ATHABASCA — Town of Athabasca councillors will be back in chambers Tuesday, Nov. 5 with a full agenda in front of them, including new and old bylaws, decisions on budget requests from the community, and recommendations from the 2024 Communities in Bloom report.
First up on the agenda is an update from the Alice. B Donahue Library and Archives; following the presentation by Ariel Johnson, Colleen Powell, and Annette Weinrich, councillors will have a chance to review and potentially pass third and final reading of the new Community Standards Bylaw.
First reading of the bylaw was passed on Sept. 3, and second reading on Sept. 17. Also on the agenda is a rescinding of the Clean Energy Improvement Tax Bylaw, which will potentially begin by passing first reading of a rescinding bylaw.
As per the Municipal Government Act, “An amendment or repeal must be made in the same way as the original bylaw and is subject to the same conditions or advertising requirements.”
Councillors will then have an opportunity to discuss their recent retreat decisions in response to two community requests. An ask from the Athabasca and District Chamber of Commerce to discount business licences for members by $15 was denied due to budget constraints, as was a request for financial assistance by Words Work Literacy Society.
After the review of correspondence items such as a letter from Balay to provincial Minister of Justice Mickey Amery, councillors will also discuss a request for decision (RFD) put forward by Coun. Ida Edwards stemming from this year’s Communities in Bloom report.
The RFD asks council to recommend the installation of three new bike racks in the downtown core to accommodate a growing trend of alternate transportation and e-bikes.
Athabasca’s Town Council meeting will take place at the Town Office commencing at 6 p.m, and the agenda can be found here.
