Crossfield Town council gave three readings to 2016-01 Dog Control Bylaw Jan. 19, which amends clarity of the previous bylaw for the purpose of enforcement.
Bylaw officer Trevor Stephens said he worked with Town staff to review the bylaws to make sure it is enforceable.
“(Bylaws) need very precise, clearly defined things that are actionable and dependable if things ever do get to a court being contested,” Crossfield Chief Administrative Officer Ken Bosman said.
However, Bosman said very little in terms of intent, impact or effect upon residents has really changed with the bylaw.
For example, if the old bylaw states a dog can’t be a nuisance, make too much noise or annoy neighbours, the vagueness of what exactly that means makes enforcing the bylaw rather difficult.
Council agreed the changes were positive and much needed.
“There are some great changes in there,” Councillor Hadi Feltham said. “It was really nice to see.”
Reviewing bylaws is a fairly common practice in municipalities and Bosman said Stephens takes his job very seriously, as he is the one to enforce these bylaws.
“Whenever we run into a moment like that (in bylaw reviews), we take the time to note it and revise it so there is precision and clarity,” Bosman said.
Conduct Policy
Council unanimously voted in favour of adopting a Council, Employee and Volunteer Conduct Policy, which covers a mandate for staff and council’s interactions with volunteers and the public.
Bosman said one of the priorities of council has been to increase engagement with the community.
Administration was advised to draft a policy and the end result was much larger than anticipated, Bosman said, as staff found more things that could be included in the policy.
“It kind of mushroomed,” he said. “It’s a pretty comprehensive policy in terms of essentially covering the Town’s behind from a legal due diligence screening point of view for staff and council members interacting with the public.”
Councillor Jo Tennant made a friendly amendment to the policy, which adds an extra vulnerable person’s clearance screened every two years.
“I realize you can get the clearance and tomorrow do something in violation of it, but I think it should be part of the policy,” Tennant said.
Lights installed
An unlit gravel parking lot open to the public on the east side of Railway Street, across from Crossfield Automotive, may get some lights installed in the near future.
Bosman said the Town is looking at the costs of installing two cobra headlights facing east towards the parking lot on an existing light pole.
If the Town can accommodate the lights within its contingencies, then Bosman said the work would get done right away.
If the cost comes back beyond what is affordable it will have to be addressed at a later time.
“(The cost) shouldn’t be major,” he said.
With new signage and some light, Bosman said the place will look a lot more like a parking lot.
“It takes a while to permeate things into people’s consciousness and we’re going to continue with that process,” Bosman sad.
