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Ponoka town council briefs from April 23 meeting

Ponoka town council passed several bylaws during its regular meeting April 23.
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Ponoka town council passed several bylaws during its regular meeting April 23.

Community Standards Bylaw

After some discussion and a motion to amend part of the bylaw, council passed the revised community standards bylaw during its regular meeting April 23.

The revised bylaw includes a definition for designated parking spaces and removes restrictions on vehicle idling times.

Coun. Carla Prediger made a motion to add “motor vehicles” to the item No. 32 in the bylaw, making the bylaw inclusive against the parking of any motor vehicle on a front lawn.

All councillors were in favour and the bylaw passed third reading.

Urban reserve bylaw

Council voted to pass the urban reserve bylaw during its regular meeting April 23.

The bylaw proposed the addition of an Urban Reserve District to the Land Use Bylaw as a replacement for several other land use districts.

It also applies the “urban reserve” designation to several large blocks of undeveloped and partially developed land.

A public hearing was held Feb. 26, and after receiving feedback from the public, amendments were made to the bylaw at the town’s March 26 meeting.

The amendments replaced the definition of “agriculture” in the land use bylaw with a new definition for “agricultural operations” and removed all changes related to the Calnash Ag Event Centre site.

Riding horses, training and boarding stables were also added as permissible uses in the urban reserve district.

Council unanimously voted to pass third reading of the bylaw.

Flood hazard overlay bylaw

Council passed bylaw No. 421-19 to amend the land use bylaw regarding flood hazard overlay.

The new bylaw adds text exempting existing recreation facilities from the new flood mitigating measures as a point of practicality.

The town held a public hearing about the flood hazard overlay on March 26.

Records retention bylaw

The town has a number of documents that are kept for information purposes, or that have fiscal or historic value.

Coun. Kevin Ferguson asked administration if original documents, which can be vital for research purposes, would be preserved for posterity.

CAO Albert Flootman answered that important documents will be transferred to new mediums as technology changes.

The new civic building has a purposefully smaller area for storing files, as the plan was to either digitize files or destroy them at the end of their life.

Rising Sun Clubhouse golf tournament sponsorship

Town council voted unanimously to become a gold-level sponsor for the Rising Sun Clubhouse golf tournament at $1,000.

The sponsorship includes the town’s sign being displayed, and the town putting in a four-player team in the tournament.

Rising Sun Clubhouse for sale

Council voted in favour of supporting Rimoka Housing purchasing the Rising Sun Clubhouse, located at 5216 50St., and becoming its landlord.

Wildrose Assessment Services

Ponoka town council voted to renew its contract with Wildrose Assessment Services for another year and to appoint Riley Kloss as the municipal assessor. The contract is a three-year term, with a possibility for a two-year extension.



Emily Jaycox

About the Author: Emily Jaycox

I’m Emily Jaycox, the editor of Ponoka News and the Bashaw Star. I’ve lived in Ponoka since 2015 and have over seven years of experience working as a journalist in central Alberta communities.
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