Spring is not here...yet...

...and may be a while coming. The picture below is our yard, April 30, 2013. My advice: keep the bedding plants well protected, for the time being.

April 30, 2013

My posts to this blog are few and far between, but I have been posting bulletins to my Esmé Comfort: Town Councillor  Facebook page. Those are mostly current events, not reflections or analyses of what is going on. My brain is fizzing with observations, new knowledge, connections, the usual random factoids and experiences. Not much time for reflection...but I am getting there. Meanwhile...some deadlines are looming. 

Town of Canmore Volunteer Awards nominations close tomorrow.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  
Wildsmart BowValley Speaker Series has another installment, Cougars in my backyard: co-existing with a large carnivore, Wed., March 26th, 7 p.m. at Canmore Collegiate High School.

 

Also competing for your entertainment dollar - and by "entertainment dollar", I mean "FREE" - is the Integrated Transportation Plan Public Open House, 4:30 - 8:30 p.m. at Elevation Place. I love the graphic, don't you?

Then this, March 31st:
The Rotary Club of Canmore wants submissions for local community-based projects. These projects should be community-focused and serve the town of Canmore and area (east of the national park gates to Exshaw). This project funding will be one-time funding, minimum $100 up to a maximum of $5000 and may be applied to new or existing projects. Individual recipients are not eligible for funding. The deadline for submissions is March 31st, 2014. The funds will be disbursed by May 1st, 2014. Message me for submission contact details. Funding proposals (limit to 2 pages) must be submitted in the following format:
Page 1: Basic Information on Organization
• Mission Statement
• Annual budget of organization
• Outline of paid and volunteer positions
• Outline of current fundraising activities
• Agency history
• Summary of existing programs
• Agency contact person, phone number and e-mail address

Page 2: Project Proposal
• Timeline of project
• Target population
• Description of project and amount of funds requested
• Project supervisor/contact
• Method of recognizing Rotary for funding of project

Word documents are an acceptable format for emailing.
Only the first 2 pages of submissions will be forwarded to the selection committee.
Agencies will be contacted via e-mail by April 20th, 2014 regarding the status of their application.
Please provide an e-mail address contact.
The successful applicant will be required to provide a brief presentation upon completion of the project.

In the interest of brevity and getting to the next meeting on time, I'll post this now. More to come.

Happy New Year! Er, it's about time...

Here it is...more than a month since my last post and the eve of the Alberta Winter Games, 2014. Visit the website for event schedule. The Opening Ceremonies with the Athletes Parade takes place in Banff on February 6th. There are free shuttle buses to and from Banff and Canmore. There will be some surprises and much joy. Do join us! I am honoured to be a volunteer escorting athletes down from the Banff Centre to marshal for their grand entrance, then to help them get back afterwards. Banff Town Councillor Corrie Di Manno will accompany me on this duty; I'm pleased to be paired up with her - she'll make sure I do it right.
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A young Canmore athlete at a prior AWG

It's an exciting time for these young athletes as they compete with their peers from all across Alberta. My son Beamer competed in the 1998 AWG in the sport of freestyle wrestling. He was all of 15 years old...he won a silver medal. Look at that face. He went on to wrestle at the varsity level for the University of Calgary. For many of these students this event is a stepping stone on a journey to great achievements in later life. I am thrilled to host these youth, families, and coaches in the Bow Valley. Let's all extend the hand of welcome.


There is so much ongoing business with the Town of Canmore and its boards, committees and partners, it is hard to know where to begin. The next Council Meeting is tomorrow. Canmore Town Council meeting agendas and minutes may be found on the website. You may also watch the proceedings live streaming video - but not this week as the meeting is not at the Civic Centre Council Chambers but at the Canmore Recreation Centre, upstairs in the Community Hall at 7 p.m. The change of locale is due to the damage caused by a pipe break at the Civic Centre on Friday, January 31st. Friday was a slow news day, apparently: the story was covered extensively, as far away as Montréal! Please visit the Town of Canmore website for the latest info.

NEW BUSINESS Council Regular Business Meeting: Tuesday, February 4th, 2014
1. Canmore Business and Tourism Funding for Mountain Market Operations
Recommendation: That council approve the withdrawal of $14,000 from the
Economic Development Reserve to help fund the cost of Canmore Business
and Tourism running the 2014 Canmore Mountain Market.
2. Mountain Creek Hazard Mitigation Project – Stone Creek Short-Term
Mitigation
Recommendation: That council approve a budget increase of $370,000 to a
total of $720,000 for Stone Creek Short-Term Mitigation to be funded by the
Flood Recovery Erosion Control Program (FRECP).
3. Torrent Early Warning System
Recommendation: That council revise the scope of CAP#1345 – Cougar
Creek Short-Term Mitigation to include the development of an early warning
system; and subject to approval by the Province to expand the scope using
DRP or FREC funds assigned to the project.

Hope to see you there.

One Breakfast with Santa, an Alpine Torrent Mitigation Symposium and multiple meetings later...

Apparently Santa and I are close personal friends...we be checking that Naughty & Nice List...#justsayin' 

I was a volunteer helper at the Rotary Festival of Trees at the Canmore Civic Centre on Sunday, December 7th. Such fun! 
Very festive and jolly.

 Monday, it was back to Town business - after I finished three hours at my full-time job. 

(I have borrowed a lot of text from the original email, to save time.)  
The invitation to an Alpine Torrent Symposium came from the "Mitigation and Resilience Secretariat - Flood Recovery Task Force" of the Government of Alberta .  

As we all know too well, the June storm caused extensive damage to communities, homes, highways, and provincial parks. Much of the damage in the affected areas of the Rockies was caused by debris laden torrents. This one day symposium described the challenges associated with managing torrents in alpine communities, including hazard and risk assessment, and strategies for active and passive mitigation.

It is very pretty in Canmore...

Courtesy: Cartoon Ink, Patrick Lamontagne

...which is one of the reasons we choose to live here. On days like today, one might be excused for thinking: "There are warmer pretty places to be." Stay warm. A good way to do that is to visit Canmore Rotary's Festival of Trees at the Civic Centre. See you there! Budget will be later.

And away we go...

...just a little later than I had hoped. Time has flown since Monday, October 21st, 2013 - election night -  when I won a seat on Canmore Town Council. That same week, on Thursday and Friday: Council Orientation all day, both days. 
After the Friday orientation session, Judge John Reilly swore us in as Mayor and Council. This was a solemn moment for me, and, as a friend and colleague (also newly elected to a municipal council) said: "It is getting really real." His worship John Borrowman brought me back to earth with the wry observation: "Yeah well, first you get sworn in, then you get sworn at."

Monday, end of week 1 in office, came the annual organizational meeting. You can watch it here...but not the most riveting viewing. Part of that was receiving our Committee and Board assignments. I sit on the Budget Committee (but so does all of Council), CAO Performance Review Committee, Public Art Committee (CPAC), Environmental Advisory Review Committee (EARC), Program Audit Committee, Subdivision Authority, and Bow Valley Regional Housing Authority. Whew. 

A break from meetings followed, so I regrouped and got in touch with what really matters - in no particular order: friends, family and grandson Jack. In no particular order...:-)

That seems a good place to finish this post...Up next: Budget.