City Notebook: Land, lots of land, and more news coming
By COLLIN GALLANT on July 18, 2020.
cgallant@medicinehatnews.com@CollinGallant A new proposal to use the Maple Avenue Firehall for an expansion of the food bank to a community food centre will be brought forward to city council on Monday, the agency announced late Friday. And that might not be the biggest news coming forward from the city’s land department in the near future. The city’s two-year-old plan to focus on marketing excess properties is also expected to ramp up, with a recent report noting that 40 such properties are under consideration. The expanding Invest Medicine Hat office at city hall is also seeking a real estate specialist. The plan’s goal is to spur private sector development in mature communities – an effort to add tax base without adding costs. Revenue is also nice. To this point the effort has seen a half-dozen lots go up for sale. Some have brought controversy such as the green space near Primrose Drive. The fire hall-food bank swap seemingly nips a conttroversy in the bud – Hill residents didn’t want the facility to go into the former Central Park School, but that huge, S.D. 76-owned lot is now a question mark in a mature community. It will be empty this fall, when francophone students of École Les Cypres move to a new school in Saamis (which is almost complete). Another city land sale last year, the News revealed this week, will see a Starbucks sprout up by late next year at he intersection of Altawawa and Parkview drives. The locally owned, private development company behind that commercial building (four store fronts, and pad building for drive-thru coffee service) tells the News the final budget could be $2 million, including the cost of land, $371,000. Cash rolling After previous few details about a provincial plan to boost spending and jobs during the COVID-19 pandemic and economic flu, the announcements are starting to come in. Twinning a portion of Highway 3 for $150 million is the headline item of local note in a billion-dollar program that was only outlined in April. Medicine Hat College got $860,000 this week for electrical upgrades at the campus, and the press release reveals the infrastructure boost for post-secondary facilities will be about $98 million. That about doubles the post-secondary spending his year on upkeep across the province, but is half allocated after this week saw about $20 million each go to the Olds Agricultural College and the University of Lethbridge. A look ahead The municipal planning commission meets Wednesday to discuss a slew of land use changes meant to bolster infill and redevelopment in mature neighbourhoods, including provisions to allow more secondary suites,”live-work”spaces, residential construction on smaller lots and other measures. 100 years Ago Young Robert Babber of Medicine Hat won the UFA’s gopher contest, bringing in a total of 590 tails to win $8 grand prize in the competition, the News rerpoted in July 1920. The first year of the competition brought in a total of 2,145 tails, the recently formed Medicine Hat branch of the United Farmers movement announced. The group was also raising funds to bring in “Rainmaker Hatfield” and would join a group of promoters along the Crowsnest rail line to pay the rainmaker’s $11,000 fee. In Ottawa, Arthur Meighen became Prime Minsiter folowing the retirement of Robert Borden. Three autos, including one belonging to the Alberta Provincial Police, were stolen from the downtown area in Medicine Hat over the weekend, leading to a statement from authorities: “When vehilce is left unwatched, first remove the key.” Collin Gallant covers city politics and a variety of topics for the Medicine Hat News. Reach him at 403-528-5664 or via email at cgallant@medicinehatnews.com. 23-22
