Athabasca and area Family and Community Support Services (FCSS) came before Atahabasca County council with a three-year business plan that was received warmly by council members.
“It’s new to us,” said FCSS director Terry Smith of having to develop a business plan. “We’ve taken the best advice from people.”
Smith brought the three-year proposal to council for their review and consideration, hoping for approval so that he may then present the plan to FCSS stakeholders.
The business plan is divided into six goals: to provide services that promote social development of children and their families; enrich and strengthen family life by developing skills in people to function more effectively within their own environment; enhance the quality of life of the retired and semi-retired; promote, encourage and support volunteer work in the community; assist communities in identifying their social needs and develop responses to meet those needs; and to inform the public of available services in the community.
FCSS has included four pillars of action in their plan that covers the six goals, the strategies to achieve those goals, an operation plan and finally their future initiatives.
The primary focus of council, raised by councillor Michael Demko, was the issue of space.
“We have outgrown our current space,” said Smith. “Our stakeholders want us to continue to advance forward.
“We have accommodation issues, and want to be allowed to look at options.”
Demko pointed out that since FCSS’s current lease must be renewed every year, the process to find and relocate to a proper location where the organization can operate should be sped up, highlighting the importance of the FCSS’s work.
Demko went on to inquire about FCSS’s possible need for a stand-alone building.
“We provide counseling to people with multiple issues,” replied Smith. “There are some barriers … it doesn’t necessarily have to be (a stand-alone building), but we must be able to provide an effective program.”
FCSS is also working toward establishing a mentorship program in every Aspen View school, calling attention to Grassland, Wandering River and Rochester, which currently do not offer mentorship programs.
In addition to the schools, they also work in conjunction with the RCMP to identify youths who are in need of help before they find themselves in the justice system.
Council voted unanimously in favour of a motion to approve the FCSS three-year plan.
Other than a few ‘wiggle-waggles here and there,’ Athabasca County’s director of infrastructure services Brian Adamkewicz said alignment of the Boyle-Wandering River pipeline is tentatively set.
The main hurdle now is to find the right consortium that will undergo the endeavor of constructing it.
“There’s been a lot of interest,” said Adamkewicz. “It’s a big project.”
Being a design-build project, Adamkewicz stressed that it’s not simply the cheapest bid that the Design Build Technology Committee (DBTC) will be looking to hire, but the engineering business that ‘understands the project’; only then will they look at cost.
“We’re not picking the design,” explained Adamkewicz, “we’re picking the company.”
Companies must submit their technical plans for the pipeline by April 30 and their price by May 21.
The DBTC will then make their selection by June 2, with the chosen consortium to begin work immediately thereafter, completing construction by December 2012.
The designated engineers must give a one-year warranty on their work, and provide a monetary fund in the occurrence of any problems within that first year.
Council perused an input request sent by the Alberta Association of Municipal Districts and Counties (AAMDC), regarding the proposed requirement to publicly release the recommendations made to council in audit management letters.
“Traditionally, we don’t publicize it,” said county manager Gary Buchanan. “But if someone asks for it, we make a copy.”
An audit management letter is a letter drafted by an auditor of a municipality or county that gives recommendations to its council on how they are doing, what they are doing well and what they should change.
At present, the audit report – the report made by the auditor, but separate from the management letter given to council – is publicly available on the county website for all to read, and the issue with the AAMDC is whether to add the management letter as well.
“I think we should leave it as is,” stated councillor Denis Willcott, a sentiment echoed by councillor Mike Demko who said, “It’s working for us … I like our format.”
“We’re not hiding anything,” councillor Larry Armfelt added, referring to the fact that the public can see the letter upon request.
Council unanimously agreed that their current system should remain the way it is.
