Medicine Hat Minute: Issue 272

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

📅 This Week In Medicine Hat: 📅

• City Council is reopening discussions on a proposed large-scale recreation and aquatics facility for Medicine Hat's south side, after putting the project on hold in January to give newly elected members of Council time to assess the City's finances. The decision came after staff presented a request for decision at the Public Services Committee meeting on August 24th. The proposed facility, near the Hillcrest Church area, could include a large outdoor pool with a water slide and lazy river, along with eight baseball diamonds and adult-sized rugby, cricket and soccer pitches. Staff estimate construction of the outdoor aquatics facility at between $25 million and $35 million, with the Brier Run sports fields adding another $15 million to $20 million. Without third-party funding or government assistance, staff say the full project would require a property tax increase of 11% to 12%, though grant funding could bring that down. Staff will also present Council with alternatives, including a scaled-back option with sports fields and an outdoor pool requiring a 3.5% to 5% tax increase, and lower-cost options that would direct funding into maintaining existing recreation facilities. The previous Council approved $3.9 million for initial design and engagement before last October's election, and the renewed discussions come as the City faces a budget gap of more than $11 million.
  
  
• A British Columbia investor is prepared to spend more than $5 million converting the Ranchmen and Sun Deck motels into low-income residential housing for permanent residents. City Council will hear a public presentation on the proposed rezoning in September, after members of the Municipal Planning Commission voted in favour of first reading of the request. If Council approves changing the site's designation from commercial to residential, the investor plans to transform the motel suites into full apartments with kitchens, rented through annual leases, and to submit a development permit application in October. City planners note the site sits 60 meters from the Trans-Canada Highway among light industrial and commercial operations, with the nearest transit stop roughly half a kilometer away and the nearest grocery store more than a kilometer away on foot. The Ranchmen's neon cowboy sign, standing since 1964, would be preserved as a recognized landmark of mid-century highway commercial architecture. The Commission also gave first reading to two other rezoning requests, for sites at 22 Sierra Green and 855 Gershaw Drive.
  
  
• City staff have developed a brand that would position Medicine Hat as "Canada's Drone City" and are testing it with the local aerospace and defence industry. A new logo, created in partnership with Medicine Hat College, Community Futures Entre-Corp and APEX, was presented to key contractors, aerospace and defence companies, and advanced manufacturers at a provincial aerospace and defence summit in May. Director of Economic Development Selena McLean-Moore told a City committee that industry wants to be known as the "Drone City", and that staff are working with the communications team on how to make the brand happen. Mayor Linnsie Clark has backed the branding, saying the city already has an excellent and growing cluster of drone and aerospace companies, and calling current investment in the Canadian Armed Forces unprecedented outside wartime and an opportunity for the region to capitalize on. Staff say more information on the rebrand will be made public in the near future.
  
  
• Renovations rather than new builds continue to dominate Medicine Hat's construction activity, with residential building staying stagnant at the year's halfway mark. Of the 56 building permits the City issued in July, 51 were for alterations, while the 5 new residential permits - covering 3 single-family homes, a manufactured home and a two-unit apartment - totalled $1.9 million. So far in 2026, new residential permits cover only about $11.5 million in construction, down from $45.5 million at the same point last year, while alteration permits have climbed from $14.4 million to $38.9 million, the vast majority of it commercial, industrial and institutional work. Total permit values for the year sit at approximately $63.7 million, roughly on par with the $59.9 million recorded at this point last year once the $67-million Holy Trinity Academy school permit approved in 2025 is excluded. Statistics from the Medicine Hat Real Estate Board show the same sluggishness: listings are up 4.3% and inventory up 23.8% year-over-year, but sales have dropped 7.6%. Home prices are nonetheless up 6.5% in the city over the past year.
  
  
• The City has tripled its cleaning schedule for the Second Street SE pedestrian underpass that runs beneath the CP rail yard, moving from once to three times per week during the summer months in response to growing sanitary complaints from residents. After receiving the complaints, the City monitored the tunnel for a week and recorded more than 200 unique users walking through per day. Staff also asked businesses on North and South Railway streets whether the tunnel should stay in operation, and Managing Director of Development and Infrastructure Pat Bohan told a City Committee the predominant feeling is that it should remain open. The tunnel is open during daylight hours through the summer, and in winter will open at 8:30 am and close at 6:00 pm. 

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