BARRHEAD - County of Barrhead Division 1 councillor Doug Drozd returned to the top-elected official's seat following the municipality's annual organizational meeting on Oct. 15.
Unlike towns and cities where residents vote directly for mayor, in most counties and municipal districts, councillors select the reeve and deputy reeve annually during their organizational meeting.
Drozd has been reeve since 2016, after taking over from retiring councillor and reeve Bill Lee. He was sworn in by acclamation after being nominated by Coun. Ron Kleinfeldt.
Similarly, Division 2 Coun. Marvin Schatz will resume his duties as deputy reeve after he was nominated by Coun. Bill Lane. Schatz has held the position since 2019.
The remainder of the hour-long meeting mainly dealt with selecting who would represent council on the upwards of 30 committees, boards and societies with municipal elected official representation.
Coun. Bill Lane told council that this would be his last year on council and said he would prefer to stay on his present committees.
Mostly, he received his wish, with most committees remaining unchanged and uncontested.
The exceptions were the Barrhead and District Family Community Support Services (FCSS) and the economic development committees, which saw elections.
For the FCSS committee newcomer, Drozd contested incumbents Coun. Paul Properzi and Lane for the two available positions. Drozd and Properzi came out on top.
The other committee for which an election was needed was Economic and Community Development, where incumbent members Schatz, Kleinfeldt, and Coun. Walter Preugschas were joined by Lane to contest for the three available positions. Lane, Kleinfeldt and Preugschas were successful.
Other committee representatives
Agricultural Service Board: Coun. Jared Stoik, Schatz, and Preugschas; Athabasca Watershed: Preugschas, alternative Properzi; Barrhead and Area Crime Coalition: Kleinfeldt, Alternate Drozd; Barrhead and District Agricultural Society: Lane, alternate Properzi; Barrhead and District Social Housing Association: Lane; Barrhead Attraction and Retention: Preugschas; Barrhead and District Seed Cleaning Co-op; Stoik and Schatz, alternate Properzi; Barrhead Fire Services: Properzi and Schatz, alternate Kleinfeldt; Regional Airport: Lane and Schatz; Barrhead Regional Landfill: Lane and Stoik; Barrhead Regional Water Committee: Kleinfeldt and Drozd; Community Futures Yellowhead East: Schatz, alternate Preugschas; Barrhead Public Library and Yellowhead Regional Library Board: Kleifeldt, Misty Ridge Ski Hill: Bill Lane, Policy Review: Kleinfeldt and Preugschas, alternate Lane; Twinning, Preugschas with Properzi as alternate.
The remaining two committees, the Emergency Committee and the Municipal Planning Commission (MPC), are represented by the entire council.
Intermunicipal Collaboration Framework Committees or ICFs
Council also appointed members to sit the ICFs for the Town of Barrhead, Woodlands County, Sturgeon County, Lac Ste. Anne County and Westlock County.
ICF agreements are established between neighbouring municipalities on issues that impact both communities, such as recreation, shared water and sewer, and joint land planning. The province made these agreements mandatory under its revised Municipal Government Act (MGA).
In recent years, it has been a tradition that the councillors of divisions bordering a municipality sit on that ICF.
Although the county has already negotiated ICFs with all of these communities, they are necessary if any of them wish to reopen negotiations on new subjects.
Reaffirmation of Council Code of Conduct Policy
As part of the organizational meeting, councillors also endorsed the municipality's Council Code of Conduct Policy.
County manager Debbie Oyarzun said the Municipal Government Act (MGA) requires that all municipalities have a councillor code of conduct bylaw, and it reviews it annually before taking a reaffirmation pledge.
The bylaw has remained essentially unchanged since it was first enacted in 2017.
Council calendar
Councillors also approved the 2025 council meeting calendar, cancelling regularly scheduled meetings on Jan. 21, March 18, July 1, Aug. 5, and Nov 18, 2025, primarily due to conflicts with other events such as the Rural Municipalities of Alberta (RMA) and the Alberta Services Boards conventions or statutory holidays.
Barry Kerton, TownandCountryToday.com
