Hussar viability meeting June 19

By Sharon McLeay Times Contributor

A public meeting will be held June 19, 2018 at 7 p.m. in Hussar to collect feedback from residents as to whether Hussar will remain an incorporated village, or dissolve and become a hamlet under Wheatland County administered land.
The Village of Hussar viability report (available online at municipalaffairs.alberta.ca/viability-reviews#hussar) states if the village chooses to remain viable, they must review the new requirements of the Municipal Governance Act and implement them, adopt an action plan of the review recommendations, with a given completion date and adopt a 10-year plan to address infrastructure deficits.
One of the main points stated by residents during data gathering sessions was the difficulty keeping up with infrastructure demands, taxation burdens and limited government funding mechanisms.
The report sets out many recommendations Hussar administration would need to do to improve the village’s viability, and then compares it to what would occur if the community chooses to dissolve. One suggestion is building partnerships with other communities that might share servicing and infrastructure contracts to cut costs. Another suggestion was a cost and services review, outlining resident expectations, resources and funding, for cost recoveries and communication plans for regular reporting mechanisms. A tax review was also suggested.
The public meeting on June 19 will be held at the Hussar Community Hall, where the details of the decision and plan will be reviewed.

Investing in small businesses
Representatives from Community Futures and Community Futures Wildrose attended Wheatland County council on June 5 to outline their resources and give some interesting outcomes they have achieved in working with local business.
“We are rural and we focus on rural,” said David Petrovich, business analyst for Community Futures Wildrose.
Council heard the Western Economic Diversification priorities for 2018 is supporting Indigenous and women’s business efforts, aiding youth and persons with disabilities, and cluster growth in areas of clean technology and resources, manufacturing, agriculture, digital industries and health biosciences.
Community Futures Wildrose has a $6 million investment fund it can tap to support initiatives. To date, they have shown better-than-average growth in rural businesses that have worked with the organization. Community Futures Wildrose offers community economic development, business loans, business planning and counselling, and business training and workshops that have proven to keep businesses operating when others might have failed.
“We will tell them to go find the best rates with the banks if they can, but if they are rejected they will come to us,” said Petrovich. “We have helped out countless number of businesses in our region of how to become an entrepreneur.”
Petrovitch said businesses that have been assisted have shown an eight per cent employment growth, over a 2.9 per cent growth for firms that received no Community Futures assistance. The sales growth comparison was 11.2 per cent to 6.2 per cent comparatively, and Community Futures-assisted businesses had a 66 per cent success in business longevity compared to 46 per cent for non-assisted firms.
The potential to network with the community on economic development and discover solutions for community and business challenges is all part of the programs offered by the group.

Calgary Metropolitan Region Board updates
The Calgary Metropolitan Region Board (CMRB) is rapidly developing. Wheatland County representatives indicated population and employment projections are to be included in regional growth plans that are currently being developed.
At the recent Wheatland County council meeting, it was revealed that discussions will be held with each community to derive a complete picture of both factors, as they pertain to their region as a whole.
CMRB administration will develop a growth map of the region indicating growth areas of the various member regions. A land supply map will also be drawn up to highlight areas available for commercial and industrial use.
Factors considered by the land committee will be topology and best planning practices for community form and function. An agriculture soil map is being done and the land committee will discuss how to fit agriculture into the growth plan.
One question up for debate is the definition of agricultural land. CMRB administration is still working on summaries of infrastructure, corridors for recreation, utilities, energy transmission, and transportation and transit. A catalogue of environmental regulations is being compiled for the region.
Another question under consideration is new settlement areas. A definition has to be reached, and policies, frameworks and criteria developed within member areas.

Library levy increase
Per capita rates for Marigold Library System are going up again in 2019, to $10.50, and to $10.74 in 2020.
Those centres with municipal library boards pay $6.15 and $6.24 respectively, while the boards pay $4.50 per capita.
Some of the reasons given for the increase included Bank of Canada rate increases, an attempt to harmonize rates across regions, population increases, upgrading library resources and service delivery, extra fees for architectural services on new building, and training for staff and board members.

Wheatland County service review
As part of the county’s strategic planning, service areas are being reviewed, which will be followed by some possible actions that could be taken to improve the services. There are 28 possible service adjustments that span the whole of the county activities. Some examples are suggestions for utility billing, agriculture stakeholder communications, land use policies, budget and investment actions, snow angel program, gravel supply and dust control, highway development, and emergency and fire services enhancements. Wheatland County administration asked council to review the material and give them some direction prior to the development of the 2019 budget.

Crisp funding awarded
There was a total of $510,693.61 available in 2018 for Community Regional Services and Infrastructure Program (CRISP) funding: Hussar’s allotment $66,734.38, Standard $84,296.06, Rockyford $99,047.87, Gleichen $126,444.08, Carseland $117,312.01. The money is available after a receipt of a letter outlining how the previous year’s funds were used. The funding is provided by Wheatland County to provide sustainable funding to community partners to keep facilities and infrastructure operating for community resident’s use.

Conduct becoming
Wheatland County council reviewed the changes to their procedural bylaw on June 5 that governs how council conducts themselves in meetings and committees. It is outlined to preserve order and provide guidelines for meeting procedures.
Some council members suggested the document could be simplified, as good conduct seemed like a given for elected officials, but others suggested the material in the bylaw was included for reasons that arose in the past.
Council approved the changes.