Medicine Hat Minute: Issue 257

Medicine Hat Minute - Your weekly one-minute summary of Medicine Hat politics

📅 This Week In Medicine Hat: 📅

• We're hosting a Pints & Politics event in Medicine Hat, in conjunction with our friends at the Alberta Institute! We had originally planned the event for 6:00 pm, but MLA Justin Wright has agreed to join us for some remarks, so we are changing the start time to 5:30 pm! Come on out and hear what he has to say, meet some of the team, and chat about politics. There's a lot going on, so there will be plenty of conversation topics. The event takes place on Tuesday, May 19th. It’s free, but you’ll need to RSVP here.
  
  
• There will be a City Council meeting on Tuesday at 3:30 pm. The meeting begins with a closed session. Away from the public eye, Council will discuss community flag-raising requests, outdoor enjoyment strategy next steps, the Parks and Recreation Master Plan, government advocacy, and personnel. During the public portion of the meeting, there will be a Public Hearing to gather feedback on the rezoning of 21 Ranchlands Boulevard NE from Neighbourhood Commercial (C-N) District to Medium Density Residential (R-MD) District.
  
  
• Council will also consider Medicine Hat’s Development and Expansion Incentive Program. The program is designed to attract commercial and industrial investment, support business expansion, and improve the city’s economic competitiveness through performance-based incentives. The program includes a revised non-residential tax exemption bylaw offering partial property tax exemptions for up to five years for qualifying developments, including large new business projects, business expansions, and brownfield redevelopments. It also extends the residential tax exemption program until December 31st, 2030, continuing incentives for multi-unit housing developments, backyard suites, and secondary suites, with larger infill projects eligible for exemptions lasting up to seven years. In addition, the City introduced a new Development and Expansion Grant that provides up to $100,000 for projects in sectors such as aerospace and defence, agriculture and agri-food, and regional tourism. To qualify for the grant, projects must involve at least $500,000 in capital investment and create five skilled jobs. Businesses can only receive either a tax exemption or a grant for the same project, and successful applicants must meet agreed-upon performance targets or risk losing incentives or repaying funds. 
  
  
• Administration is asking Council to approve a $21.55-million increase to the Electric Utility Distribution’s 2026 sustaining capital budget to modernize three aging electrical substations identified as high priority through a 2025 asset condition assessment. The substations, originally commissioned in 1984, contain outdated equipment that poses growing reliability and safety risks, including obsolete circuit breakers, aging transformers with no available spares, and live-front equipment that creates safety concerns. Rather than pursuing a much more expensive full system upgrade, Administration is recommending a “replace-in-kind” modernization strategy that would maintain the current voltage while incorporating newer dual-voltage transformers. The first phase of the modernization program is estimated at $45 million between 2026 and 2030, with $13 million already approved, the current $21.55 million request funded through capital reserves, and the remaining $10.45 million expected to be requested in future budgets. Administration argues the funding is needed now because long lead times for key electrical components and rising industry costs increase the risk of delays and equipment failure. If approved, the City plans to begin procuring transformers and other equipment this year, with construction on the substations scheduled between 2028 and 2031. Officials also noted that delaying the work could increase the risk of outages, safety incidents, regulatory issues, and higher future utility costs.
  
  
• The Development and Infrastructure Committee meets Thursday at 2:30 pm to review a major update on food waste organics composting and the City's depleting landfill capacity. Administration has completed engagement with Ambipar regarding a potential regional organics initiative, with detailed commercial terms to be discussed in a closed session. A 2024 pilot project involving 4,000 households showed a 30% reduction in food waste in garbage streams and strong public support, with 91% of participants likely to join a city-wide program. Conserving landfill "airspace" is critical says Administration, as the current facility is projected to reach capacity by 2039. Implementing a diversion strategy is deemed necessary to avoid the estimated $300 million cost of developing a new landfill. 

🚨 This Week’s Action Item: 🚨

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