2018 was a year of transitions that ranged from policy changes to new council and staffing for the Town of Turner Valley. Chief administrative officer Todd Sharpe said the Town saw numerous changes this year including a fresh council elected in late 2017, three key senior staff position changes and the implementation of the nationwide legalization of marijuana. Sharpe said it all began with a new council and mayor, with just two councillors returning from the previous term. “I think for any municipality, following an election year is a big year,” he said. “The new council is busy finding their way, determining what they would like to get accomplished over the course of their term. Setting a path and direction for the remaining years of the term is a big one.” In addition to a new council, the Town experienced the transition of three key positions. Gerry Melenka replaced Matthew Atkinson as the planning and development co-ordinator, Corinne Middleton replaced Therese O’Brien as manager of finance and corporate services and Sharpe replaced Barry Williamson as CAO. “Transitioning from one CAO to another is certainly a big undertaking,” Sharpe said. “Town staff and residents were patient as they waited for the new CAO to come on board. Heather Thomson (municipal legislative services manager) did a wonderful job in the interim in making sure that everything kept moving forward.” Sharpe said council and administration worked hard to transition to both the new staff, as well as changes to the Municipal Government Act (MGA). “Several new requirements were driven down by the province around a number of things that dictate how we do business – council code of conduct, public participation policy,” he said. “We’re still working on some.” The government also brought the legalization of marijuana, requiring municipalities to make changes to its bylaws and policies, Sharpe said. “The changes to the MGA and cannabis legalization consumed a lot of staff time,” he said. “First and foremost there was a lot of work that needed to be done around that.” Sharpe said guidelines were provided to municipalities to work around, yet there was a lot of effort and unknowns that went into it. “When you have a small municipality like Turner Valley or Black Diamond the requirements for us to comply are the same – we’re equally required to comply,” he said. “Unfortunately, small municipalities don’t have the depth or resources that big municipalities do.” Following months of hard work, Sharpe feels the Town is well prepared to handle the legalization of cannabis use since its Oct. 17 inception. “Cannabis legalization was an example of public participation, council balancing the interests of the community with where they wanted to see the community go,” he said. “We were able to reshape some of our town bylaws to reflect the new reality. “We haven’t seen a huge change, it was almost like Y2K with a lot of anticipation but certainly we haven’t noticed too many blips post-legalization.” Later in the year, staff and council focused their efforts on finalizing their strategic priorities and key results, which revolve around growth and long term planning, service level reviews and fiscal responsibility, said Sharpe. “We won’t get them all done in one year, but certainly there’s a number of things Town staff are going to be embarking on to ensure we have a good financial plan,” he said. “Fiscal responsibility is at the forefront of council.” The coming months will provide an opportunity for the Town to look at a number of areas where it can better provide service to taxpayers, Sharpe said. “We’re going to continue what previous council and administration has built and grown and continue to work to get better for the residents,” he said. “Being cognizant of the impacts of the community, every decision we make is in order to be better, to deliver more cost-effective services to the community.” The Town will also work towards maintaining and further building its community pride, Sharpe said. “While council is clear that fiscal responsibility is important, we want to make sure Turner Valley is a great place to work and play,” he said. “We continue to see great optimism and community spirit in Turner Valley — that was evident in the community events we run, the volunteers we see and the interest the residents have in making Turner Valley better.”
