RCMP priorities outlined at Raymond Council Meeting

Posted on April 30, 2026 by admin

By Heather Cameron
Southern Alberta Newspapers

On April 13, Town of Raymond Town Council held a regular Council meeting.

During that meeting, several items were discussed, among them the RCMP and Ridge Regional Municipal Peace Officer Priorities lists.

“It was determined that for the RCMP, the three priorities would be traffic safety, property crime, and drug activity,” explained Town of Raymond Chief Administrative Officer Kurtis Pratt. 

Pratt added that the Ridge Regional Municipal Peace Officer priorities would focus on unsightly property, bylaw enforcement, and school zone safety, along with residential traffic enforcement.

Pratt requested a motion to send the lists to the RCMP and the Ridge Regional Municipal Peace Officer Commission. Councillor Johnson made the motion, and it was carried.

With that matter settled, Administration then brought to Council’s attention a second extension request from Stonegate Meadows.

“When a subdivision is approved by the Municipal Planning Commission, there’s a time limit on how long that subdivision can exist before it expires, and so in this particular case, Stonegate is looking at doing their Phase Five Subdivision. They’ve got four in the works right now. They’d like to move on to Phase Five. The subdivision’s been approved. It just requires an extension, and that has to be approved by Council, not the Municipal Planning Commission,” said Pratt.

Stonegate Meadows, Pratt explained, simply wanted a motion to allow the extension from 2022’s subdivision to now occur in 2026. Mayor Coppieters called for a vote to allow the extension, and the vote was in the affirmative.

Following the Stonegate Meadows issue, Pratt turned Council’s attention to an issue regarding Town grills, stating that the Town of Raymond lent out grills to the public along with propane, but the grills would not be cleaned after use and the Town would be picking up dirty grills. That said, Pratt stated, the Town recently purchased three new Blackstone grills and they do not want to share them, so the Town requested a motion from Council to change in how the grills are used, meaning that the new ones would be used for town or municipal events only. Councillor Stewart made a motion that the Town’s grills be only used for Town/municipal events and it, was carried.

Pratt then brought Bylaw No. 1160-25: Closing 50 West in Plan 7810880 to Council’s attention for second and third reading, stating that the road in question is a small section of road that is in the north side soccer field that isn’t constructed.

“The idea in removing that road allowance is that it allows us to have a little bit more of a clean slate for any potential use that goes there,” said Pratt.

First reading of Bylaw No. 1160-25: Closing 50 West in Plan 7810880, Pratt said, was held on March 27, 2026, and Administration is seeking second and third reading. Councillor Eakett made the motion to give Bylaw No. 1160-25: Closing 50 West in Plan 7810880, and the motion was carried. Councillor Johnson then made a motion to give Bylaw No. 1160-25: Closing 50 West in Plan 7810880 third reading, and the motion was carried.

Pratt then went on to announce to Council that the Town of Raymond received an official notice that outlines a preliminary analysis of Bill 28: the Municipal Affairs and Housing Statutes Amendment Act.

“This is a summary of Alberta municipalities perspectives of the positives and negatives of the proposed changes to the legislation,” explained Pratt. “It’s an of omnibus changes that they’re doing.”

Pratt explained that the Government of Alberta is grouping several changes to the Municipal Government Act, which is about a 600-page document that determines what municipalities can and cannot do. In addition to that, Pratt stated, the government is also implementing changes to the Alberta Housing Act, specifically the seniors’ lodge programs, and the Libraries Act. 

Pratt also explained that there was no motion needed for this item of information, as it was being provided as information only.