The Town of Sedgewick is currently recruiting for the position of Chief Administrative Officer.

Council is seeking a Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) that will embrace the community and welcome the
objective of growing, promoting, and helping develop the Town along with its regional municipal partners. It is preferred the new CAO reside within or near the town. The CAO will report to Council and will be responsible for implementing Council’s direction and vision and be accountable for administration, operations and finances for the town.

The Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) is responsible for providing corporate leadership for the general
management and stewardship of the municipality. An ideal CAO should be self-motivated, resourceful,
innovative, and a collaborative leader. In addition to having mature tact and diplomacy skills, they will have the ability to build trusting relationships. They will have exceptional interpersonal skills and the capacity to work cohesively with elected officials, residents, community organizations, industry, agencies, businesses, and other internal and external stakeholders including residents.

For more information, see the opportunity profile here

The Flagstaff Fresh Market is less than 2 weeks away and a number of handmade and multilevel marketing businesses are putting in their final preparations for the big event. Flagstaff Fresh Markets strive to live up to their vison statement of “to serve our local communities with quality, locally farmed and focused products, while supporting growth of prospering businesses and entrepreneurs in the Flagstaff Region”.

The event will be held on Thursday, August 25th from 4pm to 7pm on Main Street in Sedgewick. 47th Street will be barricaded off from vehicular traffic starting at 12pm so that set up can proceed. Vendors will be allowed to start selling their wares at 4pm sharp. In addition to a great shopping experience there will also be family entertainment offered for the duration of the market.

The Brasstactics, who many sports fans will recognize as being the official brass band of the Edmonton Oilers and Edmonton Elks will be tearing up Main Street from the start to the end of the market. Touting themselves as Edmonton’s premier brass party band, The Brasstactics serve up hot throwbacks from the 70’s, 80’s, 90’s, and 00’s, and guarantee you’ll dance and sing along.

In addition to live music, a professional caricature artist will be drawing free caricatures from 4pm to 6pm. This is a great opportunity to grab the kids and have a family ‘portrait’ done that you will treasure for years to come.

For more information on the market, go to https://flagstaffcrafted.ca/

MUNICIPAL PLANNING COMMISSION – DEVELOPMENT PERMIT 22-05

Council, in their role as the Municipal Planning Commission, approved development permit 22-05 for the development of a detached garage in the R1A district allowing for the variance of 10’ wall height and a 16’ peak.

TAX SALE 2022 – RESERVE BID AND CONDITIONS

Council set the reserve bid for roll #30001291 000 at $80,550 and for roll #50019218 700 at $153,660 for a public auction for the purpose of tax recover to occur on August 25^th.  Conditions of the sale include the properties being sold on an “as is” and “where is” basis, that a deposit of 10% required at the time of sale with the remainder due within 30 days.  The auction will be advertised in the July 15^th edition of the Alberta Gazette and the August 10^th edition of the Community Press.

DEVELOPMENT PERMIT 22-04 – 05P-09; 07; 3825P

As a property within a Direct Control district, Council approved the change of use of the property to include the use as a commercial water fill station with the station to be treated in the same manner as the Town of Sedgewick’s bulk loading station including the fee charged for the water.

SIDEWALK REPLACEMENT PROGRAM – 2022 PRIORITIES

Council approved the sidewalk replacement priority list for 2022 with repairs to be made at 5021 48^th Street, 4845 50^th Street and the curb and gutter on the west side of the 5100 block of 50^th Street.  Estimated cost of repairs is between $30,000 and $35,000.

RECREATION FUNDING COMMITTEE – 2022 ALLOCATIONS

Council approved the Recreation Funding Committee’s recommendations regarding the distribution of $104,142 in recreation funding which is originally allocated by Flagstaff County to the Sedgewick and District Agricultural Society.

FLAGSTAFF SCOTTISH CLUB – REQUEST FOR DONATION

Council respectfully declined the Flagstaff Scottish Club’s request to waive the fees to rent the stage.  The Town passed Policy 18-08, the Portable Stage Rental Policy in August of 2018 which establishes guidelines for the rental of the stage to local non-profit and community groups.  The policy affirms a fee of $25/panel for local groups compared to the regular rate of $80/panel.

BYLAW 594 – AMENDMENT #3 TO THE FEES AND CHARGES BYLAW

Council gave all three readings to Bylaw 594, a bylaw which amends the Fees and Charges Bylaw.  The amending bylaw authorizes that any property deemed by the development authority as a commercial water fill station be charged the same rate for water as the Town of Sedgewick’s bulk loading station.

SEDGEWICK KILLAM NATURAL GAS SYSTEM – SCADA

Council approved installing SCADA remote software capability in the Town’s natural gas RMO station for $12,000 with funding to come from unrestricted reserves.

WATER TREATMENT PLANT – RAW WATER FLOW

Council ratified that a temporary raw water line be installed at the water treatment plant and that a complete network leak detection be performed at a cost of $60,000 to come from unrestricted reserves.  Council also approved an increase in cost to the raw water pipe replacement project from $200,000 to $420,000 with funding to come though an amendment to the Town’s Municipal Sustainability Fund grant application.

Today, June 8th, is the notice of assessment date as set by the Town’s assessor. Combined tax and assessment notices were sent out to property owners on May 31st. If you have not received yours, it is important that you call our office at (780) 384-3504.

If you are not happy with the assessed value of your property, complete a Property Assessment Request for Information form and our assessor will review and look for errors. If you are still not satisfied, you can start the appeal process by completing an Assessment Review Board Complaint prior to the deadline of August 8th.

A complaint fee of $50 per roll number is required for LARB (residential) complaints and $650 per roll number for CARB (non-residential) complaints. Fees are refunded should the board make a decision in your favour.

The clerk will assist you on how to prepare for the hearing. You are responsible for gathering information proving your assessment is unfair or inaccurate. This would include using similar comparison properties to make your case.

If you are one of the many who have downloaded the Town of Sedgewick mobile app, it’s time for an update! The Town of Sedgewick has upgraded the app by providing two new features – Council Highlights and a social media message board.

The update is available for free by visiting the IOS App Store or Google Play and by searching for “Sedgewick”.

Are you a website designer? The Town of Sedgewick is accepting proposals to deliver professionally designed websites to our small businesses. Proposals are due by June 10th.

The Town of Sedgewick has announced a special offer for the June 3rd to 5th weekend. The weekend deal, described as “Take a break in Sedgewick”, offers two nights of camping at Sedgewick Lake Park, 18 holes of golf for two plus power cart at Sedgewick Golf Course, and two regular floor seats for the June 3rd Emerson Drive concert at the Wild Rose Co-op Recreation Centre… all for the price of $249.

The package deal is only available through the Town of Sedgewick administration office at 4818 47th Street or by calling (780) 384-3504.

CNWAVE BROADBAND TECHNOLOGY

Council approved carrying out the design for CNwave broadband technology at a cost of $5000 to come from unrestricted reserves. cnWave is an internet solution that provides easy, fast and cost-effective wireless gigabit connectivity at a fraction of the price of fiber infrastructure.

BYLAW 587 – NON-RESIDENTIAL DEVELOPMENT INCENTIVE BYLAW

Council gave all three readings to Bylaw 587 which provides five years of tax incentives to non-residential properties that are able to increase their assessed value by at least $20,000 through development.

BYLAW 588 – FEES AND CHARGES BYLAW

Council gave all three readings to Bylaw 588 which charges a base consumption charge for monthly water consumption. Properties that use less than 14.9 cubic meters of water during a billing period will be charged a flat fee of $31.29.  The variable water fee was increased from $1.77 to $2.10.  Pricing will take effect as of April’s consumption.  The move will result in Sedgewick achieving full-cost recovery for its water system while taxpayers should see a corresponding decrease to their property tax bill as the system has historically been subsidized by taxes.

BYLAW 589 – AMENDMENT #1 TO THE FEES AND CHARGES BYLAW 588

Council gave all three readings to Bylaw 588 which waived all development and demolition permit fees between May 1^st and June 15^th.

POLICY 22/17 – RESIDENTIAL INFILL INCENTIVE POLICY

Council approved Policy 22/17 which provides a $15,000 incentive to demolish an existing structure and an additional $10,000 tax incentive once a replacement dwelling is built which increases the assessed value of the property by at least $200,000.

POLICY 22/18 – NEW RESIDENT INCENTIVE POLICY

Council approved Policy 22/18 which provides a $2022 utility credit to residents who are new to Sedgewick and purchase a property that has been vacant for at least 60 days.

POLICY 22/19 – STOREFRONT IMPROVEMENT INCENTIVE POLICY

Council approved Policy 22/19 which provides up to $5000 towards storefront improvements for businesses located within Sedgewick’s commercial corridor.  Funding must be matched by the business.

UTILITIES AND TAXES – PAPERLESS BILLING INCENTIVE

Council approved a “Go Paperless” incentive program which allows property owners and utility customers to receive a $10-$20 credit to their account for signing up for e-notices.

TOWN OF SEDGEWICK MOBILE APP – ADOPTION PROGRAM

Council approved a mobile app adoption program using a contest format and providing incentives up to $500 in the month of April.

TOWN OF SEDGEWICK MOBILE APP – COMMUNICATION FEATURES

Council approved adding Council Highlights and a social forum to the Town of Sedgewick app at a cost of $6500.

MAIN STREET FLAGS – UKRAINE FLAG

Council approved flying the Ukraine Flag on Main Street to raise awareness of the Russian invasion on the country.

COMMUNITY HALL – UTILITIES

Council approved paying the February utility bill for the Community Hall due to a lack of bookings because of Covid.

SEDGEWICK MINOR BALL – REQUEST FOR FUNDING

Council approved a request to fund the cost of new shale for the ball diamonds at a cost of $3800.

SEDGEWICK RECREATION BOARD – MEMBERSHIP SEARCH

Council directed Administration to retain the vacant seat on the Recreation Board and revise Bylaw 532, the Recreation Board Bylaw, to allow for the appointment of a member of Flagstaff County Council to this seat.

SEDGEWICK AND DISTRICT AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY – REVIEW OF

MANDATE

Council directed Administration to invite a representative from the Sedgewick Ag Society to a future meeting to present on their current activities and perceived role as it relates to the Recreation Centre.

ALBERTA ADVANTAGE IMMIGRATION PROGRAM – ENROLLMENT FORM

Council approved enrolling in the Rural Entrepreneur Stream of the Alberta Immigration Program.

RECREATION BOARD – ARENA OPERATORS COURSE

Council approved the cost of Arena Operators Level II training for the recreation centre staff.

54^TH AVENUE SUBDIVISION – REALTOR PROPOSALS

Council approved engaging a realtor to sell the new subdivision lots and reduced the price of all lots to the flat rate of $20,000/lot until September 30^th, 2022.

MAIN STREET – LANDSCAPING

Council directed Administration to add the proposed landscaping costs to the 2022 operating budget when it is brought back for Council’s review.

At their March 17^th regular meeting, Sedgewick Town Council approved raising the Flag of Ukraine on Main Street as a symbol of support for the country considering current events.  Mayor Levy is pictured here placing the flag at full-mast. 

Russia began a military invasion of Ukraine on February 24^th which is now Europe’s largest conventional military attack since World War II.  The invasion is considered to have violated the Charter of the United Nations and constituted a crime of aggression according to international criminal law.  The Government of Canada has condemned “in the strongest possible terms Russia’s egregious attack on Ukraine”.  The situation has been deemed as an unfolding humanitarian crisis.

The Town of Sedgewick Council wishes to bring continued awareness to the issue by raising the Ukraine Flag on Main Street.  Our thoughts and prayers are with the people of Ukraine and their loved ones.  Should you wish to donate to Ukraine’s cause you can at https://cufoundation.ca

On December 2nd, 2021, Sedgewick Town Council met to discuss their strategic plan moving forward.  The plan was approved unanimously on February 17th, 2022 at a regular meeting of Council.  Click below to download the full PDF document.

The full plan can be viewed at the following link:

2022 Strategic Plan PDF

Vision Statement:

“Quality of Life…. at every stage of life!”

Mission Statement:

“To preserve and enhance our resident’s collective quality of life by making Sedgewick a desirable and safe place in which to live, work, shop, study, play, raise a family and grow old.

We are a progressive community poised for growth!”

Values

• TRANSPARENCY
• COMMUNICATION 
• PUBLIC PARTICIPATION

6 Keys to Success:

“ADVOCATING for the quality of life of our residents.”

“CONNECTING with neighbours when opportunity exists to improve quality of life.”

“DELIVERING a fiscally responsible level of service that ensures quality of life.”

“ENABLING the volunteer sector in making contributions to our quality of life.”

“INVITING others to share in our quality of life.”

“GROWING as a community so future generations can enjoy a similar quality of life.”

Following are the 2022 Strategic Priorities as set by Council:

• Priority I – Sell Sedgewick
• Priority II – Infrastructure Maintenance and Rehabilitation
• Priority III – Communications
• Priority IV – Intermunicipal Initiatives
• Priority V – Recreation
• Priority VI – Business Growth and Development