IN THE NEWS

By Marianne Cole

• Caroline Area Structure Plan   Open House meetings held in Caroline on February 3, 2026 kicked off public engagement and the review of an Area Structure Plan for that hamlet.  As stated in the information handout, an ASP “is a statutory (legally binding) document that guides and informs the orderly development of a land area.”  It also stated, “For the Hamlet of Caroline, the ASP will establish a vision for the future of the community and will inform County decisions on future development.”

Following an informative presentation, along with a question/answer period, residents had the opportunity to personally speak with Planning staff at various tables.  Here the public could gather information as well as give opinions on residential, commercial, industrial, or recreation development.  One commonly noted concern continued to focus on the possible solar farm on the north side of Caroline.

The proposed timeline for the completion of this review is:

• January – February 2026.  Introduce the process and gather information from the community as well as through research.
• March – May 2026.  Complete a draft of the ASP, hold open house to gather feedback on the draft, and make necessary revisions to the draft.
• June 2026.  Present the draft to Council, hold a Public Hearing, and follow this with Council making a final decision on the document.

Special kudos to Council for their decision to do the work on this document “in house” with our county Planning Staff rather than hiring a consultant.

• Broadband   Work continues throughout the county on the installation of fibre optic cable with the ultimate goal to provide “Fibre to the Home” (FTTH) to a large portion of the county.  The fibre network is owned 100% by the county but interested Internet Service Providers (ISP’s) can lease the fibre network to offer their internet services to the residents.  This program allows a property to be connected from the fibre line at the municipal access point on the road to their home or business.

Information provided in the recent broadband newsletter on the initial hook up cost to residents states, “An early bird rate of $399 for the first 100m, plus $14/m beyond that, is currently available.  Once the overall network construction is completed, the standard rate of $1500 for the first 100m will apply.”

 Further information on broadband operations can be found in the first Broadband E-Newsletter that is available on the county’s website (clearwatercounty.ca/broadband).  This document provides excellent information on the history of the county’s actions on broadband as well as the current process.

Because there are still a lot of unanswered questions and concerns the Clearwater County Taxpayers’ Association is organizing a Broadband Workshop on February 21, 2026 at 1:00PM at the Dovercourt Hall.  There will be a presentation on fibre optics vs. satellite, along with an opportunity for information, questions, and discussion on county broadband operations.

• Special Guest Speaker in March    Our recently elected Member of Parliament Mr. William Stevenson will be the guest speaker at the CCTA’s March meeting.  To accommodate his schedule the regular meeting date is being delayed one week to March 18, 2026 at 7:00PM at the Arbutus Community Hall.  This will be a great opportunity to gather information and express your concerns on matters related to federal politics.

• UP-COMING EVENTS

• February 11, 2026, 7:30PM, Leslieville Elks’ Hall, Regular CCTA meeting
• February 21, 2026, 1:00PM, Dovercourt Hall, Broadband Workshop
• March 18, 2026, 7:00PM, Arbutus Community Hall, CCTA meeting with Guest Speaker, MP William Stevenson

“Friendship is love without conditions, laughter without limits, and memories without end.” Anonymous

Letter To Clearwater County Council re. Broadband

Marianne Cole, President Clearwater County Taxpayers’ Association RR #1 Rocky Mtn. House, AB T4T 2A1 mcmajic@telus.net

Clearwater County Council Box 550 Rocky Mtn. House, AB T4T 1A4 jnorthcott@clearwatercounty.ca dmckay@clearwatercounty.ca bpowell@clearwatercounty.ca hletwin@clearwatercounty.ca tmccauley@clearwatercounty.ca bcermak@clearwatercounty.ca lhumphrey@clearwatercounty.ca CC: remmons@clearwatercounty.ca

January 19, 2026

Dear Reeve Northcott, Deputy Reeve McKay, and Councillors Powell, Letwin, McCauley, Cermak, and Humphrey:

At our Clearwater County Taxpayers’ Association monthly meeting Wednesday, January 14, 2026 we passed the following motion:

“Moved by Helge Nome, seconded by Julie Layden that the CCTA formally request concrete information on Broadband finances and operational plans from the county finance department, tech department, and current operation contractors involved with the Broadband project by February 14, 2026.”

There was significant discussion related to Broadband at our meeting with several questions/concerns regarding the financial impacts on taxpayers. Consequently, the above motion was made and we look forward to getting information from each of the three groups noted above.

Thank you for your attention to this matter and we look forward to hearing from you.

Yours truly,

Marianne Cole

IN THE NEWS

By Marianne Cole

• BUDGET DELIBERATIONS   Significant discussion and questioning took place on the 2026 budget during council meetings December 10-12, 2025, with final approval taking place December 19^th.  Highlights included:

• Operating Budget   This included expenses of $58,866, 409.  Of special note in the operating category were:

• Assisting the town with the washroom facility at the new bike park for $60,000.
• Expansion of the Leslieville Cemetery for $253,000.
• Support of the Ferrier Community Hall project for $125,000.
• Helping fund the warming shelter in Rocky for $300/day to a maximum of $20,000.
• Increased work plan for broadband operations for $60,000.  (These monies will be used to gather information and legal advice on current operations.

• Capital Budget   This approved budget provides for expenditures of $40,311,347.  Of special note in capital plans were:

• Postponement of building a heated storage facility until 2027.
• $2,000,000 support for the Caroline Arena Ice Plant.
• $250,000 support in 2026 for the Nordegg Cemetery expansion, with the remainder to be discussed during 2027 budget deliberations.
• Postponement of the Nordegg south townsite access road until 2027 with $25,000 allocated in 2026 to explore alternative road locations.
• Hold Broadband expenditures to $2,826,601 until a decision can be made regarding the future of the broadband project.

Several notable items/topics will be brought forward in future deliberations including policies on dust control, grading, solid waste management plans, community hall and rec. board policies/funding, Nordegg development plan, infrastructure in Caroline, and broadband.

Special kudos to our dedicated councillors for their serious consideration of the budget including their requests for complete, accurate information as they wisely work for financial responsibility.

• BROADBAND   This has been a significant topic of discussion throughout the county with various opinions and concerns.  A specific meeting of the Broadband Committee (made up of all councillors) was held on November 27, 2025.  Notable information presented/discussed included:

• Fibre installation to be completed in 2026 include Ferrier/Crimson Lake, Nordegg north side, and initial Rocky East.   Plans for 2027 include Rocky east to county of Lacombe border, Rocky north to county of Wetaskiwin, and Rocky south to Caroline and Mountain View county border.
• To date 932 homes have been passed with 288 ready for service.
• The total project cost is estimated to be $140M with approximately $87M to be funded by federal and provincial grants, leaving $52M to be funded by the county.
• If there would be a 50% uptake by residents there is a possibility of the project cash flow to reach a break-even point in 2029.
• A possible pricing model would have customers pay a monthly fee of $90.00 with $25.00 going to the ISP (Internet Service Provider) and $65.00 going to the county.

Throughout the meeting there were excellent questions and concerns expressed by council members.  Most of these focused on finances with a strong desire for answers related to current and projected costs along with potential revenue.

In the meantime, resident concerns have focused on:

• Distinct lack of information on the project being provided by the county.
• Over reliance on using the county website to access information.
• Difficulty manoevering through the county’s website to find the information wanted. 

To counter these concerns various methods of providing information including newspaper articles, neighborhood sandwich boards, and door to door visits are being planned.

UP-COMING MEETINGS:  Wednesday, January 14, 2026, 7:30PM, Leslieville Elks Hall;  Wednesday, February 11, 2026, same time and place.

 “Approach the new year with resolve to find the opportunities hidden in each new day.”Michael Josephson.    

“What the new year brings to you will depend a great deal on what you bring to the new year.”  Vern McLellan

Board member list: Ron Schultz, Susan Durand, Pat Butler, Reg Belyea, Leona Bertagnolli, Christine Foesier, Jim Foesier, Julie Layden, and Leah Schultz.