Lakes of Muirfield transfer to county continues

By Sean Feagan, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Wheatland County’s takeover of the Lakes of Muirfield community could ultimately make one of the county’s fastest-growing regions more attractive to buyers.

The Lakes of Muirfield is a gated residential community featuring a golf course, located in Wheatland County within the boundaries of the hamlet of Lyalta, about nine kilometres (km) north of Highway 1 and about six km east of Highway 9.

In early March 2020, Wheatland County received notice that the developer who owned the assets and lands there was going to “walk away” from Muirfield, explained Matthew Boscariol, the county’s general manager of community and development services. The developers gave a closing date of April 30, so the county had to act fast.

The transaction process started towards the end of April. By April 30, the county took ownership and control of various aspects of the development, including its water system, storm drainage system, road right-of-ways, RV storage area, commercial lands and remaining unsold residential lots.

The transfer is ongoing, explained Wheatland County Division 5 Councillor Scott Klassen. 

“It’s been a lot of moving pieces, so it’s going to take a bit longer than people think,” he said. “But once it’s all said and done, I think we will have a great asset in the county.”

While the commercial lands have been transferred to the county, this will not affect its businesses, said Boscariol. 

“We’re working very closely with the owner,” he said. “Both sides are working on figuring out their business, their lease agreement and how to move forward.”

So far, the transfer has been “the best thing that has ever happened to us,” said Pam Nisbet, one of the owners and managers of The Mercantile, a grocery, liquor store and cafe. “It’s nice to have somebody who has a local interest and really wants us to succeed.”

Working with the county has been easy, she said. “If I have a question, I call them, they answer, and they’re really great.”

Nisbet has also noticed benefits of the transfer as a resident. Speeding in the area has been an issue, but after hearing about the problem, the county installed light-up speed indicator signals. “People are already slowing down,” she said.

The development was designed to be built in six phases. The county acquired only lands that were owned by the developer. All Phase 1 lands and units are owned by other parties (homeowners, etc.), and some Phase 2 lands are owned by other parties.

On July 7, county council voted to retain a realtor to sell the remaining lots. They ultimately selected Heather Dougall and John Kearney, realtors with Royal Lepage Benchmark, who are Muirfield residents and are also on the board for the Lyalta Community Club and the Muirfield Rec Society.

“With new ownership at the helm, I am assisting the county in this process, and am excited once the transaction is finalized and we can move forward, as the Lakes of Muirfield is an amazing community,” said Dougall in a statement.

The county is performing inspections of each lot to identify any issues therein, and if found, will repair them or disclose them to potential buyers. The realtors will then provide a valuation and suggest a price for each lot.

“We’re different from a developer, because by the (Municipal Government Act), we can’t sell anything for less than it’s worth,” said Klassen.

The county has not taken ownership or control of the wastewater system. An ongoing issue at Lakes of Muirfield has been its lack of permanent wastewater infrastructure, such as a wastewater plant or a sewage lagoon.

The Lakes of Muirfield Home Owners’ Association continues to own and be responsible for onsite and offsite wastewater system operation and maintenance, according to county administration.

Wastewater from each residence is trucked to Strathmore, which has been reported to cost each homeowner an average of about $100 to $300 per month. The county has been working towards developing a plan to address the issue, however.

“County council fully recognizes the issues that have been there for many years,” said Klassen. “With us being the primary landowner there now, we’re going to make moves to fix them. I want to try to get it so people can move in and not have to worry about huge wastewater bills and things like that.”

The plan could also see some of the nearby highway frontage get wastewater servicing as well. Fixing the wastewater issue could bring in more buyers to one of the more coveted areas of the county, said Klassen.

“The west side of the county is the most attractive part because of its proximity to Calgary,” said Klassen. “I’m getting phone calls from realtors just about every other week, with them asking when the problems are going to be fixed (because) they’ve got people that want to move there.”

Heather O’Neill, a resident at Lakes of Muirfield who works as a real estate agent (but is not involved in the sale of the remaining lots), agreed that the transfer has the potential to raise property values there.

“I know that we are on the most valuable land that Wheatland County owns,” she said. “The fact that we’re 20 minutes to the city is a valuable asset, and it’s very sellable. I anticipate prices (will be) going up with the county taking over.

“Now is probably the best time to be looking at properties out here for their value,” she added.