What's coming to council: October 13, 2026

Coming to Council: October 13, 2026

This is my preview of the Business Arising and New Business items on the agenda. These are upcoming discussions, not completed decisions.

Business Arising

- Policy #089 – Sidewalk and Boulevard Maintenance: a proposed update dealing with boulevard upkeep, sidewalk clearing, boulevard trees, winter maintenance areas, and the use of pesticides, herbicides and insecticides on municipally owned properties. - Policy #090 – Boulevard Parking and Care of Lanes: a proposed update setting standards for boulevard parking, lane and boulevard care, and the application process for approved boulevard parking. - Feral Cats: discussion of a cat bylaw survey and possible next steps. A survey compares approaches in villages and other municipalities.

New Business

- OHS Records Retention Policy: a proposed policy for creating, protecting, retaining and disposing of occupational health and safety records, including confidentiality, legal holds and a retention schedule. - Town of Nobleford ACP Application Support: a request for Barons to support Nobleford’s Alberta Community Partnership application for water treatment plant design and assessment work. Nobleford would manage the project and fund the municipal share, with no financial contribution requested from Barons. - Report regarding Campaign Financial Disclosure: discussion of a report about campaign financial disclosure requirements following the 2026 by-election. One candidate failed to submit their disclosure by the deadline. - Resident Invoicing: Council will review an invoice recently sent to a resident. - Boulevard Parking Application: discussion of a resident application for permission to park on a boulevard. - Christmas Hamper Donation: discussion of a request to support the “A Little Bit of Christmas Magic” Christmas hamper program. - Criminal Record Checks for Candidates Discussion - Coffee with Council Discussion - Meeting Broadcasting and Recording Discussion - AI Discussion - All-Councils Meeting Discussion - Fortis Franchise Fee: annual review of the electricity franchise fee collected by Fortis Alberta. The current rate is 5%, unchanged from April 1, 2015, and that the rate is subject to Alberta Utilities Commission approval. - ATCO Franchise Fee: annual review of the natural gas franchise fee collected by ATCO Gas. The ATCO letter estimates 2027 franchise fee revenue at $16,000 at the current 14.97% rate, noting the estimate can be affected by customer operations, weather and AUC approval of forecast delivery rates.