Thursday, September 1, 2016

IN THE NEWS
  1. Highlights of July 27 Special Council Priorities Meeting
  • Development North of Rocky
--- More information is needed on the water and waste water servicing costs and funding.
---The Area Structure Plan and Joint Development Plan need to be worked on and mutually agreed upon by town and county before more concrete plans proceed.
---So far Council’s only commitment for 2016 is for the site grading, the salt/sand storage facility, and completing the design plans.
(Note:  Conversations with town residents suggest they are not in favor of spending any money on annexation/services to the north.)

  • Leslieville/Condor Fire Hall
--- Land has been offered, as a donation, for a site along Hwy. 11 between Condor and Leslieville.
---More work needs to be done to identify all potential sites and bring the information back to council and the community.

  • Nordegg
--- Discussion took place on how to proceed with further development in Nordegg.
--- Interest has been expressed by a developer for a commercial venture on Upper Center Street but services would need to be put up there first.  Cost for that may be $3million.

  • Ag. Rec Facility
---The committee working on this proposal hasn’t met lately.
--- Concern was expressed if there is a general “appetite” for this building.
--- The suggestion was made that in other areas this type of facility was “community” driven and the question was posed if this is council’s responsibility.

  • Internet/Telecommunications Development
---There was major discussion on this topic.
--- Pros.--- Provides significant economic development potential/influence;  would attract both new residents and businesses
--- Cons.--- Cost, and concerns with “up-take” by residents who would subscribe to the service.
--- More information is needed on costs and installation options (towers, towers and fibre, just fibre).
--- A pilot project was suggested.

  1. County’s Municipal Inspection
A letter from Municipal Affairs has been received by the County indicating that a preliminary review will take place on October 18.  Following that, Municipal Affairs will determine if a full scale review /inspection is necessary.  This is what took place in the town of Rocky earlier this spring/summer.

INTERESTING RESEARCH
Several rainy days provided ideal time to do some research on issues that may be of interest to taxpayers.  The results will be published in succeeding newsletters and focussed on three areas:  net municipal taxes collected per person; municipal operating expenses per person; and CAO salaries.  Information was gathered from the 2015 audited financial statements for rural municipalities with populations over 10,000.  With our tax due date just around the corner, perhaps it is timely for you to see where Clearwater County ranks according to the amount of taxes collected per person.
Net Municipal Taxes Collected Per Person in 2015
  1. MD of Bonnyville         $6066.88
  2. Yellowhead County      $5447.16
  3. Brazeau County            $4076.00
  4. Gr. Prairie County        $3589.64
  5. Clearwater County      $3582.22
  6. Leduc County               $3301.88
  7. Lacombe County         $2563.14
  8. Red Deer County        $2401.12
  9. Mtn. View County      $2355.20
  10. Ponoka County           $2162.62
  11. Sturgeon County        $2038.92
  12. Wetaskiwin County   $1838.68
  13. Rocky View County   $1672.62
  14. Parkland County       $1656.60
  15. Lac St. Anne County $1601.62
  16. MD of Foothills          $1489.98
  17. Lethbridge County    $1462.70
Average amount of taxes collected per person:  $2782.76
(Note:  Brazeau County and Ponoka County have populations less than 10,000 but were included in the research because they are neighboring jurisdictions to us.  Population figures used to calculate the per person amounts for each area came from Wikipedia figures.)
ROSESA special bouquet of roses this month goes out to the County’s road side mowing crew for their great work.  The suggestion was brought forward by a resident in the Prairie Creek area who was particularly impressed by the work done there.  We agree that the rest of the County also looks great and that the whole crew needs to be commended, along with administration and council that makes the program possible.
RANTNo special rant this month---except for frustration with the uncooperative haying weather!!!
Quote of the Month:  Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about the things that 
matter.  Martin Luther King Jr.
COMING EVENTS:  September 8, 2016, Regular Monthly Meeting, 7:30PM, Leslieville Elks’ Hall
      October 13, 2016, Regular Monthly Meeting, 7:30PM, Leslieville Elks’ Hall

    November 10, 2016 Annual Meeting, 7:00PM, Leslieville Elks’ Hall

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