Tuesday’s council meeting was the shortest since re-entry, but none-the-less a busy one.
It started off with the six public members being named to the Wood Buffalo Recovery Committee.
- Maggie Farrington
- Kevin Fleury
- Jeanette Bancarz,
- Marty Giles,
- Mark Hodgson,
- Kim Jenkins
The members were chosen based on the recommendation of the Selection Committee.
There were more than 70 applications for the six open positions to help steer the rebuild and recovery of our community – the most ever seen for any committee in the RMWB’s history according to Councillor Keith McGrath.
The committee can now get to work on electing a chair and co-chair from among their ranks. The roles do not have to be filled by council members.
All members of the WBRC will be compensated for their work. The RMWB will apply to have that compensation covered through the Disaster Relief Program, which consist of funding from both federal and provincial governments.
The selection committee also chose Roy Amalu, Scott Garner and Peter Fortna to the Wood Buffalo Housing & Development Corporation. Jennifer Reid and Muhammad Rizwan were appointed to the Landlord and Tenant Advisory Board
Start Up Funding:
Council approved the WBRC start-up funding of $4 million. The money will be used to hire staff and pay the leadership of the task force as well as covering initial costs and leaving some leftovers for any unforeseen costs.
Councillor Tyran Ault asked the WBRC what exactly they meant by “overhead expenses.”
Councillor Keith McGrath said, “Overhead expenses would be any direct or indirect costs associated with the committee, for example staffing, it’d be an allowance to the committee as a whole to get us a team lead. There will be a director of finance because tracking every dollar will be crucial.”
Any costs above and beyond the RMWB’s normal operations that are directly related to the recovery effort will be part of the application for coverage as part of the Disaster Recovery Fund.
That’s a key reason why the people working in the Recovery Task Force will all be moved the fifth floor of the Jubilee Centre downtown. All of them will be working in the same area and all their expenses and resources can be tracked.
Members of the committee will also be giving a presentation on how the committee and task force structure was decided on and how it will work in the months and years ahead.
Housing:
Council also approved the WBRC request for interim housing in the region.
The committee tabled a motion that administration should request 3- bedroom, pet friendly housing units from the province.
Interim housing would serve as a bridge for residents requiring accommodation between the time of re-entry to the region and when their destroyed or damaged homes can be occupied or rebuilt. It will particularly benefit people with limited insurance or people who have nowhere to stay in town during the recovery period.
In terms of where these units would go here in our community, Bob Couture said they were looking at Parsons Creek, as well as other areas.
“The people who lived in Abasand, Beacon Hill and Waterways, the hardest hit neighbourhoods, lived there because they loved living south of the river. So whatever we can do to make more of a focus on that side and where these houses will go and kind of inch the province towards that,” said Councillor Ault.
All of these costs, again, would be part of what the RMWB moves to have covered by the Disaster Recovery Program.
Planning and Development:
Jamie Doyle, the Director of Planning and Development for the RMWB gave a presentation on how the process works.
So far 24 permits have been approved, each one takes lengthy back and forth conversations, Doyle says they are becoming more efficient every day.
69 permits are waiting for approval.
“When possible, staff will turn around permits in a 48-hour window; there will be so instances when that is missed. They have been having many conversations with applicants, that certainly takes a lot of time and a lot of patience,” said Doyle.
4 basic steps:
- Application is submitted
- Staffs ensure application is complete, if not staff request more information
- Once a development officer deems it to be complete, he or she review the application.
- Once they review, they render the decision to notify the applicant.
There are 9 basic requirements for a demolition permit:
- Site plan
- Route haul
- Schedule
- Stockpiling plan
- Certificate of title
- Site clean up
- Utilities management plan
- Applicable fees
- Certificate of Recognition
If residents have more question you can visit planning and development at the Timberlea Landing, Monday- Friday.
Council will be back at the Chambers in Jubilee Centre next Tuesday, July 19th.
