Brent Ramsay, Red Deer County Councillor Division 5

I had a lot of fun officiating the 2nd Annual Battle of the Badges in Innisfail this past Friday night!

This is a great event put on by the Innisfail Fire Department and RCMP. It supports the Food Bank at a critical time.

The building was packed with fans and they were treated to a great game that was won by the Fire Department in overtime.

I still see lots of faded address signs when I'm out and about. If you need help ordering or replacing yours feel free to contact me.

Is your blue address sign looking faded? Red Deer County has a sign replacement program! The replacement program is for County residences with addresses created before September 2015, who have never had their sign replaced before.

For more details, visit our website at www.rdcounty.ca/BlueSignReplacement

I had a lot of fun talking to the Grade 6 class at Spruce View School today!

They are starting their government unit in Social Studies. I presented some information about municipal government and my role as a Councillor. I always enjoy seeing what questions students will come up with.

If you pass through Spruce View you will notice the new flashing pedestrian beacons at both crosswalks.

I am very happy we were able to get these installed during the current school year. These beacons will allow kids to get to school more safely and help residents cross the highway to access services.

I am hopeful we can continue to upgrade these crosswalks and improve the pedestrian connectivity in Spruce View in the near future!

It was a great turnout last night for the annual Benalto Community Light Up The Night.

They had hot dogs, hot chocolate, apple cider and some treats and activities for the kids.

My son and I had a great time walking around and looking at all the lights and Christmas displays. If your family likes to check out Christmas lights I recommend swinging through Benalto one night.

Benalto Christmas Lights

Check out this recent article in The Advocate.

I spent the summer on a province wide committee trying to address the issues with provincial regulator approvals. We looked at how they function, municipal involvement and their definitions of public interest.

The concerns are being highlighted by the recent surge in renewable energy projects and their consumption of productive farmland.

The link will take you to our committee report and recommendations on the issue. I am not able to link the news article due to Facebook rules but it is worth a read. Please feel free to contact me with any questions.

https://rmalberta.com/news/quasi-judicial-agencies-member-committee-report-released/

One more week before we debate the budget. We tabled it recently to gather feedback from the public.

If you have questions, comments or concerns please feel free to contact me.

The Government of Alberta is currently conducting two surveys that could bring changes to local municipal elections.

Please use the link to share your feedback. There are some interesting questions around dismissal and bringing party politics to the local level.

Feel free to share this with anyone who may be interested.

Local elections and councillor accountability engagement Albertans can share their thoughts to help strengthen democracy in local elections. Complete two surveys by December 6.

Attending Agri-trade on Friday was a great way to end the week! It was nice chatting with some residents at the County booth.

I have always enjoyed attending the exhibit since I was a kid. It is amazing to see how it has grown and now attracts international attention.

It was an honor this morning laying a wreath on behalf of Red Deer County at the Sylvan Lake Legion ceremony.

A great service as always. With everything going on in the world right now it is so important we remember our veterans.

There's a great session coming up this week. Make sure to reserve your spot.

Join us for a FREE and informative session on Farm Succession Planning with Colleen Gilliam-Judd CFP.

There is no cost to attend the workshop and a free lunch is included with the event. Registration required. Call Kendra at 403-505-9091 to register.

It was a very engaging morning at Red Deer Polytechnic reviewing their draft strategic plan.

It was great discussing the plan with the Board of Directors and the Administration along with colleagues from the County and City of Red Deer.

We have a unique opportunity to work with RDP to grow and attract industry to increase the productivity in our region.

Their work going forward will help ensure we have the skilled labour that is in high demand. Coming from a trades background myself, I appreciate what being a Polytechnic means and hope we can continue to encourage students to get into trades.

It was a sold out event last night at The Hideout in Gasoline Alley. We were celebrating 10 years of ALUS in Red Deer County.

It was great to recognize over 200 producers who have participated in the program and thank the funders who make it possible.

Red Deer County is leading the way with ALUS as we have almost 25% of the total acres enrolled nationally right here.

If you'd like to participate in the program or learn more please contact Ken Lewis at the office. Applications are now being accepted for 2024.

There are a couple Rural Crime Watch meetings tonight (Oct 24).

The Medicine River CWS is having their AGM @ 7pm in the Gilby Hall

The Raven CWS is having a regular meeting @ 7:30pm in the Spruce View Drop In Centre

These meetings are always a great way to connect and often include great presentations and information from the RCMP and County Peace Officers.

It was an honor to be invited to the grand opening yesterday. The restoration looks great. What an amazing job by all the volunteers involved in this project. Another piece of history preserved.

I received the following tentative road closure notice for this upcoming week.

I know this is a main route and lots of folks are busy with harvest. Please share with anyone who may be impacted.

I appreciated being invited to the grand opening of Burns Nature Park on the North side of Sylvan Lake in Lacombe County.

20 acres of land was donated to the County by the Burns' with goal of protecting the sensitive and forested area. Following some natural existing trails they brushed them to create a public space with walking trails and viewpoints.

This is a really unique project. Outdoor amenities and trails are so important and it was great to see this collaborative effort between residents and the municipality.

On the Ag Service Board we get asked a lot about recycling used oil. Currently there are not many facilities capable of handling these materials.

However, there is a round up happening this month on September 23rd in Red Deer. Please use the link below for more information.

I know it's the middle of harvest season but I still wanted to pass the information along. Please share with anyone who may be interested.

Red Deer Paint & Used Oil Roundup – 2023 Residents of Red Deer, don’t miss the opportunity to recycle your paint and used motor oil & oil filters for free!

I stopped by the Benalto Family Resource Centre last night for their Community Info Night.

There was free taco-in-a-bag and multiple local organizations on hand to speak with residents about their programs.

This come and go event was well attended. It's great to see new and longtime residents looking for ways to get involved in the community!

This is a very important role that helps us to showcase agriculture in Red Deer County.

We need to continue to show folks where their food comes from and give our youth the opportunity to see what agriculture is all about.

JOB OPPORTUNITY: The Agriculture Services Department of Red Deer County has a temporary, full-time position for a dynamic and highly motivated Agricultural Relations Specialist to supplement our ongoing focus in the delivery of customer service excellence.

To view the full posting, visit: https://bit.ly/3EjYzGi

It was a pleasure to attend the grand opening celebration at the Autumn Grove seniors lodge in Innisfail.

It was great to tour the facility with many other local dignitaries. The rooms are well designed and accessible. There are also many gathering and recreation areas for the residents.

Councillor Huelsman has done a lot of work with the Parkland Foundation to make this facility happen and have the project fully funded to not impact County taxpayers.

Very happy that Council was able to approve crosswalk upgrades in Spruce View yesterday!

Students and pedestrians have to cross Hwy 54 to access the school and services. It can be very dangerous depending on traffic. We are going to increase the connectivity for foot traffic and add flashing crossing lights. This will alert drivers so our kids and residents can safely cross the highway.

This has been on my radar since before the election. As the crossings are not County jurisdiction it has taken some work to make this happen. Really looking forward to seeing this project completed.

The Recycling Roundup usually happens once a year in the County. If you've been holding onto some items make sure to take them in on August 20th.

Recycle the following items for free:
- Leftover paint
- Empty paint cans
- Spray paint cans
- Electronics

I still get a lot of blue sign replacement requests, which is great. I see a lot of faded ones when I'm out and about.

If you need help getting yours replaced please let me know. Share this with anyone who could use a new address sign.

Is your blue address sign looking faded? Red Deer County has a sign replacement program! The replacement program is for County residences with addresses created before September 2015, who have never had their sign replaced before.

For more details, visit our website at www.rdcounty.ca/BlueSignReplacement

It was a double celebration at the Red Deer Regional Airport last night.

There were many dignitaries on hand for the ribbon cutting of phase 1 of the expansion. Then the groundbreaking took place for phase 2 and 3 with the new terminal and north access road.

This is going to open up so many economic opportunities for our region!

Don't forget about the air show this weekend. The Snowbirds were landing during the festivities last night.

Stopped in at the pop-up spray park in Benalto last night. Even though the clouds were rolling in, there was still a great turnout.

Community Services is also hosting a free concert in the park this Thursday July 27 in Benalto. Make sure to stop by in the evening for a BBQ and to see a great local artist perform.

Important information for folks on the north end of Division 5.

With the twining of Hwy 11 by Alberta Transportation some accesses will be changing. Please reach out with any questions and share this with anyone who may be impacted.

Due to access improvements being completed for the Highway 11 twinning project, starting July 31, 2023, Range Road 25 north will no longer be accessible directly off of Highway 11. The new access for Range Road 25 will be off Township Road 390 located approx. 1 KM east of the existing access.

For more information, visit https://www.rdcounty.ca/CivicAlerts.aspx?AID=1856

What an end to a busy week.

Thursday, we took in the annual BBQ at the Red Deer Regional Airport. Then that evening we attended the fundraiser BBQ and concert in the park in Spruce View. It was put on by our Community Services team and helped the Spruce View School Parent Council raise some funds.

Yesterday, I took the family to Westerner Days. It was great to see the many changes made this year. Including an expanded agriculture venue with more exhibits and live animals for folks to experience.