Tag: Sahra Nodge

Pincher Creek drafting new snow-removal policy

Written by Submission on July 10, 2023. Posted in Local News, Town of Pincher Creek. No Comments on Pincher Creek drafting new snow-removal policy

Any talk of snow during the summer is typically considered blasphemous, though in a place like Pincher Creek the risk of flurries is never zero.

“I’ve seen snow in every month in this place,” Mayor Don Anderberg said with a chuckle during Pincher Creek council’s July 5 committee of the whole meeting.

The topic of the dreaded white stuff stemmed from a request from administration for council members to brainstorm what principles and values should guide the town’s snow-removal policy, which is due for an overhaul.

“We’ve looked at our existing policy and think that this is great time, rather than tweaking it, to just start fresh and set what are the expectations,” said director of operations Alexa Levair.

“That gives us a better idea of what council is looking for when we’re coming back and presenting some policy options moving forward.”

In general, administration was looking for what the town’s priorities should be regarding areas plowed, if snow removal should emphasize residents’ ability to drive versus walk, and what target should be set for costs.

Since snow removal has a multitude of options the town could pursue, community feedback would be key, Levair added.

“Snow removal is one of the most talked-about issues amongst the community and residents. We are recommending that council direct us to draft a public engagement strategy so we can gather some feedback that we can then provide back to council saying this is what we heard back from the community,” she said.

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Coun. Sahra Nodge said she wanted to make sure public engagement included Pincher Creek’s schools due to the specific concerns of busing and students walking to school.

“I’m wanting to make sure there’s safe travel before school hours,” she said. “There’s a lot more encouragement for kids walking to school, so it’s important to ensure there are safe crosswalks in the school areas [and] that those crosswalks aren’t being obstructed by snow piles.”

Accessibility was something Coun. Wayne Oliver said the policy should consider, such as clearing windrows in front of driveways or making sure the parking lot at town office is clear. Adaptability, he added, was something the policy needed to consider too.

“We all know in southern Alberta it could look different one year to the next, one month to the next,” Coun. Oliver said.

“Two inches of snow but a 60-kilometre wind from the east is going to leave us with something that is different than two inches of snow with a 60-kilometre wind from the west, so whatever we design in our policy certainly has to have adaptability baked into it,” he said. “Here’s the budget challenge, because we never know year to year what kind of snow we’re going to get.”

Mayor Anderberg suggested creating a municipal reserve for snow removal could offer stability between years with little snowfall and those with a lot. Revisiting enforcement for clearing sidewalks, he continued, was also something he wanted council to consider.

“I get a lot of good feedback about how the town does their work as far as snow removal on the streets,” the mayor said. “The one piece of negative feedback I get a lot is private sidewalks, commercial space — how that snow is handled or not handled — which we used to enforce fairly heavily at one time. It doesn’t seem we enforce heavily now.”

Administration will take the next few weeks to consider council’s discussion and draft a new snow-removal policy, which will be reviewed by council at the next committee of the whole meeting, scheduled for Aug 2.

The next regular council meeting will be held Monday, July 24, 6 p.m. in council chambers.

Woman with shoulder-length dark brown curly hair speaks into a microphone as one other woman and two men look on

Pincher Creek health-care forum draws large audience

Written by Laurie Tritschler on May 3, 2023. Posted in Health/Wellness, Livingstone-Macleod, Local News, MD of Pincher Creek, Municipality of Crowsnest Pass, Town of Pincher Creek. No Comments on Pincher Creek health-care forum draws large audience

Alberta’s rural health-care system needs more public funding, more efficiency and much more local autonomy, residents and esteemed panellists said at Pincher Creek’s health-care forum in late April.

Upwards of 150 people came for a one-hour discussion that saw residents, politicians and one riding candidate engage local doctors and public health policy researchers from the University of Calgary.

Between panellists who said the status quo isn’t holding and residents who said they felt ignored by the province, the conversation registered an uneasy mix of frustration and hope for the future.

‘If you want to find someone who can fix this, find a mirror’

Drs. Gavin Parker and Kristy Penner, both of whom practise family and emergency medicine in Pincher Creek and neighbouring Crowsnest Pass, repeatedly called for more community involvement.

“If anybody can help solve this, or at least start to work on this, it’s the people in this room,” Parker started off.

“I do think there is hope,” he continued, qualifying in the next breath that “Clearly, what I’m doing and what we’re doing isn’t working.”

Penner’s prognosis was no less sparing.

“If we keep doing the same thing, we’re only going to be waiting longer” for routine medical services, she told the packed forum, painting graver implications for women and the elderly.

“You’re going to have to leave [home] to have a baby — you won’t be able to get surgery in Pincher Creek or Crowsnest Pass. You won’t be able to get home care or long-term care in your community. And as a senior, you’ll have to move out of your community to access long-term geriatric care.”

The College of Physicians and Surgeons of Alberta is working to fast-track foreign-trained doctors’ credentials, while licensed practical nurses are picking up the slack at Pincher Creek’s medical clinic, according to Parker.

But the system can’t build capacity when there aren’t enough doctors to train med school graduates, much less foreign doctors.

“Our voice is stronger when it’s collective,” Parker said, acknowledging the residents on Pincher Creek’s Attraction and Retention Committee, the citizen/council body that helps settle incoming doctors within the community, among other functions.

Parker also noted that Albertans who work outside of medicine make up a significant proportion of the CPSA’s board of directors.

“So, if you want to find someone who can fix this, find a mirror. That’s who,” he said.

It’s Friday night: Do you know where your MLA is?

Audience speakers questioned how civic participation could reverse the Government of Alberta’s concentration of authority in a sclerotic Alberta Health Services, the provincial health authority that executes government policy.

“I’ll vote for any party that starts taking that system apart and returning power to the community so that we can make a difference with some of the things you’re asking us to make a difference on,” one speaker said.

Another speaker noted that United Conservative MLA Roger Reid, who represents Livingstone-Macleod, was conspicuously absent.

“Where’s our MLA?” the speaker asked, drawing groans from the crowd.

“Is anybody from the Alberta government here?” another speaker asked. “Maybe that’s part of the problem,” the speaker suggested, drawing thunderous applause.

In the crowd were town Coun. Sahra Nodge, MD Coun. Dave Cox and Reeve Rick Lemire, and a host of doctors and nurses from Pincher Creek Health Centre.

The NDP’s Kevin Van Tighem, the only riding candidate to show, suggested that Pincher Creek has the talent and the grit to restore the health centre to a model of rural health care.

“Do we have to change ourselves? Or can we change medicine so it fits into our community without the community changing?” he asked from the mic.

The UCP’s 2023 provincial budget funds public health care to the tune of $24.5 billion, a roughly four per cent annual increase. This year’s budget includes $105 million for capital projects under the UCP’s Rural Health Facilities Revitalization Program.

Don’t expect a quick fix

Funding and educational programs need to deliver a robust, “team-based” rural health-care model that empowers Indigenous and rural learners to practise medicine, Dr. Penner explained.

More immediately, Penner said, doctors-in-training have complained about a lack of affordable housing and limited child-care options in Crowsnest Pass.

Melissa Fredette, a registered nurse at the health centre, vice-chair of the town’s Attraction and Retention Committee and mother of three, implored the community to promote Pincher Creek as a career destination for young health-care providers. But Fredette and her colleagues need more local support.

“We’ve just come out of a pandemic. We’re tired in health care,” she said. “We would love to have more help from the people here.”

Once it’s gone, it may never come back

Aaron Johnston, associate dean of rural medicine at the U of C, warned after the forum that many rural health-care teams are on the verge of collapse.

An under-resourced team “works until it doesn’t work — until there’s the loss of that last one person,” he said. “Lose a rural anesthetist and say goodbye to that town’s surgical team. Lose a team, and good luck restoring the services it was designed to provide.”

“Imagine how difficult it is to recruit 10 highly-trained medical staff at the exact same time,” he suggested, “because that’s what it takes to reboot these services once they’re gone.”

Small model of house on map with pencil colouring a lot in green

Pincher Creek council to host housing developer

Written by Laurie Tritschler on April 24, 2023. Posted in Laurie Tritschler, Local News, Town of Pincher Creek. No Comments on Pincher Creek council to host housing developer

The Town of Pincher Creek will invite representatives from a company that manages small-town housing projects to council’s next community housing committee meeting.

Council unanimously voted to extend the invitation following a motion by Coun. Sahra Nodge, April 11.

Nodge, who sits on the housing committee with Couns. Gary Cleland and Wayne Oliver, had taken in a project pitch by AND Villages at a recent convention of AlbertaSouthwest, a regional economic development alliance of 15 area municipalities, including the town and neighbouring MD and Crowsnest Pass.

AND hopes to partner with 12 municipalities on an overarching project to put up manufactured homes in each participating community. The homes would be installed in identical 12-unit blocks.

The company’s pitch calls on municipalities to sign over one-acre land parcels serviced by underground utilities, while AND would manage the project. The company wants to hear from interested partners by the end of the month, Nodge said.

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Council’s resolution directs staff to invite AND to give a 20-minute presentation, likely via Zoom, when the housing committee meets April 27. It doesn’t amount to a commitment of any kind.

“I think we should at least listen to their presentation,” Mayor Don Anderberg said, drawing murmurs of agreement from councillors.

Chief administrative officer Angie Lucas meanwhile advised that AND’s pitch leaves “a lot of unanswered questions” for the town’s administration. Serviced land parcels might be hard to come by, and any land used for housing development would have to be properly zoned, she noted.

There were 70 units on Pincher Creek’s rental market as of 2017, down from 73 the year before, according to a 2018 housing-needs assessment by the Alberta Rural Development Network.

Most homes in the town of Pincher Creek and village of Cowley were 38 years or older, while the majority of homes in the MD were 28 and older, the assessment found.

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Members of the Old Man Roses Society at their garden at Pincher Creek's Lebel Mansion

For the love of roses!

Written by Shannon Peace on April 22, 2023. Posted in Laurie Tritschler, Local News, Town of Pincher Creek. No Comments on For the love of roses!

Rose enthusiasts in Pincher Creek are asking town council to install deer fencing around the historic Lebel Mansion’s rose garden, marking a tactical shift in gardeners’ roving battle with the town’s hooved menace.

Past deer controls, including chicken wire, flashing lights and organic sprays, “have been totally ineffectual,” Kay Weir, president of the Old Man Rose Society, said at the head of the society’s delegation to council April 11.

Roses are a favourite snack among the town’s sprawling mule deer population, estimated at nearly 100 strong last winter by Maria Didkowsky, a wildlife biologist with Alberta Environment and Protected Areas.

The society has cultivated the Lebel rose garden since 2007, when it entered into a rental agreement with town hall. In that time, Weir said, the society has accepted over 100 private donations, as well as donations from the town and neighbouring MD and from Shell Canada, which formerly operated the Shell Waterton Gas Plant.

That money has gone into beautifying the garden, long a popular spot for tea parties and a crowning feature of the town’s annual Communities in Bloom contest.

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The deer have ravaged the garden to the point where it might not factor in this year’s contest.

“If we are to participate in Communities in Bloom, based on last year’s example, there will not be very many flowers on display unless something is done,” Weir said, adding that the society’s membership has dwindled, partly due to gardeners’ mounting frustrations.

Weir suggested putting up roughly 43 metres (140 feet) of fencing around the garden.

Mayor Don Anderberg said he empathized with the society’s plight.

“Obviously, the deer are a problem,” he said, qualifying that deer management falls under provincial jurisdiction.

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chicken wire placed over rose bushes to protect them from deer — The society has resorted to using chicken wire to fend off hungry deer, but the measure is plainly ineffective — and perhaps unsightly. Laurie Tritschler photo

“I’m not making any excuses: we all have deer issues at our own properties,” Anderberg continued.

The town’s nuisance bylaw (1574-19) prohibits anyone from feeding wildlife, specifically including deer. The bylaw also forbids the use or accumulation of wildlife attractants anywhere in town. Both offences are punishable by fines between $200 and $500.

Council has meanwhile directed administration to look into a potential land use bylaw amendment allowing for higher fencing to keep deer out of residents’ yards.

Weir said she hoped to see deer fencing at the rose garden as soon as possible.

Council is considering the society’s request, which may require an amendment to this year’s budget, Coun. Sahra Nodge said.

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Borrowing bylaw for curling rink passes first hurdle

Written by Laurie Tritschler on March 8, 2023. Posted in Laurie Tritschler, Local News, MD of Pincher Creek, Town of Pincher Creek. No Comments on Borrowing bylaw for curling rink passes first hurdle

Pincher Creek town council narrowly approved first reading of a $4-million borrowing bylaw to pay for a new curling rink at the Community Recreation Centre at 948 Hyde St. Council then unanimously voted to expand the project in hopes of qualifying for a federal Green and Inclusive Community Buildings grant for up to 60 per cent of the build.

A second grant could deliver up to $1 million in construction costs, while council has already set aside $1.25 million in its 2023 capital budget.

Council greenlit the new curling rink through a contentious 4-3 split Feb. 13, with councillors voting along the same lines when the borrowing bylaw was put to the test Feb. 27.

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Coun. Mark Barber tabled the borrowing bylaw at chambers, stressing that grant funding and a hoped-for contribution by the MD of Pincher Creek would offset the rink’s $4-million price tag.

Both councils discussed a potential contribution by the MD at a closed meeting last month, but MD council hasn’t decided anything, Reeve Rick Lemire told Shootin’ the Breeze last Thursday.

“We’re keeping our options open at this point,” he said.

Mayor Don Anderberg and Couns. Gary Cleland and Wayne Oliver supported Barber’s motion, with Couns. David Green, Sahra Nodge and Brian Wright voting against.

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Barber and Anderberg cited the town and MD’s joint master recreation plan, which ranked a new curling rink as a third-tier priority in March 2021, based on a survey of around 630 residents.

The curling club and its estimated 150 members hope to donate $200,000 toward the project, plus an ice plant that Barber said was worth $500,000.

Anderberg said council has funded new walking trails and has started to address upgrades to the Memorial Community Centre arena at 867 Main St., which survey respondents listed as first- and second-tier priorities.

The mayor’s comment drew jeers from residents in attendance, to which Anderberg replied, “I believe the survey was accurate and that it was done for a purpose.”

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“I would say we’re aggressively pursuing grant money, and all indications are that there would not be a need to borrow the entire [$4 million] amount,” Coun. Oliver said.

Coun. Nodge was the first to speak against the motion, reminding council that the project remains largely unfunded, and warning that residents might have to support a heavy debt load through higher taxes.

Nodge also highlighted the town’s 2022 master infrastructure report by the engineering firm ISL, a planning document that recommends roughly $13 million worth of sidewalk, storm sewer and other upgrades as part of a 10-year capital plan.

Acknowledging strong support for the curling rink among some portions of the community, Nodge insisted that council hasn’t hadn’t done its homework ahead of the project.

“If this goes ahead, which it probably will, and somebody asks, ‘What are the implications for this on taxpayers for the Town of Pincher Creek?’ I don’t have an answer other than my own speculation, and that worries me.”

Noting the town’s acute, chronic housing crunch, Coun. Green reminded council that the community and the municipality have limited resources to bear across a host of civic projects.

“Consequently, a plan for priority spending should be developed in conjunction with the current council’s strategic priorities from 2022 through 2026, which will help eliminate any reactive or misaligned development decisions,” Green said.

Council then unanimously voted to add a bouldering wall and an exhibition space to the Community Recreation Centre. The additions strengthen the town’s chances of receiving the GIBC grant by making the facility more accessible, according to the grant’s funding criteria.

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The grant requires a carbon net-zero build, which would add about 30 per cent to projected construction costs, according to Tristan Walker, municipal energy project lead for the town and MD.

Walker said the additions would ultimately save money because the grant would cover up to 60 per cent of total construction costs — if council receives the grant.

The recreation centre currently runs year-round, and project supporters say the new amenities would offer a more robust selection of activities.

The borrowing bylaw must be put to a public hearing and two more readings at chambers, according to the Municipal Government Act.

If passed, opponents would have 30 days to challenge the borrowing bylaw, according to finance director Wendy Catonio.

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Pincher Creek town councillors and administration sit at chambers table and one is on-screen, attending virtually. Four have hands raised, voting in favour of new curling rink plan.

Pincher Creek to build new curling rink, pending borrowing bylaw

Written by Jaiden Panchyshyn on February 16, 2023. Posted in Laurie Tritschler, Local News, Town of Pincher Creek. 1 Comment on Pincher Creek to build new curling rink, pending borrowing bylaw

The motion, tabled by Coun. Mark Barber, triggered a lengthy deliberation at chambers Monday, drawing input from all six councillors and Mayor Don Anderberg as they weighed the project against the town’s acute, chronic housing shortage, the potential tax increase to pay for the build, and the state of the existing facilities at the CRC.

Council several times acknowledged the long-running contributions by the local curling club, which has long operated the current curling rink at 837 Main Street at its own expense.

Council set aside $1.25 million of the estimated $4 million build in its 2023 capital budget. The remaining $2.75 million will be funded by a long-term loan, pending council’s upcoming vote on a borrowing bylaw, which will be the subject of a public hearing.

Speaking in favour of Barber’s motion, Mayor Anderberg said that, in a worst-case scenario, council could pay for the project with a three per cent municipal tax increase. Council will apply for a federal grant that would cover up to 60 per cent of construction costs, provided the build goes ahead on a “net-zero” carbon footing, he told the public audience.

Coun. Gary Clelland cast the vote as an “11th-hour” decision that would determine the curling club’s future.

“This is the time for us to take a positive step forward in our community, and say, ‘We want hundreds of people involved in this (curling) centre that for 100 years paid their way, have been leaders in the community … paid taxes in the community for 100 years, and still do today,” he said.

Coun. Sahra Nodge objected that the long-term borrowing costs and subsequent maintenance of the rink would overly burden taxpayers, adding that the CRC’s gym and bowling alley are approaching their end of life.

“My role on council is to make sure that the monies that are spent by the town are done so responsibly, and with the due diligence and transparency that our community expects,” she said.

Echoing Nodge, Coun. Brian Wright asked council, “How do we not bring a tax increase in order to get this to move forward?”

Anderberg noted that residents surveyed in Pincher Creek’s March 2021 master recreation plan identified an upgrade to the curling rink as a top priority for indoor recreation.

“If our community tells us that a new curling facility is high on their list of priorities, I’ll follow their direction,” he said.

Coun. David Green said housing solutions should take priority over the proposed curling rink.

The town’s population has marginally shrunk in the past 15 years. Its housing vacancy rate was less than 1.5 per cent in 2017, when most of the town’s and neighbouring village of Cowley’s housing stock was close to 40 years old, according to a 2018 housing-needs assessment commissioned by council.

“The lack of adequate and affordable housing for low-income families is a barrier to the economic growth and stability of (Pincher Creek) communities,” the assessment found.

Coun. Wayne Oliver, who attended the meeting remotely due to illness, said he trusted Anderberg’s business savvy.

“Yes, housing is extremely important. But, I think we could work parallel on housing while building a new curling rink facility,” Oliver said.

Barber’s motion passed 4-3 after Anderberg called the question, with Couns. Barber, Clelland and Oliver in favour, and Couns. Nodge, Green and Wright against.

Council then unanimously passed Barber’s motions to apply for the federal grant and to tack $2.75 million onto 2023’s operating budget.

Council must now decide whether to authorize a $4-million loan through a borrowing bylaw. The loan would cover construction costs not already budgeted for if council’s grant application fails, but Anderberg said the town probably wouldn’t spend the full amount.

Short-term rental bylaw amendment deferred

Written by Shannon Peace on November 16, 2022. Posted in Business, Laurie Tritschler, Local News. No Comments on Short-term rental bylaw amendment deferred

Pincher Creek’s town council voted late Monday to defer its vote on a bylaw amendment designed to regulate short-term rentals within town limits.

Monday’s decision at chambers followed a lengthy public hearing that saw around 50 residents and at least one out-of-town investor pile into the gym at town hall, with many speaking for and against the amendment.

If passed, the amendment would put permitting and licensing requirements on upwards of 20 short-term rentals already operating in town through tourist accommodation websites like Airbnb and VRBO, and limiting STRs not lived in by their operators to five per cent of homes per residential street.

No such limit would apply to STRs with live-in operators. Bed-and-breakfast operators would not be allowed to operate STRs on their licenced premises.

Pincher Creek’s current land use bylaw doesn’t mention STRs at all, though in practice, town hall has granted business licences on an ad-hoc basis to operators that have applied, according to chief administrative officer Laurie Wilgosh.

The bylaw was drafted by Steve Harty of the Lethbridge planning commission, Oldman River Regional Services, which Wilgosh said provides planning and development guidance to Pincher Creek and several outlying municipalities.

Reading his council report to start Monday’s hearing, Harty told the audience that the town’s STR industry needs some form of regulation amid growing concerns on the part of operators who want clear expectations from town hall and residents who say STRs are putting pressure on the town’s tight long-term rental and real estate markets. STRs are meanwhile subject to the province’s new tourist levy and the federal GST, Harty added.

Speaking for the amendment, Lane Heggie said he owned and operated a purpose-built STR on the 1000-block of Livingston Way, but doesn’t live in Pincher Creek.

Clear, reasonable regulations would serve the community well, he said, adding that operators should talk frequently with their neighbours to speedily resolve conflicts.

Lynn Brasnett, a longtime area Realtor and former rental property manager, pointedly reminded the audience that shutting out STRs would do little to boost the town’s rental stock.

“We have run a less than one per cent vacancy rate in this town for over 30 years,” she said, insisting that many STR operators would likely have to sell off their investment properties if they couldn’t market their services on Airbnb, or the like.

Japhia Epp told Monday’s hearing that her and her husband’s short-term rentals boost other small businesses in Pincher Creek. Photo by Laurie Tritschler

Pincher Creek residents Joan Brees, left, and Chantal Laliberte chat before addressing Monday’s public hearing. Photo by Laurie Tritschler

Coun. Brian Wright looks on as Realtor Lynn Brasnett speaks at Monday’s public hearing. Photo by Laurie Tritschler

Jenae Toews, who runs an STR in town with her husband, agreed.

“At this time in our lives, with my husband doing school, we more than likely wouldn’t be able to afford to keep the property as a long-term rental,” she said.

Japhia Epp, a paramedic with Pincher Creek Emergency Services, said she and her husband own three long-term rentals and four STRs.

“We get a lot of families that come to Pincher Creek, and some of them say, ‘We would not come here if there wasn’t a place to stay like this.’ ”

Epp went on to say that she and her husband actively promote other local businesses to their Airbnb guests.

Coun. Wayne Oliver then asked Epp how she’d feel about living next to an STR.

“I am a neighbour to a short-term rental in this community,” she replied. “I do know the owners of the house and have regular communication with them. The idea is that, ‘If anything goes wrong, you let me know.’ ”

Speaking against the bylaw, Chantal Laliberte stressed the town’s burgeoning housing crisis.

“If Pincher Creek was a town with plenty of long-term rentals and plenty of affordable housing, I wouldn’t be standing here, talking to you

“Housing is not like any other commodity. It’s not like gold, which is a commodity but is not a human right,” she said, drawing on the UN’s founding text, which enshrines the right to adequate housing.

Joan Brees then took the podium, listing 22 questions and concerns from residents she said weren’t able to attend the hearing. These ranged from the town’s apparent lack of authority to enforce whatever regulations council might approve to noise complaints, parking shortages and safety concerns by worried neighbours.

One resident who spoke to Brees said a vacation home on their block had been rented to 15 people “and kiddos” last summer. Residents don’t want to see “party people” take over their streets, Brees said.

Sgt. Ryan Hodge, commanding officer at Pincher Creek RCMP, said Monday afternoon that he was not aware of any 911 complaints specifically related to disturbances or noise complaints at local STRs.

Pat Neumann, chief of Pincher Creek Emergency Services, said in a written statement to council that he would welcome the amendment’s regulations, noting that a map of active STRs would probably help fire and ambulance crews.

Presiding over council’s meeting at chambers, Mayor Don Anderberg and Coun. Oliver were quick to suggest putting off a final vote.

“Getting this right would be nice, right off the bat,” Anderberg said.

While he was personally in favour of regulating STRs, the mayor cautioned that council needed more time to deliberate.

Coun. Sahra Nodge countered that council should come to a vote, having just taken in “a very respectful, very informative public hearing.”

But the emerging consensus resolved that the amendment needed tightening up, ending in a unanimous vote to revisit the amendment at council’s next meeting, Monday, Nov. 28.