyooka Sculpture Park in Springbank, United Fest with the Ukrainian Canadian Congress Bow Valley Association Team, the “Come Paint Alberta” En Plein Air Session, the Back to School BBQ in Stoney Heath, the Springbank Old Tyme Country Fair, and the Canmore Festival of Art & Creativity. And of course, my MLA on Tour visits allowed me to connect with many of you directly as well.
Balancing these engagements with my legislative responsibilities and constituent needs is no small feat. While I strive to be present at events and in our diverse communities, I depend on my dedicated staff to represent me when I cannot be there in person.
Allow me to introduce Sean Tonelli, your Constituency Manager. Sean joined our team just over a year ago, bringing a passion for community advocacy and a commitment to addressing local needs. His daily efforts ensure that your concerns are heard and that our government is working effectively on your behalf. Whether advocating for sustainable development, supporting local businesses, or protecting our natural environment, Sean is dedicated to making our community thrive. Sean will tell you that his goal is to strengthen relationships within our community and “to help make Banff-Kananaskis an even better place to live, work, and visit.”
We’re also thrilled to welcome Joan Chand’oiseau, who recently joined us part-time as a Constituent Assistant. Joan’s role focuses on outreach, helping us connect more deeply with our communities through social media and local events. I first met Joan during the 2023 provincial election when she was a candidate for the neighbour riding of Calgary West. Her dedication to community and human rights, combined with her extensive experience in government relations and the social service sector, makes her a valuable addition to our team. Joan lives in Springbank with her husband and three teens and actively volunteers, currently serving on the Board of Directors for FCSS for Rocky View County. I have no doubt Joan will serve our riding with the same dedication, compassion, and integrity she has demonstrated as an award-winning community leader.
This summer, you might have also interacted with our Summer Outreach students, Kate and Dominique. As they return to their studies, I want to extend a heartfelt thanks for their hard work and contributions.
I encourage you to connect with me, Sean, and Joan about your organizations, events, or any issues where we can assist. If you’re interested in my thoughts on recent changes made by the Minister for Forestry & Parks regarding regulations for dealing with ‘conflict’ bears, please check out the August edition of High Country News. Your feedback is crucial for me to represent your concerns effectively when the legislature resumes next month.
Thank you for continuing to welcome my staff and me into your communities and for trusting us to serve your needs. Connect with us on social media, sign up for our bi-monthly newsletter, and reach out to us at
Sarah Elmeligi
John Barlow - MP
JOHN BARLOW – MP FOOTHILLS – September 2024
The Foothills Youth Advisory (FYAC) is looking for new applicants for the 2024-2025 year! FYAC is recruiting youth between the ages of 14-24 in the Foothills to bring new energy and ideas to the committee and be a voice for the youth of your community.
“The youth of Foothills have strong and passionate voices, and I want to hear from them. This Youth Advisory Committee will be a platform to encourage engagement and participation for those that want to be involved and want to be heard. I’m here to listen”, said John Barlow, Member of Parliament for Foothills.
Please go to johnbarlowmp.ca to download and complete the application form and send directly to foothillsyac20@gmail. com. Once selected, committee members will meet several times throughout the year to discuss issues that matter to you and your community. Stay up to date on the application process by following FYAC on social media:
IG: foothillsyac
X: @foothills_youth
FB: Foothills Youth Advisory Committee
Don’t miss out – apply to FYAC today.
John Barlow
MP for Foothills
Shadow Minister for Agriculture, Agri-Food and Food Security
For more information:
613-995-8471
Blake Richards, MP
First elected in 2008, Blake Richards was re-elected for a third time in the new ridingFirst elected in 2008, Blake Richards was re-elected for a third time in the new ridingof Banff-Airdrie on October 19, 2015.Blake serves as the Official Opposition Shadow Minister Democratic Institutionsand for Tourism.While serving on the government side of the House of Commons, Blake chaired twostanding policy committees and was Chair of the Parliamentary Tourism Caucus. Healso frequently represented the government in regional and national media.Always focused on the needs of his constituents, Blake has three times been namedCanada’s Best Constituency MP as well as Hardest Working MP, and in 2015received a Canadian Tourism Award for his work in Parliament on behalf of thetourism industry.
Constituency Contact Information
Airdrie Constituency Office
Address:
16-620 1st Avenue NW
Airdrie, Alberta
T4B 2R3
Phone Number: 403-948- 5103 or Toll Free at 1-800- 667-0410
Fax Number: 403-948- 0879
E-mail Address:
Parliament Hill Office
Contact Information
Address:
House of Commons
Ottawa, ON
K1A 0A6
Phone Number: 613-996- 5152
Fax Number: 613-947- 4601
E-mail Address:
Community Office Hours
The first Thursday of every month at the following locations:
– Canmore, 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. at the Civic Centre, located at 902-7 th Avenue
– Banff, 12 noon to 1 p.m. at the Rundlestone Lodge, located at 537 Banff Avenue
– Cochrane, 2:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. at Cochrane Dodge, located at 6 River Heights Drive
Rocky View Councillors
Division 1:
Kevin Hanson
Elbow Valley, Springbank
403-463-1166
Boards & Committees
- Bragg Creek FireSmart Committee - Chair
- Calgary Metropolitan Region Board
- Emergency Advisory Committee
- Municipal Planning Commission – Chair
- Recreation Governance Committee
- Rocky View Foundation
- Spray Lake Sawmills Recreation Parks Society
- Springbank Park for All Seasons Agricultural Society
COUNCILLOR UPDATE – KEVIN HANSON – DIVISION 3 – SEPTEMBER 2024
Quick Bits
Council has no public meetings in August. This gives administration a well-earned break in the schedule and affords them opportunity to catch up where needed before our busy governance activities resume in September. This fall, there are four Special Council Meetings added in September/October to deal with what we are expecting to be significant public hearings:
Sept 11: Business related to a new Prairie Gateway Area Structure Plan, including amendments to the Rocky View/ Calgary Intermunicipal Development Plan to support this new plan in the Shepard area, a collaborative effort with the City of Calgary.
Sept 25: Redesignation of lands in the North Springbank Area Structure Plan from Special, Public Service District (S-PUB) District to Commercial, Highway (C-HWY) District to facilitate the development of a Gas/Electric Station and auxiliary commercial establishments.
Oct 2: Consideration for approval of the Springbank Area Structure Plan to guide future land use, subdivision, and development proposals within the plan area.
Oct 16: Consideration to amend the Conrich Area Structure Plan to facilitate development within the Future Policy Area. Located north and south of Township Road 250, east of the City of Calgary.
2025 Rocky View Budget Preparations
Each year, RVC budgets, plans, and invests in the future based on residents’ needs, community priorities, and Council’s strategic goals and objectives. Based on the April 2024 Citizen Satisfaction Survey, residents identified areas that need attention. For the 2025 budget, administration has prepared brief surveys for residents’ further input, for the following areas:
1. Strategy and Vision
2. Growth and Development
3. All Services
4. Public Engagement
5. Economic Development
6. Building Permits and Inspections
The surveys opened August 1st and are available until September 16th. In-person workshops will also be available in September. Following this, Administration prepares the draft 2025 budget for a Special Council Meeting in November/ December, where residents can also speak to Council directly. See all the details of the engagement here: https://engage.rockyview.ca/budget-engagement-2025
2025 Service-Based Strategic Planning & Budgeting Process
Council had a very comprehensive workshop July 24th, that outlined progress on changing our budget process to better align with our Service Delivery improvements. The budget cycle work to date has been:
i. Understanding the services we deliver (2024),
ii. Making service-based budget decisions (2025), and for next year:
iii .Monitoring our service performance (2026).
This was also our first detailed look at the changes administration have been making to our budgeting approach as we pivot from Departmental-Based revenues and expenditures to modern Service-Based budgeting.
The old-fashioned departmental budgeting is simple and easy to compose. It is also simple for Council to have an opinion about head count or a high sticker-price expenditure in any department. But there are many cons associated, including:
- Overall poor transparency to Council, Residents, and Stakeholders of value received
- Difficulty correlating increasing costs within departments due to any one service
- Difficulty for Council to decipher the true net cost of departments / programs
- In the past, RVC also put significant effort into layering the allocation of shared resources, revenues, and grants and subsidies into the individual departmental budgets. Despite attempting to paint a picture of net bottom line cost to taxpayers, it was still difficult to justify/explain to residents the value for their taxes.
Since the beginning of our term 3-years ago, Council’s strategic direction has been to improve the delivery of services from Rocky View County. Part of that strategy was to transition away from a departmental-based budget to a services-based budget. This provides several benefits, including:
- Defensible service-framework-based capital and operating budget asks by administration
- Creation of direct linkages between financial commitments and defined service levels
- Better focussed Council decisions for individual services, including costs and risks
Designing and implementing a new system for RVC budgeting with its many unique services is complex and has been a multi- year process. It required a cultural shift in the organization from department-based siloed thinking, to a cross-department service-level ways of thinking. With 1-year remaining in the transition, a few budgeting wrinkles come to mind:
- Extremely interdependent cross- departmental services (I.e., Special Events)
- Who presents the budget to council for the diverse services? (We will soon see…)
Given the contentious budgeting deliberations recently experienced by Edmonton and Calgary, I know the services- based budgeting approach RVC is taking will have a positive impact on the ability of Council to govern well. We will have the tools in place to make difficult choices in a high inflation environment, by adjusting service levels. And thatwith the bonus of improving transparency of value for money to the residents.
Contact:
Please e-mail me if you would like to be added to my contact list for e-mail and on-line communications – Kevin.Hanson@RockyView. ca or call 403.463.1166.
Division 2 - Don Kochan
Division 2: Don Kochan
Mayor (2021-2023)
587-435-7172
Boards & Committees
- Calgary Metropolitan Region Board - Alternate
- Emergency Advisory Committee
- Intermunicipal Committee - City of Calgary
- Intermunicipal Committee - Cochrane
- Municipal Planning Commission
- Recreation Governance Committee
COUNCILLOR’S UPDATE – ROCKY VIEW COUNTY – DON KOCHAN – JULY 2024
Don Kochan – Division 2
RVC Division 2 news items for your information:
Springbank Area Structure Plan (ASP) – At the January/24 Governance Committee meeting, administration was asked to prepare a report combining Springbank’s 3 ASPs into one with the associated updates. At the May 28th Council meeting administration recommended that the North Springbank and Central Springbank ASPs be maintained as separate ASPs to avoid a potential Regional Evaluation Framework review by CMRB (Calgary’s regional planning authority). Council however passed the following two motions that supports the overwhelming community input provided through the numerous community engagements that have taken place over the last couple
of years.
MOVED by Deputy Reeve Kochan that directs Administration to prepare a new Springbank Area Structure Plan that combines the Central Springbank, North Springbank, and Moddle ASPs while keeping the direction of the existing land use strategies.
MOVED by Deputy Reeve Kochan that Administration present the Springbank Area Structure Plan no later than the end of Q3 2024 at a public hearing for Council’s consideration.
Administration will continue to provide regular updates on the Springbank ASP through the County’s website and through e-mail for those registered to receive project updates. Please visit www.rockyview.ca/springbank-area-structure-plan to learn more.
Petro – Can Application – Administration continues to review the information on Petro-Can’s application to relocate the station from the Hwy 22 location to just east of Edge School. Additional information is being reviewed that has been submitted by the applicant, such as considering the summary of the engagement and ’What We Heard Report’. A special public hearing for this item has been tentatively scheduled for September 25th, 2024. Notification letters of the public hearing will be sent out approximately 5-weeks in advance of the public hearing. A staff report will be available approximately one week prior to the Public Hearing. The Master Site Development Plan
(MSDP) will be updated online prior to the Public Hearing.
Visit www.rockyview.ca/Portals/0/Files/BuildingPlanning/Planning/UnderReview/ProposedMSDP/MSDP-Proposed-Petro-Canada-Springbank.pdf for updated information.
Road Maintenance – Just a quick update on gravel road conditions. Transportation Services has been busy completing gravel road repairs and maintenance throughout the County. The wet conditions that are occurring have created a challenge and the grader operators are busy repairing the roads including pothole and washboard maintenance when conditions are favorable. The Road Maintenance programs including Calcium Stabilized Roads and Dust Control programs will begin the start of June. RVC continues to receive concerns and requests through the www.rockyview.ca/report-a-road-issue .
The County has commenced its annual line painting and message marking program. This involves painting of center lines, shoulder/edge lines, crosswalks, stop lines, and turn arrows etc. along the County’s paved and chip surface roads. Motorists can expect minor delays during the work. The County is using Line King as their contractor for the 2024 program and schedule will be dependent on weather conditions. Inquiries can be directed to Kelcie Wilson in County Road Operations (403-478-8183).
Municipal Development Plan (MDP) – On May 21st, 2024, County staff presented the Stage 1 Engagement Summary Report and an update on Stage 2 Engagement to the Governance Committee. This officially marked the launch of Stage 2 Engagement.
Stage 2 Engagement includes a few sub-stages:
- Stage 2A ( June 2024): To validate and finalize the Distinct Area Profiles introduced in Stage 1, to get resident input on the County’s agricultural policies, and to seek feedback on County-wide policy areas that require further consideration.
- Drafting of the MDP (Summer 2024): The project team will produce draft sections of the MDP.
- Stage 2B (Fall 2024): The project team will release draft sections of the MDP and organize additional engagement events (both in-person and online) to receive comments and feedback. This stage will be an iterative engagement process with multiple opportunities to receive public input.
There will be several in-person and online opportunities for residents and interested parties to provide their input on the draft MDP during Stage 2.
Future opportunities for public engagement will be advertised and posted to the project website (maps.mcelhanney.com/mapsportal/apps/sites/#/rockyview-county-mdp), which will remain active throughout the project.
An engagement summary report for Stage 2 will be released in Q4 2024, which will mark the conclusion of the MDP’s engagement strategy.
Don Kochan – Division 2 Councillor
