Committee Procedures

3.1 Membership

BLMT membership will be comprised of representation from local interests and stakeholders. The Team will have a maximum of thirteen members as follows:

A minimum of three municipal representatives and a maximum of one representative from each of the six municipalities within the project area. The municipalities include the Summer Villages of Rochon Sands and White Sands, the Village of Alix and the counties of Lacombe, Stettler and Camrose.

Interested members of the public who could act as representatives of the environment; recreation; agriculture; development; industry and natural resources interests within the project area will be sought.

Each member will have a three-year renewable term to a maximum of three consecutive terms. Individual members may be considered for an extension to the maximum allowed if in the opinion of the remaining team members that the member’s participation is required to complete ongoing committee work or other reasonable justification. The justification must be made in writing by the nominating committee, considered and approved by the team and submitted to the Minister for consideration. The Ministerial Order will be updated every three years, with membership recommended by the BLMT to the Minister or unless otherwise noted in item 3.7. The terms for all members including executive positions (Chair, Vice-Chair and Secretary) should be reasonably staggered so as not to have multiple vacancies in the same year. Executive positions will be reviewed and confirmed after each three year term.

The next term will begin on April 1 of Year One and end on March 31 of Year Three. The current term of the BLMT will end on March 31, 2011 based on Ministerial Order 12/2008 and the previous terms of reference.

Provincial government (including Alberta Environment) staff will participate in meetings as subject matter experts and a liaison between the BLMT and the GOA but will not be voting members. Alberta Environment will assign one staff member to attend meetings to ensure an effective liaison between the team and the Department. This is to avoid any potential conflict of interest.

3.2 Nomination of Members

At least one year in advance of the end of a current three year term, the BLMT will appoint a nominating committee of between three and five members that will include the Chair or Vice-Chair, the Secretary (or alternate), a municipal representative and a sector representative. The committee will determine which members remain eligible for nomination (served less than three terms). The committee will also determine a process to canvas the stakeholders within the community and compile possible candidates for membership. Potential candidates will be required to submit a brief expression of interest to the nominating committee for consideration. Final selections will consider the following criteria:

The candidate meets the requirements as set out in the attached “Code of Conduct for a Public Agency”.
The candidate brings fair and impartial perspective to the BLMT.
The candidate fills a valuable knowledge gap in the BLMT.
The candidate fills a vacancy as described in section 3.1 of these terms of reference.
The candidate does not have a real or perceived conflict of interest related to the work of the BLMT.

The nominating committee may choose to conduct brief interviews with potential candidates.

The potential members nominated by the committee will be listed and proposed to the BLMT with information relating to all the potential nominees considered.

The BLMT will review the information provided by the nominating committee and may a) confirm the nominating committee proposed list or b) will ask the committee to review the potential nominees and to submit a new recommendation. In either case, the BLMT decision will be recorded in the meeting minutes with a list of reasons for the decision.

On acceptance by the BLMT of the final list of nominees, the BLMT will provide the particulars of the nominees to the Minister for his consideration.

Once membership is approved, a package including the Terms of Reference, Code of Conduct, previous Annual report and current work plan will be provided to new members.

3.2.1 Chair

On the first meeting after the receipt of a revised Ministerial Order, the BLMT will vote one of its members to serve as Chair. The Chair will:

Determine the meeting schedule, location and time,
Set the meeting agenda by polling the membership,
Ensure the members are aware of the meetings and the outcome of each,
Ensure that accurate minutes are kept,
Appoint sub-committees as required,
Ensure an annual work plan is developed,
Ensure an annual report is written detailing the committee’s activities and
Be the sole spokesperson to the news media and the public-at-large on the activities of the BLMT.

Through a process led by the Chair, conducts an annual evaluation and review of the performance of the Team, sub-committees and the Chair of the Team. The Team reviews the results of such evaluation and discusses potential ways to improve Team effectiveness. The Team also discusses the results of the evaluation and adopts agreed upon improvements.”

3.2.2 Vice-Chair

On the first meeting after the receipt of a revised Ministerial Order, the BLMT will vote one of its members to serve as Vice-Chair. The Vice-Chair will act as Chair when the Chair is not available for any reason.

3.2.3 Secretary

The Secretary will be appointed by the Chair at the first meeting of the committee after a revised Ministerial Order is received. The Secretary is responsible for:

Confirming the location, agenda and time of each meeting,
Making an accurate record (minutes) of each meeting and distributing them to the members after approval of the Chair,
Receiving reports of any sub-committees appointed by the Chair,
Recording the annual work plan and track the work plan status,
Recording all the financial matters of the committee and
Providing the records to the Chair in a timely manner to allow the development of the annual report.

3.3 Frequency of Meetings

The BLMT will meet no less than 4 times during a calendar year or as required by the Chair. Regular meetings will occur no more than 12 times during a calendar year. Additional extraordinary meetings may be held if major issues require immediate resolution. Sub-committees may meet as required by their mandate.

A quorum will consist of the Chair and at least 50% of the BLMT membership named in the most recent Ministerial Order.

3.4 Sub-committees

Any member of the BLMT may recommend the establishment of a working sub-committee on any matter within the mission or mandate (as per item 2.) of the BLMT. The BLMT will accept or reject this recommendation and the reason or reasons for acceptance or rejection will be recorded in the minutes. The mandate, scope and terms of reference of such sub-committees shall be as specified by the Chair. Sub-committee membership will be drawn from the BLMT membership or may include subject matter specialists from GOA or other areas of expertise. Remuneration of sub-committee members will be the responsibility of the committee unless a written agreement is developed with the GOA. Sub-committees will disband with the retirement of the Chair. The new Chair may recommend the re-establishment of any sub-committees disbanded on the retirement of the previous Chair and the committee members will vote on the recommendation.

Sub-committees supported by the BLMT must have a mandate or scope that are directly related to resolution of issues within the BLMT mandate or issues that have been defined by GOA and have a direct bearing on the management of the Buffalo Lake – Parlby Creek Water Management project.

3.5 Attendance Requirements

Each member is expected to attend at least 50% of all regular meetings in a calendar year. If a member does not attend three (3) consecutive regular meetings, the BLMT will review that member’s participation and make a recommendation to the Minister.

Members may be asked to attend meetings with other committees, council or boards that may have a common interest to the BLMT. Members appointed to represent the BLMT at these meetings may be reimbursed for their costs.

3.6 Annual Workplan

The BLMT will produce an annual workplan, identifying the priorities of the BLMT for the upcoming year. The BLMT will also produce an outline identifying potential BLMT activities for the subsequent three years, by January 31 of each year. The chair of the committee will report on the progress of the annual work plan activities at BLMT meetings. This will be a standing agenda item.

The annual workplan will consider the Buffalo Lake Integrated Shoreline Management Plan developed by Alberta Sustainable Resource Development and the Buffalo Lake Inter-municipal Development Plan to ensure that the yearly priorities established by each group are complementary and the work does not overlap.

3.7 Annual Report

The BLMT will produce a summary report of the previous year’s activities related to the BLMT and the Buffalo Lake project, by May 31 of each year. The report will be submitted to the Minister for his review and acceptance.