Following are some of the issues discussed by Council at the December 17th regular meeting:

BYLAW 578 – REPEAL 531 AND 567 BYLAW

Council gave first reading to Bylaw 578/20, the Town of Sedgewick Repeal 531 and 567 Bylaw.  The bylaw repeals Election Bylaw 531 and its Amending Bylaw 567 as both bylaws were not current with Local Authorities Election Act legislation. 

OPERATING BUDGET – 2021 BUDGET

An interim operating budget was approved for the 2021 fiscal year.  Total revenue required from property taxes is $876,750 which is an increase of $30,250 from 2020.  The budget allocates $339,597 towards restricted reserves.

FLAGSTAFF COUNTY – ENCROACHMENT AGREEMENT FOR WALKING TRAIL AND WATER LINE

Council approved entering into an agreement with Flagstaff County to allow for an encroachment of a paved walking trail and water line inside the road allowance of Range Road 124 leading to Sedgewick Lake Park.  The path and water line have been located in the right-of-way for a number of years.

ENBRIDGE PIPELINES INC. – DAMANGE SETTLEMENT PAYMENT

Council approved forwarding a damage settlement payment of $1486.32 to the Sedgewick Lake Park Board as settlement for preventative maintenance work performed in October by Enbridge Pipelines.

Due to the Christmas holiday, garbage pickup will be a little different for Sedgewick residents in the week of December 21-25. Normally garbage pickup occurs on Thursdays in Sedgewick, however due to Thursday, December 24th being Christmas Eve, garbage will be picked up on Wednesday, December 23rd. For questions about the schedule change or other waste management issues, call Flagstaff Waste at (780) 384-3950.

Residents of Sedgewick, USERS OF INTERNET, we need your help!

The expectation of readily available and reliable internet has become as common as three square meals a day. The Town of Sedgewick has taken initiative in 2020 to provide faster speeds for our residents by providing our own internet service using our own infrastructure.

We are currently investigating going further by installing a fiber network that will rival speeds in our nation’s biggest cities. But, we need your help.

The Federal Government is currently offering grant funding to communities that are not achieving the 50mbps download, 10mbps upload basic mandated requirement. Sedgewick is currently considered as a community that achieves these speeds… but we know that is not true! We can still qualify for the grant if we can PROVE that we are not unilaterally achieving the 50/10 mbsp speeds.

Although we know some residents do surpass these basic requirements, many of you don’t. For the ones that don’t, you can help us by performing a speed test, taking a screen shot, filling out this short form and submitting both to the office by January 15th. You may drop it off or email to reception@sedgewick.ca

Please note that the speed test must occur either between 9am and 4pm or 7pm to 11pm. Speed tests done outside this time frame will not qualify.

To take a speed test simply use one of the following sites:

https://performance.cira.ca/ISED?lang=en

Speedtest.net

Fast.com

Or use a test from a provider such as Telus, Shaw, Bell, etc.

With enough feedback from our residents, we can show that we should qualify for the grant and move forward with the fiber project at no cost to the Town!

Each speed test measurement should indicate the following:
 Internet service provider’s name;
 GPS coordinates of the speed test (latitude/longitude);
 Civic address;
 Last mile technology;
 Subscribed download service package;
 Subscribed upload service package;
 Measured download speed;
 Measured upload speed;
 Date and time of test and measurement.

In order to substantiate the speed test results, screen captures must be provided as acceptable evidence to demonstrate the requirements mentioned above.

On November 23rd, Flagstaff County and all municipalities within including the Town of Sedgewick, was moved to ‘Enhanced Status” for Covid measures due to the ratio of active cases to population. On November 24th, the province put into force new mandatory public health measures throughout Alberta to slow the spread of Covid-19.

The following measures are currently in place:

Gathering Restrictions

Mandatory restriction – Provincewide – Effective Nov. 24

• No indoor social gatherings are permitted in any setting (private homes, public spaces or workplaces)
  • Indoor close contacts must be limited to people in the same household
  • People who live alone can have up to the same 2 non-household contacts for the duration of the restriction
  • Work and mutual support group meetings are not social gatherings, but attendance should be limited and public health measures followed
  • This does not apply to service visits from caregivers, health or child care providers and co-parenting arrangements
• Outdoor social gatherings are limited to 10 people and must not have an indoor component
  • Backyard gatherings that require movement in/out of homes are not permitted
  • Attendees should remain distanced at all times and follow public health measures
• Festivals and events are prohibited (indoors and outdoors)

Weddings and Funerals

Mandatory restriction – Provincewide – Effective Nov. 24

Maximum of 10 people for wedding ceremonies or funeral services
This includes the officiant, bride/groom and witnesses
This does not include staff or organizers who are not considered an invited guest
This applies to any facility, including places of worship and funeral homes.
This includes services held indoors or outdoors, seated or non-seated.
Receptions are not permitted
This measure will help limit exposure, reduce outbreaks and protect vulnerable attendees.

Places of Worship

Mandatory restriction – Enhanced status (purple) areas – Effective Nov. 24

Faith leaders must determine their normal congregant attendance (pre-COVID) and limit it to 1/3 attendance
Must hold services at their normal location, including rental spaces like a community hall
Physical distancing between households must be maintained
Mask use is mandatory
Online services are encouraged
In-person faith group meetings and other religious gatherings are not permitted in private homes while these measures are in effect
Faith leaders and others speaking in front of a congregation are permitted to remove their masks while speaking provided they maintain 2 metre distance from others while doing so. Once finished speaking, the speaker must put on their mask again.
In-person faith group meetings conducted at a place of worship can continue but physical distancing and public health measures must be followed
Faith communities are often significant aspects of people’s lives, and include intimate and close contact between members. This measure will help limit exposure at these activities, reducing outbreaks and protecting vulnerable members who attend.

Further Requirements/Information

https://www.alberta.ca/coronavirus-info-for-albertans.aspx

After careful consideration and with no short-term solution for the coronavirus pandemic in sight, the Town of Sedgewick regrets to announce that the #REDNEK concert featuring Gord Bamford and guests slated for March 20th, 2021 has been cancelled.  Full refunds will be offered for both table and individual seat sales beginning October 28th.  Tickets purchased at either the Killam or Sedgewick Wild Rose Co-op grocery stores and the Town of Sedgewick administration office will be refunded at the Town of Sedgewick administration office only.  Tickets must be presented to receive the refund.  Tickets purchased online through Ticketmaster will be refunded through that platform only.

The show was originally scheduled for April 18th, 2020 but was postponed to November once the province shut down due to the virus.  The concert was postponed once again to spring 2021 however with that date only being a few months away and the pandemic continuing to effect the ability to gather indoors, Town Council decided that another postponement was not appropriate.

“We greatly appreciate our sponsors and the music fans that have supported this initiative over the last 3 years,” stated Mayor Perry Robinson.  “We’ve accomplished a great deal in bringing these types of shows to a small community such as ours and we hope to bring more in the future once we find a path that allows us to do so.  In the meantime, we don’t feel it is fair to once again postpone the concert and hold onto the money of our loyal customers any longer.  Issuing full refunds is the right thing to do at this point and hopefully helps to further strengthen our relationship with our corporate sponsors and other ticket-buyers whether they are within or outside our region.”

Businesses and individuals who purchased a corporate table do not need to request a refund as cheques will be hand delivered.  Individual tickets can be refunded at the Town of Sedgewick administration office any time after 10am on October 28th.  Office hours are 8:30am to 4:30pm with the office being closed during the lunch hour.

A special meeting of council was held on October 13th with one issue on the agenda being the rescheduling of the regular and organizational meetings which were to occur on October 15th.

Both the October regular and organizational meetings have been rescheduled to Thursday, October 22nd at 6pm. Meetings are held in council chambers at Town office.

A special meeting of council has been called for Tuesday, October 13th, 2020 at 5:30pm in council chambers at the Town of Sedgewick office.

To view the agenda go to https://sedgewick.civicweb.net/Portal/

The tax deadline for non-residential properties is quickly approaching with October 30th being set by Council earlier in the year. Normally all taxes are due on the last business day of July, however due to Covid-19 Council approved moving the due date for non-residential back several months to help ease the burden the pandemic has caused.

Non-residential accounts that remain unpaid after October 30th will incur a 10% penalty and if the full balance is still unpaid as of January 1st, a further 18% penalty will be added. The Town of Sedgewick accepts cheque, cash, debit or electronic transfers directly from the bank or by email.

The hugely successful Flagstaff Fresh Market will host its final evening in 2020 on Main Street Thursday, October 8th. This is the third market to be held with the first two drawing large crowds to downtown Sedgewick and the third promising much the same.

29 vendors have been confirmed for the night including Metal X Wood Designs, Henry’s Honey, Wildrose Cinnamon Buns, NRG Coffee Co. and many others. Main Street mainstays include Barrio Cusina, The Wooden Spoon, Quirks Bakery and Branch 55. The River Jacks, who played in the first market, are set to return for one more time and will set up in front of the cenotaph.

The market runs from 4:30pm to 7:30pm and organizers would like to remind attendees to take Covid precautions and shop safely.

A podcast on the history of the Town of Sedgewick has been developed by professional podcaster Craig Baird, and was released on September 17th. The episode covers many areas of Sedgewick’s history including the founding of the community, the pahpamiyhaw asiniy meteor, Sedgewick Museum and Archives, Goose Creek School and other fascinated aspects of the Town’s history.

To listen to the episode follow this link:

https://pdcn.co/e/traffic.libsyn.com/secure/canadahehx/Sedgewick.mp3