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All right. Thank you everyone for coming
to the 2026

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MD of Taber annual general meeting. My
name is Tamara Miyanaga. I'm the

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counselor for division 4 and the current
Reeve for the MD. So, um before we get

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started, just wanted to make sure if you
didn't hear the prior announcement,

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washrooms are out that door down the
hallway. And if there was an emergency,

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then out in the far end of the parking
lot would be where we would muster.

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Hopefully, no emergencies.
So, on behalf of the MD, we'd like to

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thank you for taking the time to come.
Many of you have been very involved in

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providing feedback to the MD over the
last few years.

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And we just really appreciate your
input. So, before we get going, I'm

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going to just introduce everyone. So,
we'll start with the residing counselor.

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For those who aren't aware, we have
moved um our annual general meeting to

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different locations throughout the MD so
that it's easier for people in that

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area. And to complement our annual
general meeting, we also do coffee with

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council once a quarter. So, it works out
quite nicely that we end up Grassy Lake,

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Enchant, Vauxhall, Hays, and we go back
to the operations building for those um

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divisions that are close to Taber. But,
we're happy to be in Grassy Lake, and

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counselor David Tory is the counselor.
So, would you like to just give a wave

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or you can say something?

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So, and next to him is division 1 deputy
Reeve Lane Johnson.

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Beside him is division 2 counselor John
Turcato.

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Beside him is division 5 counselor Ernie
Peters.

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And division 6 counselor Murray
Reynolds.

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Uh unfortunately, counselor from
division 7, Mr. Condor, couldn't join us

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tonight. And I'd also just like to
acknowledge that in the crowd we have

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past division 5 counselor John DeGroat
here with us. So, thank you for coming

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with us. And I'm just going to introduce
our staff before we get going. The

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format for tonight is going to be
individual presentations by the staff.

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And at the end of those presentations,
we'll set aside time for questions.

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We can take a question during, but it
would probably be best to wait till the

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very end. This meeting is being
recorded, so you can watch it on YouTube

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later. And so, when you do ask a
question,

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one of our staff will bring you the
microphone

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so that you can ask it, it can be heard,
and recorded so that those watching

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after. We recognize it's a busy time in
the municipality, so we understand not

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everybody could be here. So, before we
get going, I'm just going to introduce

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our staff team who's with us tonight.
So, at this end on this table is Mr.

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Bryce Serina, director of community
services.

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Beside him, Mr. Corey Green, director of
municipal operations.

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Mr. Mike Passy, director of corporate
services.

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Beside, on the front row, is Carly
Grant, our communications manager, and

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she has um
definitely elevated our communications

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game on our social media and on our
website. So, if you have things that you

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are interested in
and need to have communicated, let one

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of your counselors know and they can
work with um

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Carly to get that on.
And we also have Dean. He is the IT

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manager. So, he makes things run at the
MD that is um very important to us. At

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the back, we have manager of lands,
planning, and development, Brian Peers.

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Can give a wave back there. And we have
Lace Lutz, legislative and corporate

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affairs officer. She's in the back. And
then we also you just walked in a minute

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late, but uh past division 3 counselor
Brian Hildebrand. I acknowledge the

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other counselors who are here. And I'd
also like to introduce Taber police

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chief Graham Abella
and constable Henry Classen, who serves

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with the town of Taber police. We have
contracted services with them for our

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community standards office.
So, if you are ready, we will have our

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staff begin all the presentations.
The MD of Taber has been undergoing lots

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of public consultation in this last few
years, whether it's land use bylaw,

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lands, we've done recreation studies,
we've done road

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studies. So,
we're at that point now where things

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need to be implemented and get things
going. So, this council's been working

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hard. We've just established a new
strategic plan that will be discussed at

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the following council meeting um
upcoming on Tuesday. So, there'll be

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some new things that this council's
going to

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try to strive for as we've sort of set
these policies into place. So, tonight,

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as you listen to the presentations, just
keep your questions, and then either

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staff or any member of council can
answer your question at the end. All

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right. We're going to start with Bryce
Serina. He's going to give an update

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from the RCMP, and then we'll go
directly to Corey Green on

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infrastructure projects.

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Thanks uh Reeve Miyanaga. Uh
So, I'll just start with um we'll try to

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follow the the list of the agenda here,
and I will uh

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I'll just touch on the priorities for
2026 that have been established by

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council uh through the RCMP. And so, uh
Sergeant Stu Gimmel

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uh
with the Taber detachment uh sends his

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regrets. Uh he did share he did share
some information with us, and and uh I

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am going to just speak on behalf of
these standards.

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Uh sorry, uh on behalf of these three
priorities.

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Uh so, the first priority, as you can
see, is traffic safety. And so, traffic

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safety, and again through education and
through enforcement, have been

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identified that is uh the priority, one
of the first priorities. Second priority

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is community relations. And so, that is
through visibility, participation uh at

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community events and such uh throughout
the municipality. And then the third

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priority that's been established is
crime reduction. And uh so, a focus on

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uh property crime
uh has been identified as well. So,

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again, those are the three priorities
that have been established for 2026, and

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those were established through
interactions with council as part of uh

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the process that they go through in
trying to establish those on an annual

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basis. So,
I will um

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I will proceed, and the next uh topic
we're going to move into is the 2026

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infrastructure projects. And I'll just
ask Corey uh Green, director of uh

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municipal operations, to come up.

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Hi everyone. Uh thanks for coming. So,

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I'm going to talk about 2026, what we're
doing for infrastructure projects. Um

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so, the first one we got up there is the
Hamlet truck parking study.

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Uh what we heard from the Hamlet
residents is um

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they want to see better truck parking
areas in those hamlets.

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So, we did hire a consultant. They're
they're looking at each each three each

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of the hamlets, and uh
going to advise to us where the proper

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location would be, and and if it's in
the proper location, what upgrades are

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needed. So,
that's that project. Um the Enchant

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wastewater lagoon upgrades.
So, we did a we did a capacity study in

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Enchant, um and we found that uh the
current lagoon is at its capacity.

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So, to um

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Sorry. To to not limit um
the growth of Enchant, we need to

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upgrade the lagoon in uh in Enchant. So,
we've applied for some grant funding for

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that project. We're just waiting to see
if that's been awarded to us.

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The next project, um
Hays wastewater replacement. So,

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main that runs from the hamlet uh down
to the lagoons.

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We found that um
it's deteriorating more than we

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expected. So,
we have hired a consultant to design

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that project as well. Uh we're hoping to
go to construction late this fall

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uh to replace I I believe it was about
700 m of of main line for that that

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pipe.
Uh the next project is Township 12 range

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14 road development.
Um so, this this is a a new road. Um it

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will see
five

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uh 4 miles of new road being built um on
undeveloped road allowance. Um

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this road will service the expansion
acres uh south of Scope Reservoir.

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That's currently being designed, and we
hope to uh go to construction late this

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year. Uh it'll depend on
um

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our application for environmental
approval. So,

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Range Road 180 and 182 gravel road
upgrades. So,

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um
this project is waiting for grant

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funding as well. We've applied for the
grants. Um

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we're just waiting for that approval,
but this will see 5 miles of road

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upgrade um in the Enchant area.
It's um

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directly
affected by the confined feeding

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operations in that area.
Uh the roads in that area were not built

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to handle that amount of traffic. So,
um

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once we once we get this project done,
hopefully uh

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it will.
Hard surfaces rehabilitation. So, this

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is a yearly project. Um we set aside
some funds to

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um do patching on our hard surfaces all
throughout the MD.

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Um it's it's more than more
bigger patches that our internal staff

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can handle. Um so,
something that a paver needs to be

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brought out for.
>> [snorts]

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» And then we got some carryover projects.
So,

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we have um
two carryover projects. So, the Enchant

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fire hall um and greater shed expansion.
That was um

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a project that was slated for 2025, but
the the parcel land that we had decided

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to
put the building on um

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needed more work than we we were
comfortable with. So, we did acquire a

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new parcel land this this spring or
earlier this year.

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And uh the design for that building is
ongoing. We're hoping to get

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construction started late this year on
that.

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Um and the last one is the Enchant
landfill expansion. So,

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that one we have had designed, but um
we're just waiting for environmental

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approvals on a
the liner type for that um that cell

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expansion. But, as soon as we get that
approval, we will

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tackle that project with our our
in-house crews.

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And then the last few slides here, we've
got some maps.

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Um so, the first map is our graveling
program.

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All the the brown lines are where you'll
see all of our our gravel haulers

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distribute gravel on those roads.
We're we're aiming for 716 km this year.

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That's
probably the most we've had. So, we'll

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we'll see what we can get done this
year.

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The next next map is two of our road
maintenance uh crews.

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So, a lot of you are probably familiar
with the shoulder pull crew. Um

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that crew
disturbs all the way down to ditch

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bottom and pulls the shoulder onto the
road and and kind of rebuilds the road.

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Uh we're planning for 35 km this year of
that. And then the gravel recovery, the

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blue lines.
That's a that's a new program that we

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brought on about 2 years ago.
Um

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it's kind of a uh
heavier maintenance. It really just gets

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rid of that ridge on the shoulder.
And what we're finding is is that sheds

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the water um the way the road was
designed for. So, we're getting a lot of

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success with with that program. And as
you can see, we can get a lot more miles

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done with that that equipment as well.
And the last map is our drainage

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project. So, we have a drainage crew.
Uh their primary focus is culverts and

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ditch, anything to do with drainage. Um
as you can see, they span all throughout

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the MD. And those are the 54 sites that
we're planning

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to do this year. So,
and I will

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pass it back to Bryce.

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Thanks, Corey.
>> [clears throat]

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» Um I just wanted to step uh back to uh

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the future as well.

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We we continue to include the why now
because of the just purely based on the

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fact that uh we wanted to introduce the
uh the time there's a timing element to

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uh our lease policy development. Um so,
we have 82,000 just approximately 82,000

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acres of land that the MD manages um
that they the MD owns and manages.

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Uh the aim is to uh develop the policy
and strategy ahead of the expiry. So, we

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have had some expiring leases just
currently. Uh we have expiring leases

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again in 20 uh 2026 2027. And so, this
is the the policy development is

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intended to try to
um try to uh reach that target of trying

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to have some of that policy in place uh
to support that that land base that that

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owned land base for the MD of Taber.

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Uh our current state. So, this is this
is just a representation of the lands.

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Uh again, I do apologize some of these
slides are uh repetitive. You've seen

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these before if you've uh been to any of
our land management project meetings or

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our public consultations. Um our current
state. So, this represents uh what we

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have currently. Um the expiring leases,
the grazing MD grazing leases, MD

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cultivation leases, and uh MD tax recov-
or sorry, tax recovery grazing leases.

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Uh so, you can just you can see the uh
uh the number of acres and the number of

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lease holders that are being represented
as part of our current state for MD of

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Taber owned lands.

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Uh so, for specific to our cultivation
lease uh our cultivation leases. So, uh

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you can see that uh they're uh up here
as February 24th, 2026. Uh we had a

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recent policy adopted uh the most recent
policy version adopted. And that is

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going to be effective March 1st of 2027.
Uh we just wanted to and then just as

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part of the presentation here just uh
list a few of the key the key terms in

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the lease. Uh this is a again very
specific to cultivation leases.

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Um just that all cultivation land
tenders

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uh after the 2026 crop year, uh so
they'll be 5-year terms. Uh

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one first-time right of uh first Sorry.
Right of first refusal for current lease

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holders. And that's for the initial
term.

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Uh assignment to immediate uh immediate
family is permitted.

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Standardized lease terms across all of
the cultivated lands. And lease holders

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uh may initiate potential land purchase.
Now, that is that is going to be

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dependent upon
uh and I'll get to that in the next

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couple slides just related to uh a
sale of MDT lands policy that's being

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considered uh by council currently.

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Uh grazing lease policy. Uh so, grazing
lease policy changes. Again, this is

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this is a very current some very very
recent adoptions.

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Uh just recently on April 15th,
uh grazing lease policy uh has been

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00:17:26,520 --> 00:17:34,880
adopted. Um so, this just to go through
um some of the the main the more uh

215
00:17:32,400 --> 00:17:38,720
upper uh tier uh
categories, I guess, would be the types

216
00:17:36,640 --> 00:17:43,240
of leases. So, when you look at uh the
tax recovery leases and traditional MD

217
00:17:40,920 --> 00:17:47,560
grazing leases will be consolidated into
transitional grazing leases.

218
00:17:45,640 --> 00:17:50,760
Uh leases awarded uh through an open
tender will continue to be administered

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00:17:49,000 --> 00:17:54,480
that way. So, they would be administered
under a tender grazing lease.

220
00:17:52,720 --> 00:17:58,200
And lease uh lands that are leased
through the five community pastures

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00:17:56,600 --> 00:18:02,200
within the MD of Taber will fall under
what was considered to be a community a

222
00:18:00,200 --> 00:18:06,920
community pasture grazing lease. So,
that has been identified as part of the

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00:18:04,360 --> 00:18:10,040
new policy that's been adopted and uh
and associated leases. So, each one of

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00:18:08,520 --> 00:18:13,679
those categories will have its own lease
associated with it.

225
00:18:11,640 --> 00:18:16,840
Uh and distinct terms and conditions
that apply to each of them.

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Okay. So, the grazing lease policy
we wanted to share uh just in chart

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00:18:25,080 --> 00:18:30,600
format. It's just a little bit easier to
represent. Uh you can see uh

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00:18:29,400 --> 00:18:34,280
for each of the different types of
grazing lease uh grazing lease types,

229
00:18:32,840 --> 00:18:37,800
the transitional, the tendered, and the
community pasture,

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00:18:35,640 --> 00:18:40,919
um the lease rent, the length of term,
the assignment to family, and the

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00:18:39,080 --> 00:18:45,360
ability to sell lease. So, we we broke
it down in a chart form just uh just to

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make it simpler to see uh or easier to
see in comparison of the different

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types.
Um

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00:18:48,480 --> 00:18:54,120
I can go through each one of them. So,
the lease rent uh for the traditional is

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00:18:51,840 --> 00:18:58,960
$30 per AUM.
Uh tendered is established through the

236
00:18:55,600 --> 00:19:02,159
tender. Uh $30 in AUM is for community
pastures as well. And that is the lease

237
00:19:01,040 --> 00:19:05,760
rent.
Uh the length of the term. So, for

238
00:19:03,760 --> 00:19:10,520
traditional grazing leases, the length
of term will be a 10-year with a 10-year

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00:19:08,000 --> 00:19:14,520
first right of refusal option.
Uh tendered is under a five has a 5-year

240
00:19:12,880 --> 00:19:19,200
length of the term. And community
pastures have a 10-year with a 10-year

241
00:19:17,120 --> 00:19:22,800
first right of first refusal option as
well.

242
00:19:21,200 --> 00:19:26,960
Uh assignment to family members. So,
that is permitted for traditional or

243
00:19:24,760 --> 00:19:30,280
sorry, a transitional grazing lease.
Uh it is not permitted for the tendered

244
00:19:29,000 --> 00:19:32,560
and is not permitted for community
pastures.

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00:19:31,679 --> 00:19:36,520
Okay?
The ability to sell lease uh lease

246
00:19:34,560 --> 00:19:39,400
rights. So, that is permitted for under
the transitional.

247
00:19:37,960 --> 00:19:44,080
Uh it is not permitted under the
tendered or under the community pasture

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00:19:41,520 --> 00:19:44,080
leases.

249
00:19:44,200 --> 00:19:48,560
The option to purchase. And so, again,
this is dependent on some of the some of

250
00:19:47,320 --> 00:19:52,640
the policy that's being considered by
council currently.

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00:19:49,919 --> 00:19:56,680
Um based on the leases and uh leases and
policies that are in place for grazing,

252
00:19:54,800 --> 00:20:01,600
it would be permitted under all three
categories and uh of lease types. Under

253
00:19:59,600 --> 00:20:06,280
the uh grazing lease uh under the
grazing leases themselves.

254
00:20:03,880 --> 00:20:10,160
And uh finally, the oil and gas payments
for lease holders uh

255
00:20:08,280 --> 00:20:14,080
for traditional or sorry, transitional,
tendered, and community pastures, um you

256
00:20:12,320 --> 00:20:17,560
can see I won't I won't read them all
through, but hopefully you can see them

257
00:20:15,320 --> 00:20:23,400
clearly here. Um basically, there's a
there's a three I guess tiered for lack

258
00:20:20,040 --> 00:20:30,440
of another term, uh 300 a well uh over
$1,000, 200 a well that is at between

259
00:20:26,240 --> 00:20:35,600
500 and 1,000, and then $0 uh per well
for rent that is under 5 under 500. So,

260
00:20:33,360 --> 00:20:40,880
that's been established for oil and gas
payments to lease holders for the three

261
00:20:37,520 --> 00:20:40,880
different types of grazing leases.

262
00:20:41,040 --> 00:20:49,440
Okay, and I'll go on to uh a again, as I
mentioned a couple times, uh we have yet

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00:20:46,720 --> 00:20:54,160
to yet to finalize approvals on any of
the MDT proposed MDT uh sale of lands

264
00:20:53,080 --> 00:20:58,520
policy.
Uh couple of things just to note on

265
00:20:55,840 --> 00:21:03,480
that. Uh land sales may be initiated by
the under the proposed policy, land

266
00:21:00,840 --> 00:21:08,520
sales may be initiated by the MD or the
lease holder, and so the tenant.

267
00:21:05,880 --> 00:21:11,680
Uh the MD may declare the land surplus
uh

268
00:21:09,280 --> 00:21:15,640
uh to municipal needs.
Uh

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00:21:12,480 --> 00:21:19,480
the sales may proceed uh by tender, RFP,
just to list a number of the different

270
00:21:17,000 --> 00:21:22,840
methods that can be utilized in the sale
of lands.

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00:21:21,120 --> 00:21:26,120
Uh reserve sale price is based on the
average of two appraisals, and again,

272
00:21:24,320 --> 00:21:30,520
this is all proposed.
Um this is uh that's that would set

273
00:21:28,840 --> 00:21:35,280
what's considered to be the reserves the
reserve bid price or the reserve the

274
00:21:32,520 --> 00:21:39,400
market price on lands.
And the lease holder purchase request

275
00:21:37,360 --> 00:21:43,400
may be approved at no less than market
value, and that is determined by the

276
00:21:41,680 --> 00:21:46,920
averaging of the two appraisals under
the current and proposed policy.

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00:21:49,880 --> 00:21:53,560
Uh
and finally, uh uh

278
00:21:52,320 --> 00:21:56,960
what we've determined here is just
listed out a couple of next steps just

279
00:21:55,400 --> 00:22:00,440
as a way of communicating where we're
headed with the with these strategy.

280
00:21:59,200 --> 00:22:04,160
Uh the next steps implementing the
cultivation lease. Uh of course, it's

281
00:22:02,160 --> 00:22:08,560
it's been adopted now, and so that'll be
implemented for the 2027 crop year.

282
00:22:06,560 --> 00:22:13,400
Implementing the grazing lease policy,
so that has been recently adopted, and

283
00:22:11,040 --> 00:22:19,080
the land policy uh presenting that to
council uh further consideration of that

284
00:22:15,840 --> 00:22:22,679
policy by council on April 28th is the
next uh is the next

285
00:22:21,040 --> 00:22:26,679
uh uh next significant step in our in
our strategy development. So,

286
00:22:24,600 --> 00:22:29,480
uh lastly, just to complete a
comprehensive review, and that would be

287
00:22:28,640 --> 00:22:33,000
something that's going to be brought
forward to council, a comprehensive

288
00:22:30,720 --> 00:22:36,400
review of our policy, uh just to ensure
that we don't have any conflicting

289
00:22:34,240 --> 00:22:40,880
policy, and that uh
we have a comprehensive uh review of all

290
00:22:38,920 --> 00:22:44,240
of the policy that applies to our lands
as we complete our strategy.

291
00:22:47,400 --> 00:22:52,840
Okay.
So, I will um and and certainly the

292
00:22:51,520 --> 00:22:56,160
certainly at the end, we can certainly
take questions uh on any of the

293
00:22:54,320 --> 00:22:59,480
different topics, and so I'll just
proceed forward. We'll just keep going

294
00:22:57,440 --> 00:23:02,400
through the uh next steps. Uh the next
presentation we have here is on the

295
00:23:00,840 --> 00:23:05,360
Grassy Lake North subdivision
development.

296
00:23:03,920 --> 00:23:07,880
And um
we've got a [clears throat] a map up

297
00:23:06,520 --> 00:23:10,960
here. So, this does show a
representation of the lots that are

298
00:23:09,280 --> 00:23:16,476
going to be available in the northeast
northeast portion of the Hamlet of

299
00:23:12,640 --> 00:23:19,520
Grassy Lake. Um there is uh
>> [sighs]

300
00:23:16,800 --> 00:23:23,440
» there is uh
48. Yes, I was just want to make sure I

301
00:23:21,440 --> 00:23:26,440
got that right. 48 lots. So, there'll be
48 lots available.

302
00:23:25,200 --> 00:23:30,120
Um you can see the naming the road
naming strategy. So, 4th Street North,

303
00:23:28,320 --> 00:23:34,640
Griggs Avenue Northeast, so you can see
the the general location and how it ties

304
00:23:32,160 --> 00:23:38,200
into the community.
If you just proceed to the next slide,

305
00:23:35,840 --> 00:23:42,000
we have uh the land use zoning is
residential for all of the lots. There's

306
00:23:40,280 --> 00:23:47,080
48 serviced and they're serviced
underground serviced lots, so that is uh

307
00:23:44,080 --> 00:23:51,800
that's important to note. Um survey plan
and block numbers, and that these are

308
00:23:50,280 --> 00:23:58,920
these are going to be available quite
soon. Uh we are hoping uh for a sale of

309
00:23:55,240 --> 00:24:02,720
the lots in uh May May June of 2026
coming up real real soon here. And these

310
00:24:01,160 --> 00:24:05,560
will be the only residential lots that
we have available in the Hamlet

311
00:24:04,120 --> 00:24:09,480
currently. So,
um those will be available. We're again,

312
00:24:07,760 --> 00:24:14,520
we are hoping, so stay tuned, but for
May or June of this of 2026.

313
00:24:12,520 --> 00:24:17,880
Uh some project costing summaries. So,
we wanted to share some information with

314
00:24:16,040 --> 00:24:25,200
regards to the the actual project in the
development. So, the project itself um

315
00:24:21,240 --> 00:24:25,200
the project cost was $6,541,440.

316
00:24:26,280 --> 00:24:31,960
That included phase one uh number of a
number of common infrastructure

317
00:24:30,000 --> 00:24:37,080
components that apply to phases one,
two, and three.

318
00:24:33,440 --> 00:24:43,880
And uh the total project cost uh for
phase for this particular phase

319
00:24:39,640 --> 00:24:43,880
uh was four uh sorry, $5,341,849

320
00:24:44,720 --> 00:24:52,640
or $859, pardon me.
And the uh the revenue that we propose

321
00:24:51,560 --> 00:24:56,480
based on the prices that we're going to
show you some ranges of prices here,

322
00:24:54,760 --> 00:25:00,720
um but based on the revenue that we
planned uh for the lot sales and the

323
00:24:58,200 --> 00:25:07,360
prices, uh we planned it to recover
$5,440,000,

324
00:25:03,679 --> 00:25:11,440
okay? And the uh out of that, there'll
be some some revenue will be reserved

325
00:25:09,280 --> 00:25:15,240
for ongoing maintenance of the lots. Uh
we can uh sell lots over a period of

326
00:25:13,520 --> 00:25:18,920
time, whether it be a number of years,
and so the municipality then has costs

327
00:25:16,840 --> 00:25:21,800
associated with maintaining those lots
and marketing those lots. So, there'll

328
00:25:20,480 --> 00:25:25,960
be some some of the revenue will be
associated with that, uh $98,141.

329
00:25:28,240 --> 00:25:33,760
Uh I did want to uh go over just a
number of uh

330
00:25:31,560 --> 00:25:39,679
a number of uh components, contributing
factors for the lots. So,

331
00:25:36,600 --> 00:25:44,320
lot pricing is broken is is made up of
uh design and engineering costs,

332
00:25:42,080 --> 00:25:47,920
uh shallow utilities, so underground uh
lot servicing, and that is very

333
00:25:45,720 --> 00:25:51,520
specific. This is this servicing of uh
this subdivision is is essentially

334
00:25:50,040 --> 00:25:55,679
underground. And I If you have any
questions around what the definition of

335
00:25:53,679 --> 00:25:58,640
that is, uh you know, uh Corey Green is
here, too, and he could take some

336
00:25:56,720 --> 00:26:01,360
questions on that at the end. Uh that is
unique to the subdivision where it is

337
00:26:00,040 --> 00:26:05,960
all underground.
Uh deep utilities, Atco, Fortis, uh

338
00:26:03,960 --> 00:26:11,679
legal survey documentation, land
acquisitions, uh and com and I mentioned

339
00:26:08,720 --> 00:26:15,960
common infrastructure uh for phases two
and three are included. So, uh parts of

340
00:26:14,400 --> 00:26:19,560
parts of two and three are included in
our in our costs to date.

341
00:26:20,560 --> 00:26:28,000
The sales and marketing of our lots, um
so this has been approved the uh the lot

342
00:26:25,800 --> 00:26:33,120
uh lot pricing has been approved as the
first step towards the sale of the lots.

343
00:26:30,360 --> 00:26:37,920
Uh on an average, the lots approximately
113,333

344
00:26:35,760 --> 00:26:42,760
is the the average number that came out,
and so that is the average lot price for

345
00:26:39,840 --> 00:26:47,840
those uh the particular lots. Um lot
prices do range from 9 90,000 to

346
00:26:45,200 --> 00:26:52,880
165,000.
Uh they are based on the size of the

347
00:26:50,160 --> 00:26:56,280
lot. That is the the primary factor.
And um

348
00:26:54,640 --> 00:26:59,360
and I did mention on here that the uh
marketing promotion will be available on

349
00:26:58,000 --> 00:27:02,080
individual lots. So, we just wanted to
share with you a little bit more about

350
00:27:00,480 --> 00:27:05,960
how we're going to go about that. So, we
will have signage out in the community.

351
00:27:04,360 --> 00:27:09,480
Uh there'll be a large sign in the
actual subdivision. There'll be signage

352
00:27:07,720 --> 00:27:12,840
on each of the individual individual
lots, pardon me.

353
00:27:10,880 --> 00:27:15,480
Uh that will help to just really show,
you know, as people are interested in

354
00:27:14,080 --> 00:27:19,240
lots, what those prices are
individually, uh just to make sure

355
00:27:17,360 --> 00:27:23,840
that's really clear.
They'll also be available information on

356
00:27:20,720 --> 00:27:28,400
our website, and uh and we hope to uh
market uh put it out on all of our

357
00:27:26,080 --> 00:27:31,760
social media, website, newspaper, just
so that that information is readily

358
00:27:29,960 --> 00:27:35,160
available.
Uh

359
00:27:32,520 --> 00:27:38,800
it will be based in in our lot sales
policy that the MDT has. We do have a

360
00:27:37,280 --> 00:27:44,400
current policy, but we are looking at
some proposed uh lot sales lot sales,

361
00:27:41,400 --> 00:27:48,960
not not land lot sales policy, and very
specifically uh I'm just trying to make

362
00:27:46,880 --> 00:27:53,120
it more efficient um just the process as
much as we can for both council, for

363
00:27:50,679 --> 00:27:57,040
administration, and just to support the
sales of our lots better. And just to

364
00:27:55,720 --> 00:28:00,880
improve on some of the learnings we've
had over a number of years and number of

365
00:27:58,760 --> 00:28:04,640
subdivisions. So, that is yet to come,
and that is being proposed, so that has

366
00:28:02,280 --> 00:28:07,679
not been adopted as of yet.
Uh we did we do have a current lot sales

367
00:28:06,240 --> 00:28:11,320
policy again, just like I mentioned, but
we have some proposed policy that is

368
00:28:09,160 --> 00:28:13,840
coming uh to be considered by council
soon.

369
00:28:14,240 --> 00:28:20,240
Uh so, the uh again, I did mention May
June, so

370
00:28:17,760 --> 00:28:25,840
uh I think that that does bring our lots
to a summary, and uh we'll move forward

371
00:28:22,360 --> 00:28:29,760
into our next topic. Um
So, policing alternatives uh monetary

372
00:28:27,880 --> 00:28:33,880
impacts. So, uh what we wanted to do
here, this is primarily information that

373
00:28:32,080 --> 00:28:37,760
uh the municipality has received over a
number of years

374
00:28:35,200 --> 00:28:42,320
uh as we as we take a look at the cost
of policing uh for the municipality. Uh

375
00:28:40,600 --> 00:28:46,240
just some of the information uh this
isn't all of the information. This is

376
00:28:44,600 --> 00:28:50,120
just it's a summary of the information
that applies that we can start to share

377
00:28:48,200 --> 00:28:53,440
the what what we're learning as we go
forward with the province of Alberta and

378
00:28:51,640 --> 00:28:57,720
with the municipality taking on the cost
of policing our portion of the cost of

379
00:28:55,360 --> 00:29:01,960
policing. And so, the policing the
provincial police service agreement that

380
00:28:59,240 --> 00:29:06,200
exists for Alberta, uh we do fall under
that agreement. The the agreement is

381
00:29:03,919 --> 00:29:09,840
broken down in 70% provincial costing,
30% federal costing at at the agreement

382
00:29:08,720 --> 00:29:14,840
level.
And then, when you get into the actual

383
00:29:11,960 --> 00:29:19,880
the provincial costing, that 70% is then
broken down under a a police funding

384
00:29:16,919 --> 00:29:25,640
model. Uh PFM PFM is the acronym we use
quite regularly. And so, that breakdown

385
00:29:22,560 --> 00:29:28,120
essentially takes that 70% and and uh
applies a portion of it to the

386
00:29:26,800 --> 00:29:31,360
municipality and a portion of it to the
province.

387
00:29:29,200 --> 00:29:34,720
Um I will uh just go through a few of
the objectives of the police funding

388
00:29:32,720 --> 00:29:37,800
model, and that includes uh covering
those front line costs that are shared

389
00:29:36,560 --> 00:29:42,120
again between the province of Alberta
and the municipality.

390
00:29:39,440 --> 00:29:48,160
Um municipal contributions, uh the the
goal uh from the province is to by 2031

391
00:29:46,120 --> 00:29:52,600
to share that cost at 30% to the
municipality.

392
00:29:49,480 --> 00:29:57,640
And they've shared a 5-year plan with us
that essentially has a 2% increase over

393
00:29:55,240 --> 00:30:01,320
the next 5 years. And so, again, just
information that the municipality has to

394
00:29:59,720 --> 00:30:05,560
work with with our budgeting and with
our next our steps as we move through

395
00:30:03,000 --> 00:30:08,960
the next years on the cost of policing.
So,

396
00:30:06,960 --> 00:30:14,360
further cost share formulas will be
released here in 2028, 2030

397
00:30:12,480 --> 00:30:18,840
as they revise some of those formulas on
how to share those costs as per their

398
00:30:16,680 --> 00:30:20,920
provincial regulations. So,
um

399
00:30:21,120 --> 00:30:29,920
Just some information on budgeting. So,
in the 2025 year, we our actual cost for

400
00:30:27,440 --> 00:30:34,676
policing that we that we that we paid at
the end of the year paid

401
00:30:31,480 --> 00:30:38,560
was $577,599.
[clears throat]

402
00:30:35,960 --> 00:30:43,640
We are planning in 2026 a proposed
budget of $600,000.

403
00:30:41,720 --> 00:30:46,840
And these are numbers that that we do
get we get a regular updates from the

404
00:30:45,200 --> 00:30:51,240
province. So, as we as we get them, we
can adjust some of these these figures

405
00:30:48,920 --> 00:30:54,480
and some of these projections.
And then the numbers that are being

406
00:30:52,560 --> 00:30:57,520
shared for 2030, again, these are
estimates, but these are based on

407
00:30:55,720 --> 00:31:01,360
estimates that we've we've been given to
to help us start planning.

408
00:30:59,520 --> 00:31:05,440
1,353,
and that would be it for 2031.

409
00:31:04,000 --> 00:31:09,520
And that is again just a prediction,
it's an estimate, it's just to share

410
00:31:07,240 --> 00:31:14,360
just the the experience of looking at
this cost sharing over time.

411
00:31:12,600 --> 00:31:18,240
You can see a number of contributing
factors that we listed

412
00:31:16,600 --> 00:31:21,720
that go into the formula and the actual
cost of breakdown that they've that's

413
00:31:19,560 --> 00:31:25,640
been shared with the municipality.
Number of population, density changes,

414
00:31:23,920 --> 00:31:30,880
equalize assessment changes, occurrence
statistics,

415
00:31:27,600 --> 00:31:35,160
vacancies in in hiring and employment,
annual inflationary increases play a

416
00:31:32,600 --> 00:31:35,160
factor.

417
00:31:35,520 --> 00:31:40,680
Um
We listed this just just to share that

418
00:31:39,080 --> 00:31:44,560
there are policing act changes that are
also going on that are that are part of

419
00:31:42,480 --> 00:31:47,440
this this whole process that
through the province of Alberta that

420
00:31:46,240 --> 00:31:51,000
that now add a number of different
contributing factors to the options that

421
00:31:49,480 --> 00:31:54,760
are available.
We don't There's a lot of information

422
00:31:52,440 --> 00:31:58,560
still yet to come. So, we just wanted to
share this just that that we do have

423
00:31:56,600 --> 00:32:03,240
some work ahead of us as far as looking
at it new options as they become

424
00:32:00,920 --> 00:32:07,120
available just to just for consideration
as a municipality and council

425
00:32:04,560 --> 00:32:12,000
consideration. And and again, those
those are those are being presented here

426
00:32:09,360 --> 00:32:15,320
as, you know, regional collaborative
combinations

427
00:32:13,679 --> 00:32:19,720
naming different factors even in our
current state where we work closely with

428
00:32:17,360 --> 00:32:22,200
the RCMP and the Taber Police Services
in our regional community standards is

429
00:32:21,160 --> 00:32:24,840
an
is an example of some of that

430
00:32:23,360 --> 00:32:27,080
collaboration that that we're referring
to.

431
00:32:27,200 --> 00:32:33,480
Ongoing rural and urban municipal
advocacy efforts are ongoing.

432
00:32:31,400 --> 00:32:37,120
This is our two the two associations
that represent municipalities that are

433
00:32:34,880 --> 00:32:40,640
doing doing work in this area to try to
provide more information and just try to

434
00:32:39,000 --> 00:32:43,920
provide the municipalities
more information as we move forward so

435
00:32:42,440 --> 00:32:47,480
that we can,
you know, have the whole picture and

436
00:32:45,880 --> 00:32:51,360
consideration so that we can put that in
front of council and they can have

437
00:32:49,560 --> 00:32:56,920
have consideration or ask questions and
comments related to next steps in this

438
00:32:54,160 --> 00:32:56,920
in this area.

439
00:32:58,640 --> 00:33:05,120
Okay. So, the
future Sorry, and now I'll pass the mic

440
00:33:03,480 --> 00:33:08,440
off. This is where I end and Mike
begins. So, thanks.

441
00:33:14,560 --> 00:33:19,400
As as we mean mentioned at the
beginning,

442
00:33:17,679 --> 00:33:22,360
within the
the updated strategic priorities that

443
00:33:20,679 --> 00:33:26,120
are coming forward to council at this
next council meeting,

444
00:33:23,840 --> 00:33:28,920
council is identifying
property taxes and revenue as an

445
00:33:27,200 --> 00:33:31,520
important area to investigate and to
focus on.

446
00:33:32,120 --> 00:33:37,160
So, some of the areas that we'll be
considering are

447
00:33:35,760 --> 00:33:41,520
where revenue is generated in this, you
know, the idea of whether it's property

448
00:33:38,760 --> 00:33:45,200
taxes, user fees, licenses, or or
leases, different areas where revenue is

449
00:33:43,160 --> 00:33:48,920
is is being earned currently and what
opportunities might be available later

450
00:33:47,080 --> 00:33:55,160
or in the future. Alternatives to
general property taxation

451
00:33:51,400 --> 00:33:58,160
is to explore what other options are.
We are governed by the Municipal

452
00:33:56,720 --> 00:34:02,920
Government Act
and and we can only act within within

453
00:34:00,920 --> 00:34:06,240
the realms of that of that legislation.
And so, the opportunity now is to

454
00:34:04,480 --> 00:34:11,879
explore within that legislation to see
what opportunities lie before us to um

455
00:34:10,000 --> 00:34:17,280
to find what might be available for for
for revenue generation.

456
00:34:13,840 --> 00:34:21,320
How property taxes are generated. So,
looking at what the balance of the levy

457
00:34:19,640 --> 00:34:25,280
breakdown is between assessment classes
and and what opportunities might lie

458
00:34:23,000 --> 00:34:29,040
there for for providing that.
And then in what opportunities exist

459
00:34:27,200 --> 00:34:32,159
within the legislative framework. This
is similar to the alternatives area

460
00:34:30,520 --> 00:34:36,159
where looking at what those options
might be

461
00:34:33,840 --> 00:34:41,320
and and and what opportunities exist.
What is the what what is permissible.

462
00:34:39,359 --> 00:34:46,840
I know we hear lots of great ideas from
the community, but not all of them are

463
00:34:44,080 --> 00:34:52,040
are allowed by by the the provincial
government. And so, this is a as this is

464
00:34:50,200 --> 00:34:55,560
a forthcoming
priority,

465
00:34:54,040 --> 00:34:59,160
administration has not delved into these
areas deeply at all

466
00:34:58,000 --> 00:35:03,000
or
not delved in deeply, but we are aware

467
00:35:00,760 --> 00:35:06,840
of some some options.
But so, to help shape this conversation,

468
00:35:05,600 --> 00:35:11,480
I encourage you to speak with your
elected officials and and to help

469
00:35:09,760 --> 00:35:16,000
provide your input to to find out what
those opportunities might be in the

470
00:35:12,520 --> 00:35:21,240
future and moving forward. It's a, you
know, the the last item on the on the

471
00:35:19,200 --> 00:35:25,280
presentation talked about policing costs
downloaded from the province being

472
00:35:23,480 --> 00:35:29,520
a significant increase in costs. And so,
there's having to find that balance of

473
00:35:27,280 --> 00:35:33,680
of how do we fund these costs that are
passed down from the province is a real

474
00:35:33,720 --> 00:35:39,000
a real
problem-solving opportunity to look at.

475
00:35:37,960 --> 00:35:42,160
Um
And yeah, if if you have any questions

476
00:35:40,280 --> 00:35:46,840
about this area or want to provide your
input,

477
00:35:43,280 --> 00:35:46,840
speak with your elected officials.

478
00:35:50,560 --> 00:35:55,880
Thank you, Mike. Thank you to our
directors for providing an update. So,

479
00:35:54,240 --> 00:36:00,840
I'm just going to talk about a couple of
different things and then we'll open it

480
00:35:58,520 --> 00:36:06,120
up for questions. So,
most notably, this is volunteer week.

481
00:36:03,600 --> 00:36:12,000
So, this hall that you're sitting in is
run by volunteers. Mr. Turnbull and Mrs.

482
00:36:08,280 --> 00:36:16,800
Torcius, they are the main drivers in
Grassy Lake and they have a board, but

483
00:36:14,720 --> 00:36:22,160
they are the ones who have kept the
lights on, kept this amazing facility.

484
00:36:20,160 --> 00:36:26,600
And that happens throughout the MD and
all of our hamlets. All of the

485
00:36:24,080 --> 00:36:31,120
recreation services, they're provided by
volunteers. And another aspect that

486
00:36:29,080 --> 00:36:36,440
you're probably well aware of, but we
have 85 firefighters throughout the MD

487
00:36:33,640 --> 00:36:41,240
of Taber, they are all volunteers. In
the last year, we moved to a what's

488
00:36:38,400 --> 00:36:46,320
called a paid on-call service. So,
before they used to get $1,500 a year

489
00:36:43,880 --> 00:36:51,720
for training every week, training on
weekends, and coming out to calls. But

490
00:36:49,040 --> 00:36:56,240
we have changed that to make it more
appealing because they give up work

491
00:36:53,720 --> 00:37:01,000
time, family time that they'll still get
a base rate if they happen to be from a

492
00:36:58,080 --> 00:37:06,800
hall that doesn't have a number of um
firefighters. But these men and women

493
00:37:03,960 --> 00:37:12,480
now, if they go out on a call, they get
paid an amount for on-call.

494
00:37:09,440 --> 00:37:17,840
And they've also added emergency first
response. Now, we formalized that with

495
00:37:15,640 --> 00:37:21,840
the province of Alberta because often
times our ambulances are busy or they're

496
00:37:20,720 --> 00:37:26,120
away
and it takes time. But if you're having

497
00:37:24,080 --> 00:37:31,800
a heart attack, you want someone to come
who knows CPR or can do

498
00:37:29,720 --> 00:37:36,520
first aid action that would help save
your life. So, our firefighters now

499
00:37:34,400 --> 00:37:41,880
throughout all of our halls are equipped
as emergency first response, and we're

500
00:37:39,680 --> 00:37:47,560
very grateful for them for taking that
on. That's much more than worrying about

501
00:37:44,600 --> 00:37:52,760
a traffic accident or taking down a
fire. They're now coming on people's

502
00:37:50,520 --> 00:37:57,520
worst days. So, those men and women are
volunteers, and we'd like to at this

503
00:37:54,880 --> 00:38:02,960
time also acknowledge their employers.
Their employers have agreed to let them

504
00:38:00,160 --> 00:38:07,400
go when those calls come in, and it's
never at 4:30, it's at 11:00 when

505
00:38:05,040 --> 00:38:11,920
they're busy or it's at a time where
they're actually um

506
00:38:09,240 --> 00:38:16,000
in need, but their employers recognize
that someone's worst day of their life

507
00:38:13,920 --> 00:38:19,560
is happening on that tone, so they get
to come out for that. So, we're very

508
00:38:17,920 --> 00:38:24,520
grateful and especially to their
families. You know, emergencies happen

509
00:38:22,400 --> 00:38:28,480
on Christmas, on birthdays, and these
firefighters still continue to come out.

510
00:38:26,920 --> 00:38:33,920
So, we're very grateful to all the
volunteers that have provided safety and

511
00:38:31,560 --> 00:38:38,280
recreation throughout our municipality
as well as museums, senior centers, the

512
00:38:36,440 --> 00:38:42,480
list is endless.
So, I'm very thankful for that and all

513
00:38:40,000 --> 00:38:46,440
members of council. We prioritize that
in our budget.

514
00:38:44,000 --> 00:38:50,840
I also want to talk about um you heard
that there's lots available now in

515
00:38:47,960 --> 00:38:55,600
Grassy Lake. There's new subdivision in
Enchant as well. There is no lots

516
00:38:53,800 --> 00:39:01,440
available in Hays. All of our
residential lots are sold, but each of

517
00:38:58,359 --> 00:39:06,200
these hamlets also have some industrial
lots. That information is all available

518
00:39:03,920 --> 00:39:11,760
on the website. And just outside of
Vauxhall, which we have a truck rest

519
00:39:09,120 --> 00:39:15,760
stop, right beside those, there's two
lots that could be developed for

520
00:39:13,600 --> 00:39:19,600
industrial commercial. So, if you have
interest or you hear of someone who

521
00:39:17,160 --> 00:39:24,359
might want to develop something, please
let them know. Again, all available on

522
00:39:21,960 --> 00:39:29,560
the website. Another area that I'd like
to share with you today is

523
00:39:27,200 --> 00:39:35,080
we provide, similar to what the
Department of Highways does with 4-H or

524
00:39:31,640 --> 00:39:38,920
other service clubs, the MD has
roadside cleanup. So, if you're with a

525
00:39:37,040 --> 00:39:45,440
service club or a group that's trying to
raise money, there's an application that

526
00:39:41,680 --> 00:39:50,120
needs to be filled out and then we will
offset the cost for that club cleaning

527
00:39:48,000 --> 00:39:54,280
up and to help keep our municipality
looking good. It's a win-win situation

528
00:39:52,760 --> 00:39:58,240
for everyone.
I also wanted to just reference, you've

529
00:39:56,880 --> 00:40:04,360
heard a little bit about the lands
policy. We've also worked with that.

530
00:40:02,000 --> 00:40:07,600
We're developing a project with the Bow
River Irrigation District, Scope

531
00:40:06,360 --> 00:40:12,520
Reservoir.
And they are

532
00:40:10,480 --> 00:40:17,840
looking at going to tender in June. So
there's information available on our

533
00:40:14,160 --> 00:40:22,160
website and on our the Bow River
Irrigation District. They'll be looking

534
00:40:19,480 --> 00:40:26,600
at it. They'll be 23 developed irrigated
quarters. And I'm not going to go into

535
00:40:24,640 --> 00:40:29,920
those details, but that's available or
if you want to talk to one of your

536
00:40:27,960 --> 00:40:34,160
counselors, that's
we can help you with that or put you on

537
00:40:31,640 --> 00:40:38,800
to the right staff person.
We talked a bit about what's happening

538
00:40:36,160 --> 00:40:43,560
for our municipal projects.
We all know that the graders can't be

539
00:40:40,560 --> 00:40:48,760
everywhere. So if you run into a concern
that we haven't had a grader down a road

540
00:40:45,920 --> 00:40:53,600
or there's been an incident that um
someone's done donuts and now there's

541
00:40:50,880 --> 00:40:58,080
dangerous ruts. So we have what's called
our service tracker. So if you have a

542
00:40:55,880 --> 00:41:02,080
concern, you can put that in as a road
concern or call your counselor, they'll

543
00:41:00,240 --> 00:41:05,640
put it in or you can call the office and
it'll get submitted.

544
00:41:04,000 --> 00:41:10,440
Even though you might find that the
questions or the process is a little bit

545
00:41:08,160 --> 00:41:15,640
onerous, it helps us identify where the
bigger problems are in the municipality

546
00:41:12,760 --> 00:41:19,360
and it also allows our um directors to
determine if work needs to be done. So

547
00:41:17,760 --> 00:41:23,360
not just on roads, but if you have a
concern with a development, a concern

548
00:41:21,240 --> 00:41:28,200
with a sidewalk in a hamlet, snow
removal, any of those things. If it's a

549
00:41:25,800 --> 00:41:33,600
safety concern, you also have the
ability you can call if it's an

550
00:41:30,680 --> 00:41:38,960
emergency 911 for the RCMP, but if it's
something like someone's pivot is

551
00:41:36,000 --> 00:41:43,480
repeatedly watering the road or
someone's not dealing with their

552
00:41:41,040 --> 00:41:49,160
properly, then service tracker or you
can call Taber police and they'll assign

553
00:41:45,840 --> 00:41:54,920
it the community standards officer. So
service tracker is available on our

554
00:41:51,640 --> 00:42:00,120
website, but we also have an MD app
that you can sign up for. It's right on

555
00:41:57,600 --> 00:42:04,440
your phone and then you also can sign up
for a weekly newsletter. At the back

556
00:42:02,440 --> 00:42:08,280
table, our regular newsletter that gets
mailed to everyone is there, but every

557
00:42:06,480 --> 00:42:13,120
week we provide an update for those
people who may be not on social media or

558
00:42:10,720 --> 00:42:17,720
checking our website. It's a very good
system and we've also sort of tailored

559
00:42:15,800 --> 00:42:21,160
it to help
our

560
00:42:19,000 --> 00:42:25,760
volunteer groups, our libraries, our
seniors clubs, any of those things that

561
00:42:23,440 --> 00:42:30,760
are happening.
The other area I wanted to just touch

562
00:42:27,840 --> 00:42:36,960
base on, let me just make sure.
So we recently passed our budget.

563
00:42:35,240 --> 00:42:40,640
So I know there's been some discussion
in the community.

564
00:42:38,400 --> 00:42:46,720
So the budget's been passed. We've had
first reading of the tax bylaw.

565
00:42:44,840 --> 00:42:50,120
And some people are quite concerned and
so I just want to put it out there. So

566
00:42:48,560 --> 00:42:56,280
if people have questions, they have a
bit of the information.

567
00:42:52,960 --> 00:43:00,520
There has been a 55.52%
increase on farmland.

568
00:42:58,640 --> 00:43:04,720
So that's a huge number. No one wants to
have a 2% increase.

569
00:43:03,480 --> 00:43:08,040
But
this council looked at the budget,

570
00:43:06,840 --> 00:43:13,480
evaluated [clears throat]
what the breakdown of

571
00:43:10,960 --> 00:43:16,480
rates of return on taxation and who was
carrying the tax burden in our

572
00:43:14,920 --> 00:43:23,000
municipality.
And we have a sheet um that is available

573
00:43:19,560 --> 00:43:29,080
for you to look at. But residential
homes in the MD of Taber, so acreages,

574
00:43:26,560 --> 00:43:34,880
houses that are in the hamlets have
carried the burden

575
00:43:31,040 --> 00:43:40,520
in our municipality to the tune of 19%.
So with this increase, that will have

576
00:43:37,720 --> 00:43:44,720
farmland having a carrying the burden of
17%.

577
00:43:42,560 --> 00:43:51,160
So for those who are on irrigated land,
that equates to about $3 a acre, so

578
00:43:48,280 --> 00:43:55,160
about $150 a quarter. So it is
significant. There's no doubt about it.

579
00:43:52,800 --> 00:44:01,000
We we don't take that lightly, but at
some point we had to make the

580
00:43:56,960 --> 00:44:07,520
adjustment. Our non-residential
rates are um

581
00:44:04,160 --> 00:44:12,480
pipelines, oil wells, our factories,
they still carry 52%

582
00:44:10,040 --> 00:44:17,080
of the burden for the MD of Taber. So
we're very fortunate that we have that,

583
00:44:14,840 --> 00:44:21,600
but without
making an adjustment on farmland, we

584
00:44:19,520 --> 00:44:26,520
weren't going to be able to operate in
the same capacity.

585
00:44:23,480 --> 00:44:33,160
And farmland assessment hasn't changed
since the '80s. Whereas businesses

586
00:44:30,240 --> 00:44:37,440
and houses their assessment continues to
go up. There's a formula that's

587
00:44:35,200 --> 00:44:42,240
implemented every year and if you're
ever if you're buying a house right now,

588
00:44:39,160 --> 00:44:45,120
you know everything is on the incline.
Someone said, "Well, my

589
00:44:44,000 --> 00:44:49,760
I don't want to pay that. My
assessment's too high." And my reverse

590
00:44:47,680 --> 00:44:53,320
question to them is
what would you sell your acreage for?

591
00:44:51,359 --> 00:44:57,520
What would you sell your house in Grassy
Lake for? And they'll chuckle and say,

592
00:44:55,280 --> 00:45:01,840
"Well, way more than that." So
assessment and appraisal are different

593
00:44:59,600 --> 00:45:06,520
and there is a formula and if you have a
concern with your assessment, you get

594
00:45:04,280 --> 00:45:10,400
your sheet on the back of it or you call
the MD to make sure you understand what

595
00:45:08,280 --> 00:45:15,840
your assessment is and you can call
Benchmark and you can find out how they

596
00:45:12,840 --> 00:45:19,800
valued your home or your acreage. But on
your farmland, that won't have changed.

597
00:45:17,840 --> 00:45:25,880
It will have stayed the same
for the last 25 well, last 35 years. So

598
00:45:23,600 --> 00:45:30,880
it is a big increase. We'll be prepared
to answer questions on it, but I just

599
00:45:28,280 --> 00:45:35,320
wanted you to be aware. We've only had
first reading of the mill rate bylaw, so

600
00:45:33,359 --> 00:45:39,000
there still could be dis-
discussion and change.

601
00:45:37,600 --> 00:45:44,120
But
it wasn't come upon lately. There were

602
00:45:41,600 --> 00:45:48,880
lots of debate and discussion on how we
arrived at these numbers.

603
00:45:46,160 --> 00:45:53,760
So I think that's more or less all the
things I just wanted to bring forward.

604
00:45:51,960 --> 00:45:58,440
Council's available to answer any of
your questions. Well, we'll do it

605
00:45:55,280 --> 00:46:05,680
through the mic and then you can also
ask staff questions. And then we will

606
00:46:02,200 --> 00:46:08,960
also be around to visit informally, but
just know that then your answer isn't

607
00:46:07,440 --> 00:46:14,880
recorded or your question isn't
recorded. Okay?

608
00:46:11,080 --> 00:46:14,880
So once again, just one moment.

609
00:46:20,320 --> 00:46:25,440
I talk lots, but this wind has just been
drying me out.

610
00:46:24,240 --> 00:46:28,640
Um
we really thank you for taking the time

611
00:46:27,160 --> 00:46:33,800
to come.
The seven of us who ran for council, we

612
00:46:31,640 --> 00:46:38,192
very much care about the municipality in
its entirety.

613
00:46:35,680 --> 00:46:42,000
We have a great staff
>> [cough]

614
00:46:39,920 --> 00:46:48,200
» who work day in and day out to provide
services. That is our main goal at the

615
00:46:44,920 --> 00:46:53,760
MD. That's what we're chat um asked by
the province is to provide services for

616
00:46:50,520 --> 00:46:59,320
people, clean water, sewer, roads that
are safe to travel. And so that should

617
00:46:56,160 --> 00:47:03,040
be our main goal, our main objective so
that we continue to live in a great

618
00:47:01,160 --> 00:47:07,840
area.
There's many who are envious of our MD

619
00:47:05,040 --> 00:47:11,880
of Taber and the rates that we pay here.
And so the council and the staff will

620
00:47:10,240 --> 00:47:16,760
continue to work hard to make it
affordable, to make it a good place.

621
00:47:15,040 --> 00:47:21,480
Do we think there can be improvements?
100%. Every one of us do. Every one of

622
00:47:19,520 --> 00:47:25,200
us have unique ideas that we'd like to
bring to the forefront, which is why we

623
00:47:23,160 --> 00:47:30,640
ran for council. But we're very
interested in your ideas as well. We've

624
00:47:28,240 --> 00:47:34,800
We're a very open council and our staff
is very available. So if you have a

625
00:47:32,800 --> 00:47:39,440
concern or a complaint, and I know many
people call me, so I know you're not

626
00:47:36,400 --> 00:47:43,840
hesitant to let me know your opinion. We
appreciate that because many times the

627
00:47:41,840 --> 00:47:49,200
ideas come from residents that we
haven't explored. So tonight, I really

628
00:47:46,960 --> 00:47:53,120
appreciate you taking the time. But
don't let that stop here. We have coffee

629
00:47:51,160 --> 00:47:56,800
with council and our numbers are
published and available on the website

630
00:47:54,880 --> 00:48:02,280
and if you don't have time to phone us,
shoot us a text or an email and anyone

631
00:47:59,520 --> 00:48:07,320
of us will be happy to respond. So thank
you and we'll now move into the question

632
00:48:04,240 --> 00:48:07,320
and answer portion.

633
00:48:40,320 --> 00:48:48,640
So I I I I get your proposal with
regards to your your tax increases that

634
00:48:46,320 --> 00:48:53,000
are happening and
got a few questions with regards to

635
00:48:50,880 --> 00:48:56,760
what's happening with the whole
lease agreements and how that's coming

636
00:48:54,960 --> 00:49:02,600
forward and
we understand that might be a little bit

637
00:48:58,520 --> 00:49:05,760
on hold a bit due to some commission
requests or how does that How is that

638
00:49:04,120 --> 00:49:10,920
working? Because
I I just seem to be It seems like this

639
00:49:08,920 --> 00:49:15,320
as presented here today
that the leases are going to be going

640
00:49:12,720 --> 00:49:19,400
forward as they were proposed. And
Tamara, if I look at what

641
00:49:17,280 --> 00:49:23,880
if I was here a year ago
and there's been a lot of changes in the

642
00:49:21,680 --> 00:49:26,720
in the lease proposals
that uh

643
00:49:25,359 --> 00:49:30,800
seem to
Could you kind of reflect on or can you

644
00:49:28,600 --> 00:49:34,760
tell us where we're at with that and how
does that look going forward?

645
00:49:34,960 --> 00:49:44,880
I can speak to that. So um, as the
director Serena spoke to, the cultivated

646
00:49:41,200 --> 00:49:50,160
lease policy has been approved and the
grazing lease has been approved. What

647
00:49:46,800 --> 00:49:55,560
hasn't been approved is the sale of how
of how those sale of lands will happen.

648
00:49:52,880 --> 00:50:01,280
So, council has been working on this for
2 years. There was some decisions made

649
00:49:59,120 --> 00:50:05,520
and then there was a new council and
then there was some different decisions

650
00:50:02,840 --> 00:50:11,880
made. So, right at this point, we have
approved those two lease policies and

651
00:50:09,040 --> 00:50:16,240
now we're waiting on sales policies. So,
I think what you're referring to and

652
00:50:13,840 --> 00:50:22,320
it's been not a secret. There was a
motion made to Municipal Affairs to do

653
00:50:19,360 --> 00:50:28,080
an inspection just to clear the air on
that. It was approved by council same as

654
00:50:25,880 --> 00:50:32,440
how the leases were approved. Now it is
in the hands of the minister. They've

655
00:50:30,160 --> 00:50:36,840
asked to meet with council. They will
determine whether an inspection should

656
00:50:34,320 --> 00:50:42,720
happen or not. And it isn't just based
on any one thing, but there's nothing in

657
00:50:39,560 --> 00:50:48,800
the act that stops
the business of the municipality from

658
00:50:45,120 --> 00:50:52,840
carrying on and we are carrying on.
So, if the commission votes the other or

659
00:50:50,760 --> 00:50:56,800
if the commission for municipalities, if
they vote the other way on that

660
00:50:54,960 --> 00:51:02,720
or determine that there is a conflict of
interest with with council

661
00:50:59,600 --> 00:51:06,200
what is the feedback to us as members of
this of the MD

662
00:51:04,680 --> 00:51:12,360
with regards to agreements that are in
place for 10 years?

663
00:51:09,160 --> 00:51:17,480
Well, it was a a vote made by council
that was the majority and those policies

664
00:51:15,040 --> 00:51:21,840
have passed. Municipal Affairs is
definitely watching what's going on and

665
00:51:19,920 --> 00:51:27,040
at this point they're they don't have a
level of urgency other than they've

666
00:51:23,760 --> 00:51:27,040
asked to meet with council.

667
00:51:29,240 --> 00:51:35,400
Yeah, I got a question too. I I see
>> I should have asked people to say their

668
00:51:33,440 --> 00:51:40,440
name. So, it was David Beckering was
first. I'm sorry, Art Bondus. But, um, I

669
00:51:38,000 --> 00:51:44,760
have a question too. On these oil
leases, what I understand, maybe if I'm

670
00:51:42,560 --> 00:51:49,200
wrong, just correct me like some of the
money goes to the lease holders. Why is

671
00:51:46,840 --> 00:51:52,480
the MD giving that money away? Like they
already have a

672
00:51:50,560 --> 00:51:55,600
heck of a deal on the lease.
What why why do they need to get

673
00:51:53,800 --> 00:51:58,480
subsidized, you know? And I I see that
the taxes go up and I have no problem

674
00:51:57,480 --> 00:52:02,480
with well
nobody likes it, but you know

675
00:52:00,680 --> 00:52:07,080
everybody has more cost and so does the
MD. So, I see that the taxes have to go

676
00:52:04,480 --> 00:52:10,760
up. I totally see that. But, you know,
why are we giving that oil money away?

677
00:52:08,880 --> 00:52:15,480
That's just community money. Are we
giving it to 35 lease holders?

678
00:52:13,240 --> 00:52:20,280
So, the
on the leases, there's an a a clause in

679
00:52:17,800 --> 00:52:25,040
there that they're going to receive some
of that lease money for the disturbance,

680
00:52:23,080 --> 00:52:30,440
the inconvenience, and the potential
risk that they face while oil um

681
00:52:28,080 --> 00:52:33,080
companies or pipeline companies are on
their land.

682
00:52:40,360 --> 00:52:47,200
Allison Davey, what is that costing the
MD by giving up those payments?

683
00:52:57,480 --> 00:53:06,120
Give me 1 second, Allison. I figured
that question would come, so I have it

684
00:53:03,360 --> 00:53:06,120
with me.

685
00:53:30,360 --> 00:53:33,440
You need to understand

686
00:53:34,960 --> 00:53:40,360
Oh, yeah. So, approximately $150,000.

687
00:53:46,880 --> 00:53:52,359
But, now with the new uh lease
agreement, is there a recon up? Like is

688
00:53:50,080 --> 00:53:57,280
there is there is the MD getting more
revenue out of it?

689
00:53:54,280 --> 00:54:00,680
So, yes, the MD's going to get some
increased revenue.

690
00:54:01,320 --> 00:54:12,600
The new rate that's been established is
two times the provincial rate and unless

691
00:54:08,040 --> 00:54:16,720
it's less than $30 unless $30 or two
times the provincial rate. It won't go

692
00:54:14,560 --> 00:54:21,160
below $30.
So, it is a significant increase.

693
00:54:21,800 --> 00:54:27,160
What's the value of that increase to the
MD as a total dollar value?

694
00:54:33,040 --> 00:54:41,520
So, the amount of revenue that we'll be
receiving

695
00:54:38,400 --> 00:54:49,840
in 2026
compare So, 2026 approved

696
00:54:46,160 --> 00:54:54,720
is 900 um
900 and

697
00:54:51,720 --> 00:54:54,720
937,040.

698
00:54:58,400 --> 00:55:05,359
And is the Scope Lake uh developing a
part of that number of the 940,000?

699
00:55:03,040 --> 00:55:09,960
» No, that amount was that Scope
development that has been removed from

700
00:55:07,680 --> 00:55:12,800
the lease holder and it's a separate
standalone.

701
00:55:13,760 --> 00:55:19,560
All right, thank and then one other
question, if if the last year's proposal

702
00:55:18,000 --> 00:55:25,080
would have gone through
is there any estimates of what we as MD

703
00:55:22,880 --> 00:55:27,800
stakeholders are losing because of the
agreement that was passed by this

704
00:55:26,400 --> 00:55:32,359
council?
So, I don't have that number right with

705
00:55:29,840 --> 00:55:38,240
me, but
the number is actually more because of

706
00:55:35,680 --> 00:55:44,560
the change in rate.
But, we had removed all the oil revenue.

707
00:55:41,480 --> 00:55:49,160
So, it's not the the rate still puts us
in the positive.

708
00:55:47,560 --> 00:55:53,280
But, maybe not as positive as it could
have been. Is that a fair statement? So,

709
00:55:52,080 --> 00:55:58,600
the
council of the day evaluated what the

710
00:55:56,040 --> 00:56:02,000
best benefit for the MD would be and we
landed on this decision.

711
00:56:17,000 --> 00:56:23,040
Uh also, just uh Brian here was able to
just uh dig up a little like Remi and

712
00:56:21,359 --> 00:56:26,720
Aggie mentioned it was approximate uh it
was it's 140,000. Just just to be a

713
00:56:25,640 --> 00:56:30,440
little more accurate with that number
that we represented for the payouts to

714
00:56:28,280 --> 00:56:33,160
the lease holders.
Thank you, Brian.

715
00:56:37,280 --> 00:56:45,520
Hi, uh Chris Siemens. Just just for
perspective, what uh surface lease

716
00:56:42,200 --> 00:56:52,600
revenue does the MD retain
from the total? So, 140,000 goes to

717
00:56:47,960 --> 00:56:52,600
lease holder, what does the MD retain?

718
00:56:54,040 --> 00:56:58,400
We'll just invite Brian up to have a

719
00:57:03,920 --> 00:57:11,680
I think the total uh revenue received
from oil and gas surface revenue is

720
00:57:07,880 --> 00:57:11,680
about 1.4 million a year.

721
00:57:19,520 --> 00:57:28,200
Daryl Johnson. I'm wondering how much um
revenue you guys expect to generate from

722
00:57:25,240 --> 00:57:31,680
the Scope uh irrigation project? Um as
that land was removed from the lease

723
00:57:30,000 --> 00:57:36,200
holders, but how much will that benefit
the MD?

724
00:57:33,000 --> 00:57:40,000
So, I don't have that with me. Um I
should have brought that. I was more

725
00:57:37,760 --> 00:57:45,920
focused on what the leases I thought
people would be after that. But, um we

726
00:57:42,720 --> 00:57:51,880
do have a projected dollar amount. Is
that Do we have that budget? I have my

727
00:57:48,120 --> 00:57:57,320
laptop, we could look it up, but um
right now, we have a base idea of what

728
00:57:55,480 --> 00:58:02,320
we hope that the
leases go for and then we'll be

729
00:57:59,640 --> 00:58:07,440
evaluating. We know that the debenture
that we're looking at taking out is

730
00:58:04,800 --> 00:58:07,440
Mike.

731
00:58:08,480 --> 00:58:10,680
Uh

732
00:58:11,680 --> 00:58:14,600
Yeah, we thought

733
00:58:14,800 --> 00:58:22,400
Right. So, what Mike said is we have an
authorization of a debenture of 10

734
00:58:19,080 --> 00:58:26,280
million, but what we we don't anticipate
using that. We are hoping more to be

735
00:58:24,520 --> 00:58:31,920
around the 9 million dollar mark and
it's a 50/50 project with BRID.

736
00:58:29,480 --> 00:58:36,880
Initially, they had wanted us to do all
the roads, but we said that wouldn't be

737
00:58:34,240 --> 00:58:43,080
agreeable to us. Everything had to be
50/50 with the returns also at 50/50.

738
00:58:44,800 --> 00:58:54,160
So, the we just just doing the at the
minimum bid. So, set at 400 an acre is

739
00:58:51,800 --> 00:58:58,080
the minimum bid and we calculate that
out to be approximately and again, it'll

740
00:58:56,040 --> 00:59:05,320
vary depending on what the bids are.
800,000 dollars would be the would be

741
00:59:01,880 --> 00:59:05,320
the be shared revenue.

742
00:59:06,760 --> 00:59:14,440
And one other question to go to go with
that. What what's the strategy for the

743
00:59:11,640 --> 00:59:18,520
payback then? Are you guys looking to
draw some revenue every year or to be

744
00:59:16,560 --> 00:59:23,000
more aggressive and pay back the the
loan or is has council determined that?

745
00:59:20,920 --> 00:59:28,320
So, it has not been finalized. So, we
have a few policies that are coming down

746
00:59:25,440 --> 00:59:32,080
the pipe right now and one is on the
Scope revenue and then the other once we

747
00:59:30,800 --> 00:59:36,560
figure out what we're going to do with
land sales, then we have to establish a

748
00:59:34,240 --> 00:59:43,240
policy on how we're going to deal with
any land. Now, our Hamlet lot sales has

749
00:59:40,080 --> 00:59:47,200
a policy. Those lots go for a cost and
we return that money to pay the

750
00:59:44,680 --> 00:59:53,800
debenture, so it's an in and out minus a
little bit for marketing.

751
00:59:49,440 --> 00:59:58,400
Otherwise, um but on land sale or scope,
that has not been finalized and this

752
00:59:55,840 --> 01:00:01,000
council will be working on that in like
right away.

753
01:00:19,560 --> 01:00:22,560
Anyone else?

754
01:00:22,880 --> 01:00:25,560
Couns- uh

755
01:00:26,080 --> 01:00:29,040
Yeah, Brian.

756
01:00:29,480 --> 01:00:35,360
Just No, if you could use the mic, so
it's recorded for the live stream and

757
01:00:33,240 --> 01:00:39,040
just your name, please, too. Uh Brian
Hildebrand.

758
01:00:36,480 --> 01:00:42,200
Um so,
there's a lot of expenditures that need

759
01:00:40,360 --> 01:00:44,680
to happen with the MD.
Um

760
01:00:42,800 --> 01:00:49,080
Clearview Lodge,
uh $4.5 million over the next little bit

761
01:00:47,080 --> 01:00:55,320
for the renovation project. Uh the
master tra- master transportation plan

762
01:00:52,840 --> 01:00:59,560
uh identifies $80 million
just to maintain the hard service roads

763
01:00:57,840 --> 01:01:05,200
that we have in the MD over the next 5
years. As we just saw,

764
01:01:01,920 --> 01:01:10,440
uh the policing funding uh going up from
$600,000 up to $1.3 million yearly.

765
01:01:08,080 --> 01:01:15,560
Yearly, um Taber recreation is going to
need additional funding.

766
01:01:12,600 --> 01:01:18,960
This year's budget, um
what, $5 million was pulled out of

767
01:01:17,480 --> 01:01:23,000
reserves
and taxes were up $1 million.

768
01:01:23,280 --> 01:01:29,120
Where is the path to sustainability
here?

769
01:01:26,720 --> 01:01:33,240
Where is the money going to come from?
My credit card is getting close to the

770
01:01:30,680 --> 01:01:33,240
limit.

771
01:01:36,000 --> 01:01:42,600
I appreciate your question
and um

772
01:01:40,600 --> 01:01:50,280
this budget, like the last eight,
haven't been easy for council.

773
01:01:45,880 --> 01:01:56,160
Um we we made some changes. We reduced
some things. Clearview Lodge, for those

774
01:01:53,120 --> 01:02:02,160
who aren't aware, they're going
They've been approved for a $9 million

775
01:01:58,560 --> 01:02:07,320
Alberta um funding injection to renovate
and redo the lodge.

776
01:02:04,400 --> 01:02:10,800
If you're at the lodge,
most of the rooms don't have showers in

777
01:02:09,840 --> 01:02:16,200
them.
So, you have to use a communal shower, a

778
01:02:13,360 --> 01:02:20,400
communal bathroom. So, the upgrade will
increase the size of the rooms, plus

779
01:02:18,040 --> 01:02:25,960
make sure everyone has
a shower and a toilet.

780
01:02:23,240 --> 01:02:29,520
If we don't honor our old people, and I
know this is a bit of a heartstring

781
01:02:27,360 --> 01:02:33,840
answer, Brian, so you won't necessarily
like this, but

782
01:02:31,920 --> 01:02:39,600
there are forefathers who went before us
who took some risks to make advances

783
01:02:36,920 --> 01:02:44,360
and taking care of our seniors, to me,
is one of them.

784
01:02:41,520 --> 01:02:48,760
The hard road surface, it is a disaster.
We're very worried about that. All of

785
01:02:46,800 --> 01:02:55,600
our hard surfaces, and that's whether
it's paved or chip seal or um compressed

786
01:02:52,360 --> 01:03:00,760
concrete, all those surfaces are coming
of age, 30 to 40 years old. They're

787
01:02:58,760 --> 01:03:05,080
breaking apart. They were never intended
for this amount of traffic and this

788
01:03:03,160 --> 01:03:08,760
heavy road. So, we can blame past
councils, like I hear what's happening

789
01:03:07,000 --> 01:03:13,240
in Calgary,
blame them for not fixing things, or we

790
01:03:10,920 --> 01:03:16,720
can start fixing them now. And so,
figuring out how we're going to manage

791
01:03:14,720 --> 01:03:22,160
this budget and figure out do we have to
turn hard surface roads to gravel, might

792
01:03:19,560 --> 01:03:26,680
be one of the options. We're doing We've
asked our administration to do a cost

793
01:03:24,320 --> 01:03:32,800
analysis on this. We've turned some
roads to gravel. People are wildly mad.

794
01:03:29,920 --> 01:03:38,200
They hate it. But,
to pave a mile of uh road, it's a

795
01:03:35,840 --> 01:03:42,560
million dollars. So, we definitely don't
have that.

796
01:03:39,560 --> 01:03:46,400
Police funding, we've asked our staff to
give us some options, but more so, we've

797
01:03:45,000 --> 01:03:50,480
asked the province give us some
indication of what we're going to deal

798
01:03:47,880 --> 01:03:55,240
with. And they they aren't clear on
that. They don't give us a a clear path

799
01:03:53,440 --> 01:03:58,480
of what we can do, so we haven't left
that alone.

800
01:03:56,480 --> 01:04:03,240
Taber recreation, whether it's Vauxhall
recreation, Barnwell, Grassy Haze or

801
01:04:01,280 --> 01:04:08,720
Enchant, we know if people don't have
things to do, they'll leave. Their kids

802
01:04:05,720 --> 01:04:14,440
won't stay. They'll go on to Lethbridge.
They'll move to Coaldale. So, recreation

803
01:04:11,840 --> 01:04:18,960
does matter and will most likely, I
don't know for sure, will make an

804
01:04:15,800 --> 01:04:23,520
investment in Taber's recreation, like
we made an investment in Vauxhall's. And

805
01:04:21,120 --> 01:04:29,120
thank heavens we did.
We gave $700,000 to the Vauxhall arena

806
01:04:26,560 --> 01:04:34,960
and curling rink. When Taber's arenas
blew up, it gave our athletes, our

807
01:04:32,320 --> 01:04:39,000
users, the opportunity to go to Vauxhall
and they welcomed them with open arms,

808
01:04:36,880 --> 01:04:43,320
no different than Bow Island and
Coaldale, but Vauxhall we see as one of

809
01:04:41,520 --> 01:04:48,520
our regional hubs, no different than we
do Taber or Barnwell. So, yeah, there is

810
01:04:46,000 --> 01:04:53,320
a lot of money and whether we can find a
way to continue, we're looking at

811
01:04:50,600 --> 01:04:57,720
alternate sources. Um
Director Passy talked about that. We're

812
01:04:55,840 --> 01:05:03,600
We're trying to find different things.
And some of it becomes taxation, some of

813
01:05:00,520 --> 01:05:07,080
it becomes special fees.
But, this council isn't looking at these

814
01:05:05,280 --> 01:05:12,760
numbers lately. We're We get the same
tax bill each one of you do.

815
01:05:10,080 --> 01:05:16,720
And so, we are aware of how expensive it
is and what's left at the end of the

816
01:05:14,240 --> 01:05:20,880
month to buy bread and milk.
And we want young families here. We have

817
01:05:18,560 --> 01:05:24,640
the youngest population in the province
in the MD of Taber.

818
01:05:23,000 --> 01:05:29,160
And those young families want to have
houses, have acreages, and make a way.

819
01:05:26,680 --> 01:05:33,520
So, we don't want to out-tax them, but
we want them to have a road to drive on

820
01:05:30,840 --> 01:05:37,720
or a rink to skate in or a ball diamond
in

821
01:05:34,520 --> 01:05:42,520
Enchant or in Haze or Grassy Lake.
You know, this hall, it's an amazing

822
01:05:39,920 --> 01:05:46,920
hall, been well kept by volunteers,
but it's old. And I mean, we're

823
01:05:44,840 --> 01:05:50,680
thankful, but at some point, this
council is going to have to look at

824
01:05:48,720 --> 01:05:55,680
that. And the difference of the MD of
Taber compared to the town of Taber

825
01:05:53,240 --> 01:06:01,520
is it's volunteers who clean this floor
and hang these tiles. It's not MD staff.

826
01:05:59,000 --> 01:06:06,480
So, if we start to change that kind of
recreation, it will be a drastic

827
01:06:03,840 --> 01:06:11,600
difference either in service level or in
what we have to pay. So, do I hear what

828
01:06:09,480 --> 01:06:16,120
you're saying, Brian? Absolutely. We
know that the costs are out there.

829
01:06:14,480 --> 01:06:21,400
We're trying to figure out alternative
solutions and we hope some of it will

830
01:06:18,120 --> 01:06:26,680
come through alternative ideas, like
scope project, looking at perhaps

831
01:06:24,280 --> 01:06:31,120
um some different taxation on feed lots
or road user agreements that we haven't

832
01:06:29,560 --> 01:06:35,160
had to have in Taber, because we've been
very fortunate.

833
01:06:33,160 --> 01:06:40,040
But, if we're going to keep having heavy
trucks and heavy loads, maybe it's time

834
01:06:37,640 --> 01:06:43,760
then we have to charge people. And
you know, there's a general sense of

835
01:06:42,080 --> 01:06:48,160
what we need to do to take care of each
other and our job as a council is to

836
01:06:46,520 --> 01:06:51,640
provide those services in the most
cost-effective way we can.

837
01:07:04,320 --> 01:07:06,880
Raising

838
01:07:08,320 --> 01:07:13,640
Raising land taxes, how much of an
increase?

839
01:07:11,920 --> 01:07:17,320
So, through on irrigated land, it's
about $3 an acre. What's the total that

840
01:07:17,240 --> 01:07:21,840
you
>> Oh, the total amount? Let me get that.

841
01:07:22,680 --> 01:07:30,200
Oh, sorry.
You've been called out. You need to say

842
01:07:26,080 --> 01:07:35,480
your name. John Edward Krass. Thank you.
I heard you were the mayor of Haze.

843
01:07:32,000 --> 01:07:39,400
M.O.H., mayor of Haze. Okay.
Thank you.

844
01:07:36,800 --> 01:07:48,840
So, yeah, it's about a million dollars.
So, in 2025, farmland raised 2.286

845
01:07:44,359 --> 01:07:52,240
million and in 2026, it'll be 3.5
million.

846
01:07:50,160 --> 01:07:56,840
Thank you. Yeah.
And if you're really interested and have

847
01:07:54,280 --> 01:08:02,760
time, like I know some of you do, you
can go on to our agenda meeting packages

848
01:08:00,520 --> 01:08:08,400
and all of our budget discussions were
there. And we have an analysis that's

849
01:08:05,960 --> 01:08:14,520
open to the public and it takes
properties right from a house to a

850
01:08:10,760 --> 01:08:19,120
business to a CNRL battery to an acreage
to a large farm and it shows you what

851
01:08:17,120 --> 01:08:23,600
the costs are going to be with these
current tax rates. And it includes what

852
01:08:22,040 --> 01:08:28,600
we're going to be requisition from the
province for school and for policing and

853
01:08:26,600 --> 01:08:34,759
for housing and for the MD. And you
could look at it to see

854
01:08:31,000 --> 01:08:39,240
what 2025 was to 2026.
So, on our very last agenda, which what

855
01:08:37,280 --> 01:08:44,240
date was that?
April

856
01:08:40,719 --> 01:08:51,640
14th, that is where our bylaw
um mill rate bylaw is. In that agenda,

857
01:08:48,280 --> 01:08:55,880
all of these analysis are there. So, you
can see what numbers we're working with

858
01:08:53,600 --> 01:09:01,160
and looking at just as much as each of
us do.

859
01:08:58,359 --> 01:09:01,160
Okay, I got a

860
01:09:01,400 --> 01:09:08,920
some paper to read here. Okay.
I'm here to express concern regarding

861
01:09:06,160 --> 01:09:13,880
the conduct displayed
beginning of December

862
01:09:11,080 --> 01:09:16,920
Johnny Turcato and Billy,
which I found inappropriate for an

863
01:09:15,839 --> 01:09:19,839
elected
government official representing

864
01:09:18,440 --> 01:09:25,960
taxpayers.
While the counselor issued an apology

865
01:09:22,920 --> 01:09:29,640
to council, no apology was extended to
Billy.

866
01:09:27,839 --> 01:09:34,720
none of you
counselors

867
01:09:30,759 --> 01:09:39,720
reached out and apologized for Johnny's
behavior.

868
01:09:36,759 --> 01:09:44,279
I'm also concerned that the
Hey.

869
01:09:41,720 --> 01:09:47,720
I'm also concerned that the actions of
certain council members are contributing

870
01:09:46,160 --> 01:09:50,600
to division within the community,
creating tension

871
01:09:49,319 --> 01:09:54,360
amongst families, friends, and
neighbors.

872
01:09:52,560 --> 01:10:00,720
As Reeve,
I would appreciate clarification on your

873
01:09:57,040 --> 01:10:05,760
role in influencing council discussions
prior to formal deliberation and voting.

874
01:10:04,240 --> 01:10:09,733
These matters raise concerns about
accountability and the handling of

875
01:10:07,440 --> 01:10:13,440
public trust. I would appro- I would
[snorts] appreciate your response.

876
01:10:14,280 --> 01:10:22,320
Can you read me the last sentence where
it calls out me?

877
01:10:19,440 --> 01:10:22,320
The last sentence?

878
01:10:23,560 --> 01:10:25,960
Oh.

879
01:10:26,240 --> 01:10:33,960
I would appreciate clarification on your
role in influencing council discussion

880
01:10:31,320 --> 01:10:37,280
prior to formal deliberation and voting.
And I don't know if

881
01:10:35,400 --> 01:10:41,840
you should do that or should not. I'm
And that's a question to you.

882
01:10:39,520 --> 01:10:47,080
Yeah, so those who know me
know that I'm pretty strong in what my

883
01:10:44,160 --> 01:10:47,080
opinions are.

884
01:10:47,120 --> 01:10:53,440
And we've had some good conversations as
council.

885
01:10:50,880 --> 01:10:59,800
But whether I'm having pre-meetings or
sidebar meetings with

886
01:10:56,120 --> 01:11:04,240
my council or with other user groups,
then you would know that that's wrong.

887
01:11:01,880 --> 01:11:09,120
Have I had a discussion with counselors?
Sure, I I do all the time. I've had

888
01:11:06,960 --> 01:11:13,200
discussions with John De Groot. He's
what helped me understand what community

889
01:11:11,160 --> 01:11:16,720
pastures were and helped me make a
decision to ensure that they would be

890
01:11:15,080 --> 01:11:22,240
stable.
There's no pre-voting that I'm aware of.

891
01:11:19,600 --> 01:11:26,560
It concerns me because I mean, there's
definitely people who are influencing

892
01:11:24,280 --> 01:11:30,400
council, but that's part of government.
These are your elected officials. They

893
01:11:28,160 --> 01:11:35,720
have to listen to their ratepayers. So
that that occurs all the time, whether

894
01:11:33,720 --> 01:11:40,520
it's by phone call, whether it's by a
meeting, whether it's by a comment on my

895
01:11:38,320 --> 01:11:43,960
social media, or someone's mother
phoning me and screaming at me for 40

896
01:11:42,760 --> 01:11:49,840
minutes,
calling me a devil.

897
01:11:45,760 --> 01:11:56,120
You know, sometimes as a counselor,
we have to navigate the chair we sit in.

898
01:11:53,840 --> 01:11:58,520
And making hard decisions is one of
them.

899
01:11:59,160 --> 01:12:07,560
This leasehold stuff hasn't been easy.
What should have been harder was having

900
01:12:04,240 --> 01:12:11,840
to set the farm mill rate.
But that wasn't as divisive cuz we

901
01:12:09,240 --> 01:12:15,160
worked together to find a way for
everybody in the municipality to take

902
01:12:13,840 --> 01:12:19,800
care of it.
The leaseholds became a very divisive

903
01:12:18,080 --> 01:12:24,560
subject
because there were some changes. But

904
01:12:22,320 --> 01:12:30,520
that's elections. That's government and
that's what happens.

905
01:12:26,120 --> 01:12:34,560
So myself as Reeve, do I try to corral
these guys? Do you know any of them? Not

906
01:12:32,760 --> 01:12:38,160
one of them is going to take my opinion
very well.

907
01:12:35,760 --> 01:12:42,880
They're all strong, independent people,
and I would feel the same way for them

908
01:12:40,640 --> 01:12:48,440
if they wanted to do that to me.
Do we share our ideas and our

909
01:12:45,160 --> 01:12:53,920
suggestions? 100%. I text them all today
to remind them about the meeting. I send

910
01:12:51,360 --> 01:12:59,240
them information on how they could do
their job better or have access to

911
01:12:56,600 --> 01:13:03,520
information. But I can get the same from
someone else. Someone will send me

912
01:13:01,520 --> 01:13:09,480
information from a meeting they went to
on an opportunity for funding. So do we

913
01:13:06,040 --> 01:13:14,280
work together outside of council? 100%.
These men and I serve on 61 different

914
01:13:12,120 --> 01:13:19,840
committees in the community.
We spend hours and hours of time trying

915
01:13:17,680 --> 01:13:26,280
to figure it out. So as far as our
conduct, there's an election every 4

916
01:13:22,720 --> 01:13:31,040
years, so that could be debated. But
we've worked darn hard to find a

917
01:13:28,320 --> 01:13:35,400
compromise, to find in a solution. Has
it been divisive? 100%. Have some

918
01:13:33,600 --> 01:13:39,400
members of the community helped make it
divisive? 100%.

919
01:13:37,720 --> 01:13:44,160
They've gone behind people's backs.
They've said things, but that's part of

920
01:13:41,400 --> 01:13:49,520
politics. So if you heard tonight when
the question was asked on leases, this

921
01:13:46,440 --> 01:13:54,920
council came to a consensus, and we have
a decision, so we're moving forward.

922
01:13:52,120 --> 01:14:00,040
We care about the community, but
things are going to divide, and farming,

923
01:13:58,320 --> 01:14:05,320
it's one of those. Ranching, another
one. It It is a difficult thing to deal

924
01:14:03,560 --> 01:14:08,880
with, and water's going to be worse when
we have water shortages or water

925
01:14:07,000 --> 01:14:11,800
concerns.
We're very fortunate where we live.

926
01:14:10,440 --> 01:14:18,680
We're not worried about whether we have
a house or a road to drive on.

927
01:14:14,680 --> 01:14:23,560
So when I hear critical comments of this
council, I get very defensive because I

928
01:14:21,160 --> 01:14:27,360
do know that these men
and I serve this municipality the best

929
01:14:26,280 --> 01:14:32,080
we can.
Is there things we should do better? You

930
01:14:29,120 --> 01:14:37,560
brought up one incident.
100% we all can do better.

931
01:14:34,760 --> 01:14:41,280
Should I have reached out and apologized
on behalf of council?

932
01:14:39,480 --> 01:14:46,280
That's not my role.
And plus, if you knew background for me

933
01:14:43,560 --> 01:14:52,600
on that situation, it would be very
difficult for me to even have a

934
01:14:49,320 --> 01:14:58,000
conversation. But know that tonight or
this week, I sent a text message out to

935
01:14:55,520 --> 01:15:02,600
most everyone whose number I have. I
sent it out to Billy and Joe. They would

936
01:15:00,280 --> 01:15:06,240
have been welcome to come tonight, too.
And

937
01:15:04,160 --> 01:15:10,480
whether council gets in disagreements
with people,

938
01:15:08,200 --> 01:15:14,280
again, I'm not their mom.
They're going to have behaviors that,

939
01:15:12,640 --> 01:15:18,360
you know, we can all do better. Right
now, there's no code of conduct.

940
01:15:16,640 --> 01:15:22,480
There's going to be a code of con-
similar thing come into play if this

941
01:15:20,680 --> 01:15:27,400
bill 20-
eight gets passed, the omnibus bill,

942
01:15:25,160 --> 01:15:31,880
that also includes banning books from
libraries, changing the time. Like

943
01:15:30,440 --> 01:15:36,120
there's all kinds of things in that
bill. And that will help

944
01:15:34,280 --> 01:15:40,440
deal with counselors. But for those of
you who know,

945
01:15:37,360 --> 01:15:45,120
in my second year, a code of conduct was
placed on me for discussing how I could

946
01:15:42,720 --> 01:15:49,000
have a better relationship with the CEO.
So code of conduct,

947
01:15:47,000 --> 01:15:53,520
I have mixed feelings. So I know I've
talked a long time, Johnny, but

948
01:15:51,440 --> 01:15:57,440
we all should do better, and I think
this council is working hard to do

949
01:15:55,520 --> 01:16:03,840
better. We've come to some solutions.
Now we need to move forward. Thank you.

950
01:16:01,200 --> 01:16:08,440
Hi, John De Groot. I I just
was pretty involved

951
01:16:05,840 --> 01:16:11,200
with the lands discussions the last 2
years of my

952
01:16:09,840 --> 01:16:15,520
on council.
And it And And it was divisive. But our

953
01:16:13,840 --> 01:16:20,680
council came up with some pretty hard
decisions. And uh

954
01:16:19,040 --> 01:16:26,400
And I didn't agree with all of them, but
that's that's council. I respect the

955
01:16:23,360 --> 01:16:30,840
decision this council has made. But one
thing we have to understand in

956
01:16:28,760 --> 01:16:37,160
agriculture here, and I've heard the
word subsidy, and it's uh free to the

957
01:16:34,640 --> 01:16:42,240
grazing operations. When I started my
farming career, land was 100,000 bucks a

958
01:16:40,320 --> 01:16:47,240
quarter.
What's land worth now?

959
01:16:45,040 --> 01:16:54,120
What was an intensive agricultural
operation? Cuz I I get pissed off when

960
01:16:50,400 --> 01:16:58,160
people start picking on feedlots or or
picking on one

961
01:16:55,840 --> 01:17:04,600
the potato growers, whatever.
An intensive agricultural operation in

962
01:17:01,040 --> 01:17:07,920
1980 was what?
You know, what's a big What was a big

963
01:17:06,360 --> 01:17:12,000
potato storage? Doesn't matter. Just
think about it. What was a big feedlot

964
01:17:09,680 --> 01:17:19,400
back in 1980?
3,500 head. Where are we now? So stop

965
01:17:16,840 --> 01:17:24,320
throwing the word subsidy around because
if if you think it's a subsidy to the

966
01:17:21,720 --> 01:17:29,240
grazing association
or the individual leaseholders, pull

967
01:17:26,840 --> 01:17:35,400
your head out your backside because
irrigation is a subsidy.

968
01:17:32,120 --> 01:17:41,120
By how many millions of dollars
do we get canals and Chin expansion and

969
01:17:39,280 --> 01:17:45,000
Horsefly spillway?
So figure out

970
01:17:42,920 --> 01:17:50,480
how we can work together.
And I am proud that you guys went up on

971
01:17:47,760 --> 01:17:54,280
land. When land's going for between
three and five million dollars a

972
01:17:53,040 --> 01:17:59,200
quarter,
and we're

973
01:17:55,520 --> 01:18:02,480
running our visa drive over three bucks,
give your head a shake.

974
01:18:06,600 --> 01:18:12,480
I just wanted to say
Is it on? You can hear me? Um that

975
01:18:10,480 --> 01:18:17,960
Tamara and I have probably voted against
each other more than we voted together.

976
01:18:14,880 --> 01:18:21,560
But I respect this lady a lot. We don't
have to agree

977
01:18:19,719 --> 01:18:26,240
to be friends.
Um she's been amazing. And even on

978
01:18:24,719 --> 01:18:31,520
little things in the background, if one
of us is sick

979
01:18:28,000 --> 01:18:35,000
or on the phone or any She She watches
out for everybody on this council. If

980
01:18:33,160 --> 01:18:37,960
somebody can't hear what's being said,
she makes sure that we speak up so that

981
01:18:36,640 --> 01:18:42,680
the people that are hard of hearing can
hear. Um And so like I say, we don't

982
01:18:40,440 --> 01:18:48,440
have to agree to to care about each
other and to actually love each other.

983
01:18:45,000 --> 01:18:55,600
And she She gets a lot of abuse as the
as the Reeve, and I'm just honored to be

984
01:18:51,080 --> 01:18:55,600
able to work with her. And so thank you.

985
01:18:57,120 --> 01:19:03,440
And it goes for all of council. And
we're very fortunate to have a

986
01:19:00,719 --> 01:19:08,840
supportive staff, too, who check in on
council and make sure we're not going

987
01:19:06,080 --> 01:19:14,520
sideways, either. We try to do our very
best, and we'll always have to do

988
01:19:10,920 --> 01:19:17,719
better, but that's being human.
One question here. Yeah, go ahead, Bert.

989
01:19:16,719 --> 01:19:20,000
Hey, uh
you know, I just came to the meeting. I

990
01:19:18,880 --> 01:19:25,840
thought, you know, you had raised the
rate by 55% was it?

991
01:19:23,120 --> 01:19:29,840
No one really complains.
You raised mine by 55, I'd be

992
01:19:27,720 --> 01:19:33,800
complaining pretty hard right now.
So, I'm just sitting here going, "Hm, I

993
01:19:31,800 --> 01:19:39,960
see the farmers around here, but no
one's saying anything, so must be

994
01:19:36,200 --> 01:19:39,960
must be good or easy still."

995
01:19:40,080 --> 01:19:46,920
I think it's reasonable. I think that's
more so what it is and because

996
01:19:45,120 --> 01:19:52,520
we didn't raise it to make money. We
made it raised it to make our budget

997
01:19:49,560 --> 01:19:58,720
balance and so that we didn't have to
continue having residential and business

998
01:19:55,920 --> 01:20:04,760
carry the load when we know egg is a a
stick is the main stable contributor to

999
01:20:01,880 --> 01:20:08,720
our municipality. It needed to have a
level of equity. Yeah, just to readjust

1000
01:20:07,200 --> 01:20:13,400
things to get more things in line a
little bit.

1001
01:20:09,880 --> 01:20:13,400
Okay, yeah, good job.

1002
01:20:26,040 --> 01:20:31,560
Uh Tamara, I think you know, we all like
to you know, we all like to thank this

1003
01:20:28,640 --> 01:20:36,240
council being I know we ask some tough
questions sometimes of you guys, but

1004
01:20:34,360 --> 01:20:39,200
you know, the increase of $3 an acre,
you're right.

1005
01:20:37,480 --> 01:20:43,720
When you really think about it,
I mean, when I first started dealing

1006
01:20:40,560 --> 01:20:48,080
with the the now SMRID or TID, I think
our rate was

1007
01:20:45,280 --> 01:20:52,760
$8 an acre for for irrigation.
And what are we paying now?

1008
01:20:50,880 --> 01:20:58,440
33, right? So, I So,
So, we're we've seen a see seen an $8 to

1009
01:20:56,040 --> 01:21:04,200
30-some plus number come from the
irrigation side of it, but yet the

1010
01:21:01,920 --> 01:21:08,240
as a uh for our rate paying for our
taxes,

1011
01:21:05,920 --> 01:21:12,160
we've seen three bucks.
You know, I mean,

1012
01:21:09,440 --> 01:21:17,560
the question is is like we talk about
certain industries like maybe feedlots

1013
01:21:14,600 --> 01:21:21,160
or potato farmers or high use
environments paying more.

1014
01:21:19,760 --> 01:21:25,040
You know, who's really paying a lot is
the is these people that are in the

1015
01:21:22,880 --> 01:21:27,720
acreages and stuff like that.
I have a house in the acreage and my

1016
01:21:26,440 --> 01:21:32,640
brother has a house in the acreage and
we pay for taxes relative to how much

1017
01:21:30,000 --> 01:21:36,960
services we get is considerably higher
than what the farmland, like you say,

1018
01:21:34,520 --> 01:21:42,560
it's gone from $100,000
to $35,000 I think an acre almost. I

1019
01:21:41,000 --> 01:21:46,280
mean, when we bought land even in the
'90s, I think we paid $800 an acre for

1020
01:21:44,880 --> 01:21:50,040
irrigation.
$800 an acre.

1021
01:21:48,200 --> 01:21:54,400
And at that time, we were charged a tax
rate of based on that $800 an acre,

1022
01:21:52,120 --> 01:21:56,600
which was the 25 years ago,
right? So,

1023
01:21:55,680 --> 01:22:00,560
I think
the direction that I'm trying to tell

1024
01:21:58,040 --> 01:22:04,920
council is is that you
everybody's got to pay their fair share,

1025
01:22:03,320 --> 01:22:08,600
right? Everybody has to pay their fair
share, whether it's what's the

1026
01:22:06,400 --> 01:22:13,400
agricultural side of it or it's the
leaseholder side of it or we all have to

1027
01:22:11,560 --> 01:22:16,280
pay somewhat of fair share.
And I think that

1028
01:22:14,640 --> 01:22:19,400
cuz if we don't, like you say, the
infrastructure

1029
01:22:17,840 --> 01:22:23,080
is falling apart. We've got some
highways and blacktops and the MD of

1030
01:22:21,920 --> 01:22:25,720
Taber
that I think Mexico might have better

1031
01:22:24,360 --> 01:22:29,360
roads.
So, I mean, we have to we have to think

1032
01:22:28,000 --> 01:22:32,360
about that, right? For a bit, right?
Well, no, I've been to Mexico. There's

1033
01:22:30,760 --> 01:22:36,442
some of the roads are better there.
So, I mean, I grew up in Saskatchewan.

1034
01:22:34,240 --> 01:22:39,080
You should go drive some of theirs.
>> [laughter]

1035
01:22:37,040 --> 01:22:42,080
» Yeah, that's true. That's true, but that
is Mexico, so.

1036
01:22:42,720 --> 01:22:47,320
So, anyway, that's all I have to say
about it, so.

1037
01:22:53,360 --> 01:22:59,440
Okay, council, do you have any Does
anyone want to speak?

1038
01:22:57,560 --> 01:23:02,520
You're welcome to if you want. Oh, we'll
take some more questions.

1039
01:23:04,280 --> 01:23:11,080
Yeah, I'm Peter Donns.
Uh I'm I'm in on, [clears throat] you

1040
01:23:09,160 --> 01:23:15,600
know, like uh
uh lived here uh almost 50 years in this

1041
01:23:14,000 --> 01:23:19,920
country
and uh

1042
01:23:17,400 --> 01:23:24,000
the massive opportunities there were for
us.

1043
01:23:21,280 --> 01:23:27,560
Mentioned subsidy, irrigation,
livestock.

1044
01:23:25,840 --> 01:23:31,320
You know, I've been kind of in all of
it.

1045
01:23:28,920 --> 01:23:36,240
But you know, the the responsibility as
a counselor

1046
01:23:32,920 --> 01:23:41,120
and and what you guys have to
fix what was not

1047
01:23:38,960 --> 01:23:46,240
was locked behind
20 years ago and not taking action and

1048
01:23:44,440 --> 01:23:49,360
taken for granted.
You know, and now we have to play catch

1049
01:23:47,880 --> 01:23:53,520
up.
And some of them get angry.

1050
01:23:52,440 --> 01:23:57,240
You know,
shame on them. We have to live with

1051
01:23:55,560 --> 01:24:02,120
reality.
You know, and $150

1052
01:24:00,000 --> 01:24:05,000
I gladly pay.
You know, uh

1053
01:24:05,080 --> 01:24:12,120
the school system, the school buses.
If you if you look everything, it is

1054
01:24:10,480 --> 01:24:17,200
just massive.
An MD like this,

1055
01:24:14,280 --> 01:24:22,200
um you know, a little bit of a pity it's
it's

1056
01:24:18,800 --> 01:24:26,200
um questions asked and and what has been
put

1057
01:24:23,320 --> 01:24:29,080
onto the council and we've
uh

1058
01:24:27,080 --> 01:24:33,240
you know, I would like to ask every
counselor

1059
01:24:30,640 --> 01:24:36,840
and and do a little spiel
on their own thoughts

1060
01:24:34,960 --> 01:24:39,280
and where they stand for.
Thank you.

1061
01:24:41,440 --> 01:24:48,880
That was Jerry Zeinstra. So, uh I'll
give council the mic, so you just want

1062
01:24:46,000 --> 01:24:53,680
their opinion on the taxation or on the
state of the MD?

1063
01:24:51,080 --> 01:24:57,640
Sure. I will let them come one at a
time. You've heard enough from me.

1064
01:25:03,240 --> 01:25:11,040
Okay, we're back. Um I'm um
that first rate meeting

1065
01:25:10,120 --> 01:25:15,000
um
when you've never been on council was a

1066
01:25:12,520 --> 01:25:19,080
bit shocking to realize that we had to
move

1067
01:25:16,240 --> 01:25:22,960
farm tax rates by 55%
to get $1 million.

1068
01:25:21,200 --> 01:25:28,440
And the road, the Purple Springs Road is
going to cost $12 million to rebuild.

1069
01:25:25,720 --> 01:25:31,320
One road that's completely dissolving.
And so,

1070
01:25:30,080 --> 01:25:37,040
I don't think we're going to solve all
this by doing taxation. We've got to do

1071
01:25:33,760 --> 01:25:41,720
some investment in the future of this MD
and we're looking at everything like

1072
01:25:38,960 --> 01:25:44,480
data centers, wind, solar, what and we
don't know what's the right answers.

1073
01:25:42,840 --> 01:25:48,440
We've We've got to get a lot of data
together. We've got to study this out.

1074
01:25:47,080 --> 01:25:53,680
One of the things that was really a
shock to me that I had no idea, um just

1075
01:25:51,080 --> 01:25:59,080
being naive, but that we have 150
bridges in the MD of Taber and they're

1076
01:25:56,360 --> 01:26:03,000
almost all of them are bridges for
irrigation. They're for all of our

1077
01:26:00,760 --> 01:26:07,920
canals. And
um I didn't realize that that was a

1078
01:26:05,080 --> 01:26:11,440
liability that the the MD has to fix.
Now, it'll be shared with the province

1079
01:26:09,480 --> 01:26:15,760
and the feds, but we have to pay a
portion of that. And it wasn't very many

1080
01:26:13,280 --> 01:26:20,400
years ago that that was actually SMRID's
responsibility, but the legislation got

1081
01:26:18,000 --> 01:26:24,640
changed and now it's government's
responsibility. And so, it's a huge

1082
01:26:22,600 --> 01:26:30,680
liability, but it could be a huge
opportunity. What if we figure out how

1083
01:26:27,440 --> 01:26:34,560
to make box culverts, I'm in precast
concrete, so I wouldn't be doing it.

1084
01:26:32,120 --> 01:26:38,960
That would be a major conflict. Or if we
figure out how to train one of our crews

1085
01:26:37,040 --> 01:26:41,640
to fix these bridges because there's a
whole bunch of them in the county of 40

1086
01:26:40,400 --> 01:26:44,960
Mile and there's a whole bunch of them
in the county of Lethbridge. We don't

1087
01:26:43,480 --> 01:26:49,000
know what the answers are, but something
in the future's got to change, not just

1088
01:26:46,760 --> 01:26:54,320
taxation. We've got to bring And if we
keep taxing the businesses at too high

1089
01:26:51,680 --> 01:26:58,720
of a rate, they won't come to our MD.
Like we want like more processing

1090
01:26:56,600 --> 01:27:02,440
plants. We want food processing. We want
things to happen here that actually

1091
01:27:00,480 --> 01:27:06,480
makes it better for everybody. We're in
a like I agree, an amazing place of

1092
01:27:04,760 --> 01:27:10,720
opportunity, but we've got to keep
looking. Like John's going to Toronto

1093
01:27:09,000 --> 01:27:12,960
next week for a
a few days

1094
01:27:12,000 --> 01:27:17,080
to
a big, you know, economic development

1095
01:27:14,960 --> 01:27:21,160
type convention and some of the staff is
going with him. They're looking for

1096
01:27:18,600 --> 01:27:24,080
things to bring to this MD that are
going to make it a better place to be.

1097
01:27:22,880 --> 01:27:27,440
And so,
um and we're going to keep doing those

1098
01:27:25,840 --> 01:27:30,920
things and we are going to start more
businesses and

1099
01:27:29,520 --> 01:27:34,200
in 10 years, we're going to look back
and see that

1100
01:27:32,360 --> 01:27:39,080
um even though this land policy has been
very, very contentious, we've been

1101
01:27:36,280 --> 01:27:42,680
pulling in millions of dollars from the
oil leases off of that land.

1102
01:27:41,440 --> 01:27:45,960
And now we're going to sell a bunch of
it and we're building the irrigation

1103
01:27:44,440 --> 01:27:49,880
project.
It's going to be our seed money to do

1104
01:27:48,440 --> 01:27:54,160
different things. It's not all going to
get solved by this land policy, but we

1105
01:27:52,160 --> 01:27:56,840
are going to move on to to new things
and it's going to take a lot of debate

1106
01:27:55,640 --> 01:28:00,600
and we're not going to agree on
everything that we but we are going to

1107
01:27:58,600 --> 01:28:05,480
try to put this money into a place where
it will bring some security for our So,

1108
01:28:03,160 --> 01:28:10,640
I'm very positive about the future and I
am sorry for the lack of knowledge that

1109
01:28:08,560 --> 01:28:14,520
I have on a lot of things. I'm trying to
to get up to speed and I really

1110
01:28:12,920 --> 01:28:17,200
appreciate the patience of council
working with me.

1111
01:28:21,800 --> 01:28:27,440
So, I'm a new member of council and it's
been an interesting experience to say

1112
01:28:25,719 --> 01:28:31,200
the least for me stepping into this
situation.

1113
01:28:29,000 --> 01:28:36,120
Uh first of all, before I say anything,
I want to echo

1114
01:28:33,680 --> 01:28:40,800
uh David's comments about working with
Tamara.

1115
01:28:37,520 --> 01:28:47,600
She does a great job. As a council, we
put her in difficult situations

1116
01:28:44,280 --> 01:28:52,600
and she manages it and manages it well.
And I appreciate her role and what she

1117
01:28:50,200 --> 01:28:56,080
has been doing in leading us together
through this process that we have gone

1118
01:28:54,360 --> 01:29:01,480
through.
As I reflect on

1119
01:28:58,840 --> 01:29:06,200
the role of community,
I think the most important asset we have

1120
01:29:04,600 --> 01:29:11,960
in the community
is relationships. And it's relationships

1121
01:29:09,880 --> 01:29:16,440
with one another. It's relationships
with different groups.

1122
01:29:13,719 --> 01:29:21,880
And if there's anything that is going to
be more

1123
01:29:18,240 --> 01:29:27,720
um difficult to manage going forward,
it's going to be division.

1124
01:29:24,720 --> 01:29:33,160
And we have got to recognize that there
is going to be differences of opinion

1125
01:29:30,280 --> 01:29:37,200
and come through that process of making
decisions and still have respect for one

1126
01:29:35,960 --> 01:29:41,000
another.
Um

1127
01:29:38,520 --> 01:29:47,840
being able to
work together in pursuit of difficult

1128
01:29:44,720 --> 01:29:55,240
decisions that we have been dealing with
and have yet to deal with in the future

1129
01:29:51,000 --> 01:30:00,320
is one of the things that we all need to
invest time and effort into and I hope

1130
01:29:58,840 --> 01:30:05,040
that that's something that as a
community

1131
01:30:01,680 --> 01:30:09,520
we're prepared to work on together.
Cuz as we've talked about tonight, there

1132
01:30:07,800 --> 01:30:13,920
has been difficult things that we have
been through already.

1133
01:30:12,000 --> 01:30:18,520
But I'm sure that there's going to be
even more difficult decisions ahead.

1134
01:30:16,480 --> 01:30:24,080
Um Brian Hildebrand
raised the question. There's all kinds

1135
01:30:21,440 --> 01:30:26,840
of needs that are out there and where's
the money going to come from? And that's

1136
01:30:25,680 --> 01:30:31,400
going to be
an ongoing conversation that we're going

1137
01:30:29,520 --> 01:30:35,160
to have to work through together. I
appreciate you coming out tonight. The

1138
01:30:33,600 --> 01:30:39,920
fact that you're here
tells us there's interest in what's

1139
01:30:37,280 --> 01:30:43,880
happening. That's great to see.
I appreciate the comments that you've

1140
01:30:41,320 --> 01:30:43,880
shared.

1141
01:30:48,840 --> 01:30:52,160
Thanks for making me come up here,
Jerry.

1142
01:30:51,627 --> 01:30:56,480
» [laughter]
>> I appreciate that. So, when I uh first

1143
01:30:54,680 --> 01:30:59,480
put my name forward to be on council, it
was

1144
01:30:57,560 --> 01:31:03,320
it was because I thought that the roads
could use more help and more work. I

1145
01:31:01,960 --> 01:31:06,040
thought that uh we could do a better
job.

1146
01:31:04,480 --> 01:31:10,320
And one of the things that disappointed
me the most is over the last 8 years

1147
01:31:08,720 --> 01:31:14,640
the most the least amount of time we
spend on decision-making is about roads

1148
01:31:13,000 --> 01:31:18,960
and road infrastructure.
When that is what affects every one of

1149
01:31:16,360 --> 01:31:22,280
us in this room. And so, that that
disappoints me a little bit, but there's

1150
01:31:20,840 --> 01:31:26,600
so many other things that we have to
deal with and some of them are quite

1151
01:31:24,840 --> 01:31:31,080
challenging. And I would encourage
anybody if if there's something I've

1152
01:31:28,200 --> 01:31:35,240
done I I encourage you to reach out to
me personally. Um calling me out in open

1153
01:31:33,800 --> 01:31:38,560
meeting isn't really the right way to do
it, but if that's how you choose to do

1154
01:31:37,120 --> 01:31:42,880
it, that's fine, too.
Uh I can take it. And uh this this

1155
01:31:40,920 --> 01:31:45,840
council, just like the last two I've
been on

1156
01:31:43,920 --> 01:31:50,000
uh there's differences of opinion and
that's a good thing. We can't all agree

1157
01:31:47,760 --> 01:31:52,400
all the time and we shouldn't.
Thank you.

1158
01:31:58,240 --> 01:32:05,960
Well, talk about being put on the spot.
Anyways, what do I think?

1159
01:32:04,640 --> 01:32:09,880
Well, I'm going to start off with a bit
of history. I've been on boards for 30

1160
01:32:08,680 --> 01:32:12,920
years.
Um

1161
01:32:10,920 --> 01:32:16,800
this has been the toughest
experience on a board that I've had

1162
01:32:15,240 --> 01:32:20,440
trying to make
wise decisions

1163
01:32:18,440 --> 01:32:23,480
and you realize, too, that you don't
know

1164
01:32:21,760 --> 01:32:29,200
what you need to know sometimes and that
gets a bit frustrating and

1165
01:32:25,760 --> 01:32:32,400
it's a learning experience, for sure.
Uh one thing I did want to mention

1166
01:32:30,960 --> 01:32:36,120
tonight is
um you know, a couple weeks ago

1167
01:32:34,640 --> 01:32:40,360
we went on a tour of the Horsefly
Spillway.

1168
01:32:37,840 --> 01:32:44,560
And people have talked about subsidy
and and uh

1169
01:32:43,200 --> 01:32:47,920
and subsidizing the grazing
associations. And I looked at the

1170
01:32:46,800 --> 01:32:50,760
Horsefly Spillway and I said, I don't
know how much money the MD spent on

1171
01:32:49,480 --> 01:32:54,520
that,
but I don't think there's too many

1172
01:32:51,840 --> 01:32:57,760
leaseholders that getting any benefit
out of that spillway.

1173
01:32:56,240 --> 01:33:01,680
So,
there are a group of people that have

1174
01:32:59,840 --> 01:33:05,280
subsidized that spillway
that helps a lot of people in a

1175
01:33:03,560 --> 01:33:09,960
different area of the MD.
And I think

1176
01:33:06,800 --> 01:33:09,960
it's the fact that

1177
01:33:10,720 --> 01:33:16,200
we're never going to get everything 100%
right,

1178
01:33:13,800 --> 01:33:21,360
but
we can try and average things out the

1179
01:33:18,680 --> 01:33:21,360
best we can.

1180
01:33:28,840 --> 01:33:34,080
Yeah, I'm usually the one that uh has
the most to say at the meeting. Very

1181
01:33:32,440 --> 01:33:38,680
quiet.
But uh when I this my I'm a third term

1182
01:33:36,480 --> 01:33:42,760
now and when I got on, I just wanted to
try and make the MD a better place than

1183
01:33:40,880 --> 01:33:48,360
what it was and
hope to win.

1184
01:33:44,240 --> 01:33:52,280
I I believe that it's better yet, but uh
roads is a big thing.

1185
01:33:50,240 --> 01:33:56,800
I don't know why out in the country and
how it come about years ago, why there's

1186
01:33:54,760 --> 01:33:59,280
a little paved section for 4 miles here
and then

1187
01:33:57,800 --> 01:34:02,120
you go to another area, it's another 4
miles there.

1188
01:34:01,120 --> 01:34:05,280
And a number of the same roads that
we're talking about now that are

1189
01:34:03,120 --> 01:34:09,000
breaking up, they were more or less made
for

1190
01:34:06,880 --> 01:34:12,360
half ton cars and maybe 3 ton trucks or
tandems and now it's

1191
01:34:10,680 --> 01:34:15,480
big trucks. That's why they're falling
apart, so

1192
01:34:14,280 --> 01:34:20,480
what do we do?
Spend millions of dollars fixing them up

1193
01:34:17,200 --> 01:34:24,920
or turn them back to gravel or
I guess anybody that's got any good

1194
01:34:22,240 --> 01:34:28,600
ideas for me, let us know cuz uh
it's a lot of money to spend in one

1195
01:34:26,920 --> 01:34:31,920
area.
And with the expansion of that

1196
01:34:29,920 --> 01:34:35,720
irrigation, it's sure to take time to
pay for it, but I think there'll be

1197
01:34:33,360 --> 01:34:40,160
revenue gained from that and it'll help
everybody out with

1198
01:34:37,800 --> 01:34:45,080
recreation
and everything else in the community, so

1199
01:34:42,240 --> 01:34:45,080
that's what all I have.

1200
01:34:50,040 --> 01:34:58,320
Okay, thanks, council.
So, um last call for questions.

1201
01:34:56,160 --> 01:35:03,280
I heard Lace tested every donut, so
they're all good.

1202
01:35:00,040 --> 01:35:03,280
Don't look underneath them.

1203
01:35:08,800 --> 01:35:16,400
It for those who don't know, Lace is the
person who keeps our council organized,

1204
01:35:13,920 --> 01:35:20,240
moving forward, ensuring that we show up
at the right places, have the right

1205
01:35:18,280 --> 01:35:27,720
documents and then with the support of
our staff. Um you may notice tonight our

1206
01:35:23,480 --> 01:35:32,560
CAO is not here, Mr. Arlis Crop. He is
um taking his dad to a nephew's wedding

1207
01:35:30,880 --> 01:35:37,720
and that's probably more than I should
share, but I want you to know that this

1208
01:35:34,720 --> 01:35:43,840
council and the last two councils I
served on prioritize family and that is

1209
01:35:41,880 --> 01:35:46,680
very important to us and work-life
balance.

1210
01:35:45,040 --> 01:35:52,280
I would say most farmers don't have a
clue about that. I live with one.

1211
01:35:49,360 --> 01:35:57,960
And um but at the MD of Taber, we do
think it's important to have work-life

1212
01:35:54,160 --> 01:36:02,160
balance and plus many of our staff, all
I would say all of them contribute back

1213
01:35:59,920 --> 01:36:07,000
to our community and I'll just call Lace
out. She is the president of the Taber

1214
01:36:04,600 --> 01:36:10,960
Curling Club and helps her kids' sports
teams. So,

1215
01:36:08,320 --> 01:36:15,080
we do strive for work-life balance and
when I hear people say, "Well, they

1216
01:36:12,280 --> 01:36:19,320
shouldn't be shut down at at uh 5:00.
They should be working till 9:00." Well,

1217
01:36:17,320 --> 01:36:24,040
maybe we all could learn a little bit
and but that's not how farming works.

1218
01:36:21,120 --> 01:36:27,800
So, we have a strong team. We as a
council support our staff and we're

1219
01:36:26,400 --> 01:36:33,960
thankful for the work that they're
doing, right from our summer students to

1220
01:36:30,280 --> 01:36:37,320
our directors to our CAO. And um if we
don't have those folks, there's not one

1221
01:36:35,840 --> 01:36:42,720
of these guys you want grading your
road. So, it's uh important that we have

1222
01:36:40,720 --> 01:36:48,840
this strong team.
It wasn't that bad of joke, Bryce.

1223
01:36:45,960 --> 01:36:51,600
Okay, any other last questions before we
have a coffee?

1224
01:36:54,320 --> 01:37:00,640
All right, thank you for coming tonight.
We appreciate your community

1225
01:36:57,760 --> 01:37:00,640
involvement.