In a year that saw infighting at city hall come to a head, Mayor Linnsie Clark is the only member of the last council to be given a second chance.--NEWS FILE PHOTO
bmiller@medicinehatnews.com
The City of Medicine Hat made news for all the wrong reasons in 2025 as headlines spread nationally on a challenging year of conflicts between elected officials and city staff, the termination of former city manager Ann Mitchell and a provincial municipal inspection which found governance and leadership in Medicine Hat has at times been irregular, improper and improvident.
The year began fresh off the controversy of a judicial review’s findings after an investigation on the conduct of Mayor Linnsie Clark and sanctions imposed by council in March 2024 conducted by the Court of King’s Bench of Alberta that summer.
In March 2024, members voted 7-0 to sanction Clark for contravening council’s code of conflict in a public dispute with Mitchell, including a 50 per cent pay cut, removing her ability to chair meetings and barring her from staff areas of city hall.
In essence, King’s Bench Justice Rosemary Nation gave a partial win to both sides of the dispute by agreeing with the mayor that sanctions and a pay cut were unreasonable punishments for challenging then CAO Mitchell in council in 2023.
On the other side of the coin, Justice Nation did find council came to a reasonable conclusion that Clark breached Medicine Hat’s council code of conduct bylaw.
Heading into 2025, an election year, tensions between councillors, Clark and Mitchell continued to remain high throughout public meetings held in the spring and early summer.
That is until the situation reached its all-time low.
During its regular meeting on July 21, Associate Deputy Minister Gary Sandberg with the Ministry of Municipal Affairs was joined by Ian McCormack, a private municipal inspector, to deliver a scathing municipal inspection and three ministerial directives which the city and councillors were required to meet under the Municipal Government Act.
Core issues investigated found council members engaging in administrative duties, dysfunction and fractured leadership on council, governance inefficiency which affected operating, lack of clarity in structure and purpose and procedural breakdowns during council meetings.
The inspection was originally initiated in September 2024 following a resolution by council, and was approved by the former minister of municipal affairs, Ric McIver.
As one of three ministerial directives, councillors and city staff were forced to publicly review a list of 68 recommendations made in the inspection report and decide whether to adopt or dismiss each one.
Each member of council, Mitchell, Clark and other high ranking city staffers were also directed to complete a respectful workplace training that met the approval of the minister.
The inspection set the stage for the reminder of council’s term, which came to a close in October.
In September, city councillors began reviewing the list of 68 recommendations and completed them through multiple meetings before an imposed Oct. 1 deadline by the ministry.
Another issue of contention between Clark and councillors was finally put to bed in October after a motion was passed to fully reimburse Clark for more than $65,000 in legal fees accrued following the judicial review and several sanctions that were mostly vetoed by the King’s Bench Justice.
During two separate public meetings and several lengthy discussions between a split council, two motions passed to fully reimburse Clark, the latest during one of previous council’s final meetings together as a group.
And with less than a dozen days before the Oct. 20 election, council officially terminated the employment of Mitchell during a special council meeting held Oct. 10. At the conclusion of a closed session of the meeting a motion was passed to end Mitchell’s role. which started at the beginning of 2023.
Only four of eight councillors sought re-election on Oct. 20 (one running for mayor), however Medicine Hat voters, tired of ‘sailing rough waters,’ elected a completely new council, while re-electing Clark for her second term.
Heading into 2026 new councillors are currently attempting to juggle a variety of budget amendments and asks while facing a budget deficit the city is looking to close by 2028.
Additionally, several large projects remain on the radar and the newly elected council will have to consider some big decisions in the new year.
Municipally Controlled Corporation
It’s expected councillors will decide how the city will move forward regarding creation of a Municipally Controlled Corporation and Rate Review Committee that would transfer management and operations of the city’s electric generation, electric distribution, gas distribution and energy marketing to a new corporate entity that the city would create and manage.
In June, past councillors voted against moving forward with a budget ask of $4 million to be paid from the energy transition reserve for the purpose of establishing an MCC.
In a public hearing that same month, several speakers shared disinterest in the establishment of an MCC.
The proposed MCC would not contain the city’s gas production assets – gas or oil wells and immediate gathering pipeline networks – nor other rate-based utilities, such as water, sewer and solid waste. Those rate-based utilities would remain in the city’s environmental utilities department.
Saamis Solar
A decision on major investment into solar power remains on the horizon following an AUC authorization to allow the city to bid for ownership of the proposed $600-million Saamis Solar park project last February.
The project would be built to accommodate an initial 75-megawatt phase and would retrieve approximately $7 million per year in carbon credit revenue. It’s also believed the lower-cost solar power would reduce city operating expenses.
The project has been criticized by the Medicine Hat Utility Ratepayer Association which has attacked the economics of renewable energy and claim project costs would not be worth its return.
City staff in favour of the project have said it would act as an economic safeguard from rising carbon levies. The purchase would strategically allow the city to secure access up to 1,600 acres of land on the north side.
The estimated first phase of the project is pegged at an estimated $120-million cost.
Mustard Seed
Work continues between the Mustard Seed and city officials to find a location that can be used to build a new 24/7 shelter location that would offer drop-in services, health and wellness programs and food services under one building.
At the beginning of 2025 a decision was made at a Municipal Planning Commission meeting to close the Mustard Seed day shelter location on Allowance Avenue in February after a review of the operation permit was found to be invalid.
The Mustards Seed’s community kitchen on Allowance Avenue has been granted a permit extension to allow it to operate throughout the Holiday Season, but is set to expire this March.
In August city staff announced together with the Mustard Seed a new potential location for the shelter, however the proposal quickly received backlash from residents as it would be located off the Trans-Canada Highway near the Brier Industrial Estates.
A public hearing on the matter was cancelled due to negative public feedback.
Currently, the city and Mustard Seed are seeking shelter location ideas as they work together to find a permanent solution.
Master Transportation Plan
Before the election in October, city staff shared an update and list of actions to members of a city committee on a proposed new Transportation Master Plan, Active Transportation Strategy and Transportation Safety Strategy after making improvements around design decisions, transparency, stakeholder involvement and accountability on how major transportation projects are developed in the city.
A month prior in September, council decided to postpone a decision on the three plans until the first quarter of 2026 due to concerns and questions brought up by members of the community.
During a July public hearing 29 people spoke and the council received 113 written submissions, which included 86 letters of opposition.
Following this hearing, staffers developed a summary which found one key message received from the public was that they felt unheard by city staff.
Staff say the goal is to finalize the engagement plan of the strategy in the next coming weeks and complete its public engagement by the end of January 2026. Staff will then report back to council for a decision by the end of first quarter of 2026.
South side recreation centre
The design process is underway for a new outdoor aquatics centre which could include a large-scale outdoor pool with waterslide and be constructed behind Hillcrest Church on the south side.
Days before the election in October past council approved approximately $4 million to fund preliminary designs for the project estimated to cost between $25 and $35 million for an outdoor aquatics centre, with an additional $15 to $20 million for a proposed sports field in Brier Run.
The outdoor pool, along with construction of sports fields in Brier Run, would serve the community as a more affordable option than building a full recreation and fitness centre in the south side.
However, without third-party funding, city staff estimate the construction of the park could raise residential property taxes substantially, by as much as 12.5 per cent.
The project would also allow for the future development of an indoor recreation centre and other amenities.
