Held Friday April 23, 2021 commencing at 9:25 AM in the RID Board Room. Covid19 provincial health guidelines were followed during the meeting.
The Agenda for the meeting was approved on motion by Rod Wendorff and carried.
The Minutes of the March 18, 2021 board meeting were approved on motion by Craig Palmer and carried.
O&M Report and IRP Project Update:
Cody Heggie showed a slide presentation of the work performed over the past month. IRP 2356 (8-1 Pipeline) is almost completed. The pipeline will be filled shortly and checked for leaks.
Irrican – Kelvin Kado reported:
Drop 4/5/6 powerplant and Chin powerplant will be ready to start next week. Raymond powerplant will be ready to start during the first week of May.
RID financial – Kelvin Kado reported:
R7-1, R8-2 and R15 energy billings are being completed and will be mailed out next week.
The municipal water conveyance report has been received and will be billed out next week.
Solar array grant application approvals have been received for all 3 projects. Materials and parts are on order, and are expected here by the end of May. The projects are scheduled to be completed by mid-July. in May. We begin power generation from the solar this irrigation season.
On motion made by Craig Palmer and carried, the RID board approved the proposed solar array projects for the R7-1, R8-1 and RID office.
A review of the power charges to R7-1 and R8-2 irrigators will be presented at a future board meeting. A notice of the new solar array will be sent to irrigators in June.
We are working on cleaning up right of way around Factory Lake.
The 2021 Budget, By-laws and Resolutions were presented and reviewed by the Board.
On motion by Rod Wendorff and carried, the 2021 budget was approved.
Work on IRP2341 is complete. We are waiting on final invoices and beginning of water season to test the new structures before closing IRP2341.
Work on IRP2356 is wrapping up. Once final invoices are received and paid, and the system can be tested, we will close IRP2356.
Alberta Agriculture – Farm Gate Allocation 2021:
The Board reviewed the farm gate allocation forecast from Alberta Agriculture. Using this information, the Board set the RID farm gate allocation Bylaw – see the 2021 annual bylaws.
Corner Lake – Trout Stocking – Jason reported:
Alberta Environment stocked Corner Lake on April 19, 2021 with 5,000 rainbow trout. They plan on stocking another 50 larger trout in May, and then another 7,000-9,000 in the fall.
New Acre Allocation Update– Jason reported:
All of the new acre agreements for 2021 have been prepared. There are several parcels that need to be added to the district. Ads will be placed in next week’s Westwind Weekly notify the public of the additions.
Common Carrier Agreement:
The Board discussed the last few meetings and discussions which were with the SMRID & TID managers and Board members. We are waiting on a new MOU from SMRID.
RID Policy Manual Review:
The Board has previously reviewed policies 1-40. No items were reviewed during this meeting.
Directors’ Items:
No director items were brought forward.
2021-2025 Seepage Control Plan:
Jason presented the 2021-2025 Seepage Control Plan to the Board. The Board discussed the projects. The plan was advertised in the April 22, 2021 Westwind Weekly.
On motion made by Craig Palmer and carried, the RID Board approves the 2021-2025 Seepage Control Plan as presented.
Household Purposes Agreement request – SW 32-6-19-W4:
Jason present the HPA request to the Board.
On motion made by John Mckee, and carried, the RID Board approves the HPA agreement as presented for SW 32-6-19-W4.
Farm Safety Centre – Rural Health Initiative – Jason reported:
The Farm Safety Centre asked the RID to host one of their Rural Health Initiative events. It is an opportunity for individuals to receive a personal health review with qualified health care workers. The RID is scheduled to host on June 17 from 8:00AM to 6:00PM. There will 27 open spots available.
9 Mile Easements – Jason reported:
Jason and Kelvin have completed the easements for the RS4 project and are working on the easements for the 9 Mile & North project.
Equipment Sales – Jason & Cody reported:
The new tandem and trailer are working excellent. It is now time to sell the Kenworth and Low-Boy trailer.
On motion made by Rod Wendorff and carried, the Board approves of selling the Kenworth semi and Low Boy trailer.
Employee Annual Reviews – Jason reported:
Jason has completed annual performance reviews with staff members. Conversations were very positive and the staff are doing very well. 2020 was a learning year for most staff, but everyone handled the change and have done a great job adapting learning new skills and duties.
Kelvin has been a big help in the office as Jason has adjusted to his role as manager. Cody has done an excellent job learning to manage the crew and plan & execute projects. There is always room for improvement, but overall, the staff have done very well.
Next Meeting Date
The next meeting is set for April 21, 2021.