Hello, Chestermere,
November seemed to fly by, and now we’re already at the end of the first week of December. Thank you to everyone who follows us on our social media platforms and uses our website to access information. We also want to acknowledge our Communications team for keeping our content current. You may have noticed that many of our communications encourage residents to visit our website for the most up-to-date information, and we urge everyone to stay connected with us through it.
Other ways to find about what is happening at the city include:
- Emailing any one of your councillors or mayor
- Book a 15 Minute Meeting with the Mayor https://thecityofchestermere.ca/meet-with-the-mayor/
- Listen to the weekly radio interview with CFTR The Rogue –https://cftrtherogue.com/
With that said, I wanted to provide some high-level highlights from November.
The month kicked off with the unveiling of the new Chestermere Minor Hockey Association jerseys. It was great to have some of the players and parents out for a photo on the steps of city hall.
Thank you to everyone who was able to come out and participate in our Remembrance Day ceremony. It is important for communities to participate in this solemn event – lest we forget. Thank you to our Community Engagement Team for the great work you did in hosting this ceremony.
Councillor Sandboe and I had the opportunity to attend the FCSSAA conference in Edmonton. This was a great opportunity for us to better understand the FCSS funding models and how FCSS programming is delivered across the province. We have an incredible Community Services team here at the city, and Councillor Sandboe and I were thankful for the opportunity to attend this conference with members of that team.
At the end of the month, Councillor Sandboe, Councillor Wawrzynowski, and I attended a conference call with MP Martin Shields. This was a great chance for us to speak with MP Shields about things happening in Chestermere and to hear about ideas and concerns from municipalities across the province.
November consisted of two regular meetings of council and two governance and priorities meetings. Highlights from our meetings in November include:
- Quarter 3 reports from administration.
- We were able to sort out our committee appointments so that they align with our bylaws and the bylaws and terms of reference for non-council committees.
- A review of our Utility Master Plan.
- A review and approval of our Asset Management Policy. This has provided administration with the opportunity to apply for additional funding for infrastructure projects through the province.
- A robust discussion about the intersection at Marina Drive and West Chestermere Drive. This has led to increased safety measures at the intersection, and council and administration are exploring further safety measures for the entire commercial area.
- We have started the conversation to create clearer bylaws and policies on short-term rentals and secondary suites. We are being prudent and thoughtful in this process and want to create policies that make sense for Chestermere.
- We had an informative presentation from Synergy on the work they have done to make our community safer for youth. This presentation has led to additional meetings in January, where we will work with community partners, emergency services, and administration on improving safety in our community and addressing youth mental health concerns.
- We were provided with a presentation on our procurement process and how administration is working to improve it.
- We have started the process to add criminal record checks as part of the nomination process for elected officials.
School sites and recreation are standing items on our GAP meeting agendas. Council is updated at least once a month on the progress being made on our school sites. We are continuing to see positive progress on our Catholic K-9, as well as on our new public high school and new public K-9 sites located in Dawson. Thank you to administration for its continued efforts in this area.
Agendas, minutes and video of all of our council meetings can be found at –https://thecityofchestermere.ca/legislativeservices/agendas-council-meetings/.
In addition to these meetings, council also had a workshop on our Municipal Development Plan, where we were able to hear about the feedback the consultants received from various sectors of our community. This gave council a chance to provide its own feedback, and now the MDP process will go back out for public consultation in January. Please watch for announcements on this in the coming weeks.
Needless to say, November was a busy month, and the city continues to move forward in a positive direction. December is budget season, and council will be working with administration to make decisions that will continue to build on the progress we are making as a city.
Thank you, Chestermere! I look forward to seeing you out and about in the community.
– Mayor Shannon Dean