Medicine Hat Minute: Water Collaboration, Stampede Request, and Project Clear Horizon

Medicine Hat Minute: Water Collaboration, Stampede Request, and Project Clear Horizon

 

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

 

This Week In Medicine Hat:

  • The Public Services Committee will meet on Tuesday morning at 8:00 am. On the agenda is a presentation of the MEDALTA 2022 Annual Report, as well as a budget amendment for the Drainage and Erosion Remediation Infrastructure Program. The Committee will also discuss a Memorandum of Agreement for Firefighting Services with Cypress County, and hear a verbal update from the Managing Director on various topics, such as Sharps Containers in Parks, Transit Route 56 implementation, a HALO Update, and Chamber of Commerce 125 Legacy Projects.

  • The Audit Committee will also meet on Tuesday, at 3:00 pm. Much of the meeting will be held in-camera (in secret) to discuss the 2023 Areas of Special Focus and the 2023 Cash Audit Report.

  • A third meeting will take place on Tuesday - the Development and Infrastructure Committee will meet at 4:30 pm. The Committee will receive a presentation on the 2023-2032 Waste Management Strategy as well as discuss a Food Waste Composting Pilot Project. There will be a verbal update from the Managing Director regarding Strong Towns, Traffic Calming, a Water Shortage Management Plan, and Risk Control, among other things. The Corporate Services Committee will meet on Thursday at 4:30 pm. No agenda is available for this meeting yet.

 

Last Week In Medicine Hat:

  • Council heard that the Medicine Hat Stampede is seeking a $35 million expansion and upgrade of their grandstand to ensure safety and competitiveness with other southern Alberta fairs. They are proposing a co-funding model with the City of Medicine Hat and the Province, with the City expected to contribute $14 million and provide a $7 million loan. Council members expressed concerns about the substantial cost but acknowledged the economic importance of the Stampede to the community and the potential for growth in events and rental space with the expansion.

  • The federal grant for Medicine Hat's "Project Clear Horizon," aimed at developing a carbon capture project, has been confirmed at $5 million. This funding will be directed towards the front-end engineering and design of an underground storage facility outside the city, with a potential capacity of sequestering 3 million tonnes of carbon dioxide annually. The project is one of nine selected out of nearly 100 proposals, and the initial phase involves a geological suitability assessment and the design of a pipeline route.

  • Council discussed joining several municipalities along Highway 3 to collaborate on a regional water strategy. MLA Grant Hunter, the Parliamentary Secretary for Agrifood Development, sent a letter indicating that formal collaboration is needed if the Province is to develop the corridor along Highway 3 into a global hub for agri-food processing facilities. Council is considering participation and joint application for Alberta Community Partnership Funding to support water and wastewater planning. Centres included in the partnership would be Medicine Hat, Lethbridge, Coaldale, Taber, and Bow Island, among others.

 

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