Pedestrians on Altawana Drive in Riverside are backdropped by grades working on River Road, on the south side of the South Saskatchewan River and city hall on Thursday.--News Photo Collin Gallant
cgallant@medicinehatnews.com@CollinGallant
Scooters, carbon capture, urban chickens, vaulting power prices, huge power profits, to move for a homeless shelter, the opening of Towne Square and a tornado topped the headlines emanating from the City of Medicine Hat over the past 12 months.
That coincided with the first full year of a largely new group of council members, the search for a new city manager and budgeting in the age of inflation coming out of the worst of the pandemic.
Some of that was wrapped up late in the year as council passed the 2023-2024 city budget in late December, and hired a permanent top administrator.
Former manager Bob Nicolay resigned in January stating he hoped to accelerate retirement plans, but the move came after dispute about the 2022 budget amendments.
He was briefly replaced by former chief administrative officer Merete Heggelund, who left after a three-month term, and was replaced by Glenn Feltham.
The former NAIT president often discussed organizational culture, a favourite topic of first-year Mayor Linnsie Clark.
On Dec. 18, the city announced it had hired a permanent replacement in Ann Mitchell, currently the top administrator with Lethbridge County. She will take over the local position in early February.
Senior admin shuffle
Invest Medicine Hat senior staffers Eric Van Enk and Chris Perret also left the city department that faced heavy criticism from newly elected council members following the 2021 election.
Also moving on is public services division head Brian Mastel in early 2023.
In the utility department, Brian Strandlund announced in May he would retire following the commissioning of the Unit 17 power plant expansion.
Power prices, profits
That additional power supply came in handy over the summer as the temperature rarely peaked below 30C and prices on the Alberta power grid shot up.
A record-breaking month of August in terms of export sales helped stoke a clear profit expected to be $83 million by year end. The average price on the power gird this year also set records at twice the average record just five years ago, and prices in December were double that.
That bonanza complicated the conversation about rate setting by the city-owned utilities as customers sought immediate relief.
Eventually, council approved a plan to hive away profits in an investment fund that is expected to pour dividends into the city’s municipal operating budget in 2025.
New contract options were unveiled but Hatters scrambled to lock in 2022 power prices for an additional six months in 2023 thanks to a loophole created in the city’s unique process of rate setting via bylaw.
Industrial strategy
A two-year effort to develop hydrogen production and a local market, along with a separate carbon capture and sequestration hub in the city took steps forward in 2022 with the release of a study and major grant award.
“Towards Hydrogen” was a 213-page report released July 6 after consultants spoke to 300 businesses and municipalities in the region.
“It sets itself up to be one of the lowest cost of production areas in the province, the country and maybe North America,said author Randy Lutin.
On the carbon front, federal grants could be directed to the upgrades to capture CO2 at the city’s gas-fired power plant, which paid about $5 million in Alberta carbon levy fees this year.
Shelter debate
Business owners downtown and on N. Railway Street objected when temporary day-time shelters were set up in 2021.
Again in 2022, the municipal planning commission was prepared to place restrictive requirements on the Mustard Seed as it sought to redevelop an overnight shelter at the former Champions Centre location, though the social agency rescinded its application.
Later, it purchased the former Salvation Army overnight shelter to ensure service provision this winter, but the issue isn’t settled as officials say more room may be needed.
The eventual goal is to create a permanent 24-7 shelter facility coupled with social service connections. That is being helped along by the city’s community development department, but agencies and the province are required partners.
Industrial Park
City council approved an Invest-led proposal to begin planning for a major new industrial hub and land development in the northwest.
A lengthy public hearing on rezoning the six-quarter-section project heard strong concerns from clubs which currently lease land that would be needed in future phases, including the Medicine Hat Drag Strip, Speedway and Rifle and Revolver Club.
Discussions on future leases were to be discussed coming out of the March meeting, but progress has yet to be seen.
Rec reversal
The big budget debate in late 2021 became a reality in 2022 as the Moose Rec Centre arena and Crestwood Rec Centre pool reopened following repairs and operational budget additions. They had been closed as a cost-saving measure during the pandemic when patronage was low, but were to remain closed as part of a general cost-cutting program begun under the previous council.
The Moose reopened in the fall after its slab was replaced over the summer to become a dedicated ringette and pleasure skating centre in the fall.
One-offs
As new councillors proposed legislation, a study of urban chickens was voted down, but some other items moved forward. Coun. Andy McGrogan, the retired police chief, also put forward a motion that staff examine how to better set the relationship between council and the Medicine Hat Police Commission.
Council and Mayor Clark also created two new committees, including one to provide regular reporting from the “Strategic Management and Analysis” division. That office, including the planning department and the Invest Medicine Hat office, had previously been run directly by the city’s manager.
Electric crews were pressed into action when gale force winds forming from a tornado in Cypress County sliced power poles and downed lines throughout Redcliff and north Medicine Hat in mid July. Power to major industrial plants and the city’s north-end generation station were offline for more than a week.
