IN THE NEWS

By Marianne Cole

2024 BUDGET

Clearwater County Council approved the 2024 budget at a special council meeting on December 19,2023.  Items of special note include:

• Operating revenues.  Potential revenue is slated to be $62,163,392, up $1,061,311 from the 2023 budget of $61,102,081.  This would be a 1.7% increase.
• Operating expenses.   These are budgeted to be $49,626,693, an increase of $2,019,592 or 4.2% over the 2023 budget of $47,607,101.
• Capital expenditures for 2024 are budgeted to be $40,366,896.  No figures from 2023 were presented for a comparison.
• Where necessary, short falls in revenue will be covered through restricted surpluses.

During discussion on the budget, questions were raised re a potential new fire hall in Caroline, road maintenance/improvement on the Beaver Flats, Taimi, Rainbow Ford, and Airport roads as well as future funding for seniors' housing.

BROADBAND

This was a separate item of discaussion at the budget meeting.  2024 revenues are anticipated to be $350,000 while expenses are projected to be $2,086,972.  this would be an increase in expenses of $648,371 or 45% over last year's budget of $1,438,602.  A question was raised where the revenue would come from with a reply saying it comes from the ISP's (Internet Service Providers) not the end users.

While not mentioned at the budget meeting it is interesting to note that the county has entered into a contract with Rigstar Industrial Telecom, a company based out of Calgary, to operate as the "Network Operator" for the county's broadband operations.  According to information on the county's website, Rigstar, "together with Arcadis, stands at the forefront of managing Clearwater County's Open Access Network"...  It is unclear what role Arcadis, a company based out of the Netherlands, has in this operation.

COUNTY/CAROLINE AMALGAMATION

Joint meetings of both county and village councils were held on December 4th and 5th, 2023.  Decisions on the following matters were made:

• The "new" municipality would continue with the same boundaries as are currently being used.
• The name would remain as is for Clearwater County but the village of Caroline would be known as the Hamlet of Caroline.
• The municipality's council would continue with 7 councillors, one for each division.
• The divisions would remain basically the same with the north side of Caroiline joining the county's Division 4 and the south side joining Division 6.  Highway 54 would be the dividing line between the two.
• The amalgamated municipality office will remain at the county's current location and Rick Emmons will be the Chief Administrative Officer.

Concerns were again expressed regarding the potentially restrictive timeline, extra staff responsibilities, and maintaining current service levels.

Up-coming public engagement will involve in-person meetings in Leslieville and Caroline as well as a virtual/on-line meeting.  In addition, a survey is being drafted and will be available on the county's website, the county and village offices, and potentially in local papers.

The next amalgamation meetings are scheduled for January 25th and 26th, 2024.

UP-COMING EVENTS

Regular Monthly CCTA Meetings

Wednesday, January 10, 2024

Wednesday, February 14, 2024

All at 7:30PM at the Arbutus Community Hall

IN THE NEWS

By Marianne Cole

CCTA ELECTS NEW BOARD MEMBERS 

At their Annual General Meeting on Wednesday, November 15, 2023, the Clearwater County Taxpayers’ Association welcomed three new members as Directors, and two returning members switched positions. First time Directors include Leah Schultz from the Gimlet area, Debbie Gastonguay from Ferrier, and Reg Belyea from Nordegg. Switching positions were Ron Schultz from Director to Vice President and Tim Plante making the reverse switch. Returning to the Board are Marianne Cole as President, Susan Durand as Secretary, Pat Butler as Treasurer, and Jim Foesier as Director.

We certainly welcome all new members and thank “retiring” Directors for their past service. We look forward to our continued efforts to “work together for the common good”.

COUNTY/CAROLINE AMALGAMATION 

Clearwater County Council and Caroline Village Council met together for an Amalgamation Committee meeting on November 2, 2023 to discuss matters related to the proposed amalgamation process. Most notable items of discussion included:

· Timeline The current process proposal suggests that a decision be made by January 2025. Six months prior to that (June 2024) a report must be submitted to the Minister of Municipal Affairs stating the decision proposed by both councils. That leaves just 6 months to initiate public engagement/participation, a review of the information gathered from that, the writing of a summary report, and then have that report approved before sending it to the Minister.

· Increased staff time and workload This whole process is a monumental task to be completed in 6 months. As such it will put significant strain on county staff to gather information from public engagement as well as on matters related to county and village operations. This information must be compiled, presented to the public as well as councils, and a draft document created before the final report is sent to the Minister. With that in mind, it is reasonable to expect the increased time spent on this process may result in a decrease in normal county services.

· Consensus based decision As there is not equal representation on the Amalgamation Committee (5 councillors from Caroline versus 7 councillors from the County) decisions will be consensus based rather than determined by a vote.

· Communication/Public Participation During discussion on this issue it was noted that it is very important for the pro’s and con’s of amalgamation to be communicated to the public. It was also mentioned that while there might be an occasional need for closed session meetings, that opportunity should not be abused. Open, transparent meetings are necessary to build trust. In addition it is hoped that public consultation meetings will be held in January.

The next meeting of the Amalgamation Committee will be held on December 5, 2023. It will be live streamed so you can attend/follow it on the County’s website.

LAND USE BYLAW REVIEW

 The first meeting of the Public Advisory Committee was held on Wednesday, November 22, 2023. The duty of this committee is to assist in the gathering of information/public opinion as the current Land Use Bylaw is reviewed and revised. The LUB is a very important document that guides and controls land use in the county. As such it stipulates:

· What you can and can’t do on your property

· What types of activities are allowed in the various land use districts (e.g. agricultural, residential, commercial, etc.)

· The processes related to development proposals

Throughout the Kick Off events held earlier in the fall some common areas of concern focussed on:

· Use of seacans

· Private camping activities/RV storage

· Home based businesses including child care provision

· Secondary suites/short term rentals

· Fragmentation

· Renewable energy developments

· Overall restrictiveness of the document

This is another very important issue facing county residents and it is crucial that your voice be heard. There is a special link on the count’s website (LUB@clearwatercounty.ca) or we encourage you to call your councillor or the county’s Planning Department to express your opinion/concerns.

The next meeting of PAC is January 10, 2024. We really need to hear from you.

“The true spirit of Christmas lies in your heart” Santa, The Polar Express

“Gifts of time and love are surely the basic ingredients of a truly Merry Christmas.” Peg Brachen

Coming Events:

 Wednesday, January 10, 2024, 7:30PM; Wednesday, February 14, 2024, 7:30PM regular monthly meetings at Arbutus Community Hall

IN THE NEWS

By Marianne Cole

NEW COUNTY REEVE 

Congratulations to Michelle Swanson on being chosen as the Clearwater County Reeve at Council’s organizational meeting on Tuesday, October 24, 2023. Nominated by Councillor Graham, Reeve Swanson defeated former Reeve Daryl Lougheed in a secret ballot vote. Councillor Mehlhaff was reinstated as Deputy Reeve, while winning over the other remaining council members.

While this is Reeve Swanson’s second term as councillor it is her first as Reeve. Deputy Reeve Mehlhaff is in her first term as councillor but this is her second appointment as Deputy Reeve.

LAND USE BYLAW REVIEW PAC CHOSEN 

Another very timely item at Council’s organization meeting was the appointment of the Public Advisory Committee that will work with Council’s Steering Committee on the Land Use Bylaw review. Forty plus people had submitted applications for this committee and the following eight were chosen: Marianne Cole, Jim Duncan, Earl Graham, Bob Haagsma, Shawna Norad, Amanda Thompson, and Rod Tomyn. They come from all areas of the county and represent a wide variety of expertise. We welcome their interest and dedication to developing a positive, beneficial revised LUB reflective of the wishes of the residents.

COUNTY/CAROLINE AMALGAMATION 

Council recently held an “Amalgamation Workshop” to gather more information on the process as well as drafting a bylaw that will be used as they move forward with discussions on this matter. This was a closed session and no information from it is available.

In the meantime, the CCTA has been working to gather information on the pros and cons of the options of amalgamation versus dissolution. Several attempts have been made to get a speaker from Municipal Affairs to address the issue but in recent correspondence it stated, “The Municipal Viability Team’s practice is not to make presentation to stakeholder groups during amalgamation proceedings.”

An invitation was also sent inviting the county’s Reeve Swanson and Deputy Reeve Mehlhaff, along with Caroline’s Mayor Rimmer and Deputy Mayor Gibson to attend the CCTA Annual General Meeting coming up in mid November. A response has been received from Reeve Swanson declining the invitation.

It is both disappointing and frustrating that the provision of adequate, unbiased information about the potential impact on both county and village residents is being denied… and they are the ones funding the process. How can we provide feedback to our councils when we don’t have sufficient information to create an informed opinion?

UP-COMING AGM 

The Annual General Meeting of the Clearwater County Taxpayers’ Association will be held on Wednesday, November 15, 2023 at 7:30PM at the Arbutus Community Hall. This is one week later than the normal meeting date which would have been held while the Rural Municipalities Association convention is taking place, making it impossible for councillors to attend our meeting and we always appreciate their input. Not only will we be electing new members to the board, we are hoping that we will have some more information about the County/Caroline amalgamation process. We really encourage you to come to our AGM and send a warm welcome to new members as we “work together for the common good”.

COMING EVENTS: 

Wednesday, November 15, 2023, 7:30PM, Arbutus Community Hall, Annual General Meeting. Note: We do not have a meeting in December and the January meeting date will be determined at the AGM.

 “We must dare to be great and we must realize that greatness is the fruit of toil and sacrifice and high courage.” Theodore Roosevelt. 

IN THE NEWS

By Marianne Cole

Two major issues are currently hot topics in Clearwater County: County/village of Caroline amalgamation and the Land Use Bylaw review. Here is a snapshot of info on these matters.

Clearwater County/Village of Caroline Amalgamation

At the September 12, 2023 county council meeting a motion was made that negotiations be started immediately with the village of Caroline on a potential amalgamation and that the negotiations be conducted with both councils as a whole. During extensive discussion on the matter the following concerns/points of information were brought forward:

· Why is amalgamation the focus instead of dissolution?

· Dissolution of the village may be less costly as the province gets involved and covers more of the costs.

· No estimate of the cost for the process, or a timeline was available.

· Currently administration staff from both the village and county are working on a potential draft agreement.

· A meeting with the Minister of Municipal Affairs was suggested in order to “clarify the air” as to who would be paying for this process and how much it would cost.

· Cost is certainly a key issue along with the overall impact on residents if/when amalgamation were to take place.

The lack of information on the whole matter including the options involved, their impacts/costs, and what the end result might look like has been particularly frustrating. According to an article on the Rural Municipalities’ website, titled “Jointly Initiated Amalgamation Regulation Discussion Paper”, “The public should have the opportunity to voice support or opposition, and the municipal authorities should be providing sufficient information to the public to take an informed position.” Moving forward we trust that we will get more adequate information and that we will have an opportunity to voice our opinion. Perhaps a referendum might be an option.

Land Use Bylaw Review

The initial steps in the process for reviewing the Land use Bylaw began with meetings last week. As of Friday, September 29th, 5 meetings have been held with a total of 83 people attending. The following information and concerns have been heard.

· What is the Land Use Bylaw? The LUB is a document that determines what you can and can’t do on your property. Not only does it provide guidelines for buildings, it also stipulates rules on allowable activities, be they personal or commercial/business.

· Concerns have been expressed about the lack of publicity as well as the timing of the meetings. Farmers are currently busy in the field and it is difficult for other working people to make 8:30AM or 5:00PM meetings.

· There were repeated concerns with “government overage” (too many rules and restrictions).

· Particular concerns were focussed on potential rules for seacans. Currently there are no rules for seacans which would technically make them illegal in the county.

· Repeated comments were expressed related to the use and storage of recreation vehicles on private property (how many could be allowed??).

· Housing concerns (use of secondary suites, mini houses, and bona fide need residences) were mentioned, noting the questionable need to remove a residence after the bona fide need ended. The current housing shortage would support maintaining such residences.

· People need more information in order to even know what concerns they might have.

In summary, these recent meetings were “kick off” events. Committees are now being formed to review comments, address issues raised, and work on proposed changes. A Public Advisory Committee (PAC) is being organized and we encourage interested people to apply for this committee. You can call the Clearwater County office (403-845-4444) or check the county website for more information. There will also be future stakeholder meetings and it was suggested at the Leslieville meeting that information sessions be held in each county division.

Coming Events: 

Wednesday, October 11, 2023, 7:30PM, Arbutus Community Hall, CCTA regular meeting 

Wednesday, November 8, 2023, 7:30PM, Arbutus Community Hall, CCTA’s Annual General Meeting

Closing thought (a comment made at the LUB meeting in Leslieville): “Common sense isn’t always common.”

IN THE NEWS

By Marianne Cole

New MDP Tests 50% 

The new Municipal Development Plan guidelines have been tested twice during the summer through applications to re-designate land from Agriculture District (A) to Country Residence Agriculture (CRA). One involved an application to re-designate 20 acres while the other was for a 9.24 acre re-designation.

According to both the new MDP and the current Land Use Bylaw (LUB) a maximum of 7 acres is allowed unless more is needed for existing shelterbelts, farm buildings, or amenities such as sewer.

In the first case the Municipal Planning Committee (MPC) had suggested approval of only 10 acres, three acres more than allowed due to septic needs. Following a public hearing on the matter, Council went against MPC’s recommendation, as well as their own document, when they approved the 20 acres re-designation during 2nd and 3rd reading by a vote of 5-2 with Councillors Northcott and Cermak opposed.

In the second case, an original application was made for a 5 acres re-designation but at first reading this was amended, and passed, to potentially allow 9.24 acres. Following the public hearing Council reverted back to the allowable 5 acres re-designation which they then passed during 2nd and 3rd reading.

With these two recent tests of the validity, control, or power of the new MDP, and the fact that it had an impact or was adhered to only 50% of the time, it will be interesting to see its effectiveness in future land development matters.

Land Use Bylaw Review 

Beginning At their August 22nd meeting Council approved plans to begin a review of the current 22 year old Land Use Bylaw. Specific highlights of the project include:

· Vicinia Planning and Engagement Inc. (Liz Armitage) has been hired as the External Project Lead.

· The Council Steering Committee (SC) and a Public Advisory Committee (PAC) will set out goals and expectations.

· The PAC will have a total of 10 members from a variety of interest groups along with 2 interested parties of the public and one councillor (as well as an alternate councillor).

· The opportunity for the public to submit applications to become part of PAC will be advertised for two weeks (no dates noted).

· Kick-off Engagement sessions are being planned for:

Virtual (online) September 25, 2023, 6:00PM  (www.clearwatercounty.ca/LUB)

Subway Room, Rocky Regional Rec. Center, September 27, 2023, 4:30PM and 7:00PM

Leslieville Community Centre, September 28, 2023, 8:30AM and 5:00PM

Nordegg Community Hall, September 30, 2023, 1:00PM

Caroline Community HUB, October 2, 2023, 8:30AM and 5:00PM

· Further stakeholder meetings are planned for November 2023.

· Final draft is planned to be released in August 2024.

We encourage everyone to get involved as the LUB is a very specific document that governs all forms of land development and business operations in the county. It is much more controlling than the MDP so it is very important to have your input.

Broadband Concerns were raised during the August 22nd Council meeting about broadband finances. First of all a question was asked if the CTI (Canadian Telecommunications Initiatives) Grant had been received. This was a grant we were to have received some time ago. The reply to the question was that staff could get that information and pass it on. Another question was asked related to the amount of money spent on broadband (likely to be about $1M this year) and if any income had been generated from the county’s fibre installations. (Note: The installation of fibre out to Ferrier and Nordegg has been completed as well as past Caroline. Work still has to be done on connectivity to Sundre and Olds.) The reply given to this concern was that the director in charge of this “was not here” so an email reply would have to be sent later.

It is very disconcerting that there is first of all a lack of information presented to Council, and then a real possibility that no income is being received even though millions are being spent.

Deepest Sympathy 

Our deepest sympathy is extended to the family of Lawrence Stewart in his recent passing. Along with his other significant community involvement, Lawrence was a long time dedicated member of the CCTA. We truly valued his insight, comments, and friendly smile at our meetings.

Coming Events: 

Wednesday, September 13, 2023, 7:30PM and Wednesday, October 11, 2023, 7:30PM regular meetings at the Arbutus Community Hall.

IN THE NEWS

By Marianne Cole

COUNTY/CAROLINE AMALGAMATION 

At the May 23, 2023 Council meeting, Ian McCormack from Strategic Steps Inc. presented a “What We Have Heard Report”. Noted highlights/comments from the report are: (Note: The quotations are taken directly from the report.)

General

· “Responses from County residents differ from those of Village residents. This can be seen particularly in the understanding of benefit and detriment of any potential amalgamation.”

· “There may also be a difference in opinion between those County residents who live close to Caroline and for whom Caroline is a gathering place vs. those who have no interaction in Caroline.”

· “Most participants who identified as being from Caroline believe an amalgamation to be an important step to growth and sustainability.

· “Some County residents have concerns about being financially “strapped” by taking on Caroline.

· “Adding 500 people to 12,500 people would mean that the current Village would likely not have a dedicated County Council member. The current village population may be spread between two Divisions or it may be contained with a single Division.”

Below are Pro’s and Con’s expressed either at the public engagement meetings or in the survey.

Pro’s

· “Helping the Village survive with the use of County staff and equipment.”

· “Improved levels of service, more qualified staff, better functioning council, commercial, industrial and residential growth, more community services, programs and better taxation rates.”

· “The amalgamation could make Caroline an amazing, community focussed and quaint hamlet.”

Con’s

· “County taxes will have to rise to pay for the infrastructure to upgrade Caroline.”

· “Amalgamation is off the table for me. Get the Village to dissolve and the County take them over with provincial support.”

· “Caroline will lose all autonomy and will be solely at the mercy of the County and the government. They will no longer have any true say in what the Village needs or can do.”

· “County often does not realize the problems/concerns unique to Village.”

· “First of all, the Village is urban and the County is rural. It is important to maintain this separation…You cannot mix oil with water. Rural is rural and urban is urban.”

· “County residents taking on a larger tax bill to bail out the terrible financial burden the Village has gotten itself into.”

· “Higher taxes.” (This was mentioned several times.)

· “Taxes will increase without the benefit to County residents. We do not need urban/rural amalgamation.”

General Concerns

· “Have not seen enough info to have any truly informed or objective input.”

· “I would like to see what a proposed budget would look like and also a 5 year project/infrastructure plan prior to an amalgamation vote.”

· “This survey really does not recognize the concerns that would be of value to rural residents. Too highly focussed on urban (Caroline) residents, and business, yet County residents could be seriously affect as the County dollars are spent for other people’s benefit.”

· “I feel the consultant attempted to present a rosy picture of amalgamation rather than the nuts and bolts or a true transparent picture of realities that include actual numbers that include how much the Clearwater County already subsidizes the Village.”

Next Steps

· “The next step for both municipal Councils is to determine whether to proceed one more step down the amalgamation path. The decision point in the Municipal Government Act is that both councils would need to pass a resolution in accordance with the MGA.”

· “That being said, if one Council votes in favor of entering direct negotiations and the other one does not the process may still proceed.” (It would be likely that the province would step in at this point.)

· “If both Councils choose to enter direct negotiations, the process will proceed.”

· “If neither Council chooses to enter direct negotiations, the process would stop.”

· “The negotiation process itself, as outlined in Section 104, does not commit either Council to amalgamating.”

Ultimately, “The formal decision to negotiate is the next step of the process. If the Councils decide to move into negotiating, it will be important that on a regular basis, clear, concise communication and updates to citizens remains a priority, both for reasons of transparency and as a way to combat rumour and misinformation.”

We will try to keep you informed about when Council will be considering a decision on these negotiations as well as any further public engagement meetings.

HAVE A GREAT SUMMER EVERYONE. WE WILL SEE YOU IN SEPTEMBER

IN THE NEWS

By Marianne Cole

MDP 

The latest Municipal Development Plan draft will be brought before County Council on Tuesday, May 9, 2023 for 2nd and 3rd reading.

This follows the large public hearing held on February 29, 2023 and a motion made then time to table 2nd reading. That allowed Council an opportunity to meet with Planning and the Vicinia consultant to address public input and make potential changes.

The following are current highlights re this process:

· As of April 26, 2023 no draft of the revised document is available to the public.

· It will be become available on May 3, 2023 on the county’s website as part of the agenda package for the May 9th meeting.

· The most notable possible revisions would likely be focussed on allowable subdivisions out of a quarter.

· You may go to clearwatercounty.ca and click on the government, council, meeting and agenda links to find information on the current document.

· While opportunity for public input ended with the February’s public hearing, your presence at the May 9th meeting could be very helpful in promoting council’s attention to resident/taxpayer wishes and opinion.

At that meeting Council will review the document and will then make a decision to pass 2nd reading, defeat 2nd reading, or table 2nd reading to allow further review. If passed, they can proceed with 3rd reading and if that passes, the document becomes “law”. The other two options would again delay the process.

WE STRONGLY ENCOURAGE YOU TO ATTEND THE MEETING ON TUESDAY, MAY 9, 2023 AT 9:00AM IN COUNCIL CHAMBERS AT THE COUNTY OFFICE.

MONEY MATTERS 

Significant information was presented and discussed at the April 26th Council meeting on both the 2022 financial audit numbers and the up-coming tax rate for 2023. Interesting points included:

· As of December 31, 2022 there was an unrestricted surplus of $3,291, 875, up from $2, 164,056 in 2021. (This is undesignated money that can be used as needed.)

· As of December 31, 2022 there was a restricted surplus of $102, 797, 385, down from $109,198, 656 in 2021. This is money specifically allocated to funding certain projects/categories if needed (roads, bridges, capital purchases, special projects such as broadband, etc.).

· Large discussion took place on the overall tax rate, along with differing tax rates for residential, farmland, and non-residential (commercial/industrial properties).

· Finally a motion was made to have administration draft a proposed tax rate bylaw that would see a 3% increase on residential/farmland properties and 3.5% increase on non-residential. During discussion, up to 5% had be mentioned for non-residential.

· The draft will be presented at the next council meeting on May 9, 2023 at which time Council will again discuss the matter and make a decision.

SOLAR FARM PROJECT INFO 

Four guest speakers presented excellent information on solar farm projects at the Arbutus Community Hall on April 12, 2023. The presenters included MLA Jason Nixon, Stan Bell with Stewards of Ag. Land (SAL). Darcy Allen from the Farmers’ Advocate Office, and Mark Dorin from Polluters Pay.

Notable highlights presented included:

· Concerns with the loss of valuable farmland.

· Questionable efficiency of solar projects.

· Concerns with reclamation and who’s responsible if the company becomes bankrupt.

· The strong need for landowners to gather legal advice when/if signing contract agreements with solar companies.

· Impact on surrounding land values and way of life.

· Concerns with the control held by the Alberta Utilities Commission (AUC) as they are solely responsible for reviewing, approving, or refusing solar project applications. It was noted that they are seriously over-loaded with applications of various sorts and this may impact their ability to adequately review/assess applications.

(Note: The AUC’s recent denial of a solar project near Frank Lake east of High River was its first denial. It was denied due to potential negative impact on migratory birds in that area.)

· The lack of control the county has in assessing/approving solar projects.

Certainly losing necessary food-producing land for an operation that may only be 17% efficient raises significant concerns. It was also interesting to note that solar companies do not make their money from selling power to the grid, but rather by selling carbon credits to purchasers such as Amazon!!

4. Exciting Return of Trade Show Sponsored by the Rocky Chamber of Commerce, a Trade Show will be held on May 12 & 13, 2023 at the Regional Rec Center in Rocky. This event has been absent for a few years and it is great to see it happening again. It will be a special opportunity for local businesses and residents to come together for a mutually enjoyable, beneficial event.

Up-Coming Events: 

Tuesday, May 9, 2023, 9:00AM, County Council Meeting,

Regular CCTA meetings: 

Wednesday, May 10, 2023 and Wednesday, June 14, 2023, 7:30PM at Arbutus Community Hall

Thoughts for May 

To plant a garden is to believe in tomorrow. Audrey Hepburn

Gardening adds years to your life and life to your years. Unknown

Don’t judge each day by the harvest you reap but by the seeds that you plant. Robert Lewis Stevenson.