Medicine Hat Minute: Tax Increases, Recreation Facilities, and Community Vibrancy Grants

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

This Week In Medicine Hat:

• There will be a Public Services Committee meeting this morning at 8:00 am. There will be a Managing Director’s Service Area Update regarding Heritage Pavilion, E-Scooters, Crestwood Recreation Centre, Saratoga Park, and irrigation. The Community Vibrancy Advisory Board will also make recommendations for grant funding for a number of community organizations, including the Southern Alberta Pop Up Parks Association and the Medicine Hat Skateboard Association.
  
  
• The Municipal Planning Commission will meet on Wednesday at 2:30 pm. No agenda is available for this meeting yet.
  
  
• Crestwood Pool will reopen today, a week earlier than expected. A boiler issue closed the pool, but maintenance was completed quickly. Regular programming, like swimming lessons and aqua fit classes, will begin as normal this morning.

Last Week In Medicine Hat:

• Council approved a $1.55 million loan, interest-free, over a 20 year period, for the Medicine Hat Curling Club. Last fall, a leak was discovered in the brine lines located under the concrete slabs the ice is made on top of, causing the club to cease operations. The loan will be used to purchase a new temporary ice plant and ice mats that will allow the club to operate for the next five to seven years until a longer-term solution can be found. With the loan, the club should be able to open and operate for the upcoming season.
  
  
• Council approved property tax increases, which came in slightly lower than expected - but with very little thanks to the City. Residential property taxes will rise by 3.9%, while business taxes increase by 2.7%. As always, your tax bill is a combination of municipal and provincial taxes and this year, while municipal taxes went up, provincial taxes actually went down. So, while the overall increase looks smaller than what the City initially proposed, don't write your Councillor any thank you cards - they didn’t have much to do with it.
  
  
• The City’s Managing Director of Energy and Infrastructure gave his notice of resignation and will wrap up his role next month. After eight years with the City and four years at the helm of the division, Brad Maynes will return to the private sector. The City will be announcing a transitional leadership plan soon.

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