Zeroing in on issues found in the West side of the county was part of the discussion at the first regular meeting of the Wheatland County council.

Council asked the administration to create a terms of reference for a potential committee that will focus on addressing issues related to the west side of the county and return the terms of reference to the council for review. In the vote, two council members voted against the motion.

Councillor Tom Ikert brought up the suggestion that there be a committee formed to discuss items that relate to the west side of the county.

“It’s growing faster than what we have services for,” said Councillor Donna Biggar. Council also discussed their new role in the Lakes of Muirfield development.

“There are a lot of little issues that are big but I don’t think they need the whole realm of the council to deal with them,” said Ikert.

He said the issues could be discussed on a smaller stage and then brought to council for review.

“I think a lot of the time, stuff gets lost in translation,” he said. “We hear concerns from different people and pass that on.” The aim is to save administration time and effort.

Councillor Scott Klassen said the group could vet some of their ideas through a committee using staff to bounce ideas off of.

Councillor Glenn Koester suggested that the issues be dealt with upfront by all members of council and then if warranted, by a committee, or discussed at a committee of the whole meeting.

“I am not in favour of splitting into subcommittees for different parts of the county,” he said.

“We need to be very careful not to fracture out,” said Councillor Rick Laursen. “Otherwise we could end up with effectively two counties.” He asked if some of the items could be discussed at a town hall meeting.

In other council news, a letter from former Division 7 councillor Ben Armstrong was read aloud during the meeting. He spoke of his over 29 years serving Wheatland County. He thanked staff and administration for their dedication and service to the residents of Wheatland County.

“Wheatland County is in the top 10 municipal districts of Alberta and that is entirely on the shoulders of you,” he said.

The county council meeting on December 7 will be moved to December 8, to accommodate a training session for elected officials.

At present, council chambers are open to the public for in-person attendance at the meetings. Members of the public can still participate in the meetings via teleconference as well.