City Notebook: Up in smoke
By COLLIN GALLANT on July 29, 2023.
cgallant@medicinehatnews.com@CollinGallant The issue of Aurora Sun is an unhappy topic that’s gone on so long that it’s hard to muster much enthusiasm for puns, such as the dream of 500 jobs at the incomplete pot plant going up in smoke. The bubble bursting on the recreational marijuana market has been well documented over three years there’s no need to rehash it. But, the issue of a 1.2-million square foot space just sitting vacant in the city’s northwest is still with us, albeit with some news afoot. The building is now part of the portfolio of Bevo Farms, an Aurora Cannabis subsidiary. The News first reported his would happen last month – after hinting at it all year. And, Bevo appears to be a going concern. The established company, bought by Aurora last year, already grows wholesale veg seedlings and ornamental flowers at Aurora Sky (a twin to Sun in Leduc). In fact that company first surfaced in local conversations as a potential buyer of the monstrous greenhouse in 2021, shortly after work on Sun was halted. Another stab in the dark was the potential to fill to the rafters with bitcoin machines. Hey, it seems to work just up the road at Hut 8, and with a similarly sized power contract and hook-up in place, why not? The sale price is $15 million, or 10 to 15 times less what Aurora paid on construction for the building that still needs to be finished. Turning it over to grow pepper plants and petunias, however, does cause a wrinkle for the city. Horticultural greenhouses, unlike the cannabis kind, are tax exempt under provincial assessment rules. But, the deal that brought Aurora to the city was always posed as a balancing act between getting new jobs, a general boost of economic activity and the city translating reserve funds to boost ongoing revenue. That will now happen for the power plant, rather than the tax base. To this point, most Hatters believed that Aurora was continuing to rob the city blind, but logic dictates, they were paying the city an estimated $1 million per year to not buy power they had blocked off. It came via a contract clause insisted upon by the city. (Editor’s note: A widely publicized report from Invest Medicine Hat in 2020 that stated the Aurora site is taxable to $900,000, while Aurora states its carrying costs at $2 million for the building). That clause is cancelled as a way to smooth the sale. That means no more money from a dark, empty building, but an active power contract (albeit much smaller) would likely more than make up for taxes and the now-cancelled take-or-pay power deal. City officials were positive this week, but still playing cards close to the vest. Also, I might be wrong but this would also help the power plant manage its complex yet critical production capacity limit. With the Aurora contract nixed, replaced with a smaller Bevo deal, it’s now free to start offering that power around to the next Aurora, Hut 8 or Bevo. We’ll have to see. This and that Good luck to Constables Lisa Gervais, Mitchell Young and Garreth MacPherson who are off to the World Police and Fire Games this week in Winnipeg … Congrats to the Co-op Breakfast which turns 25 this year. Breakfast bites Medicine Hat Brewing Company held one last Saturday at the microbrewery in Brier Park, but that’s been it for Stampede breakfasts in the north end of the city, or even north of the Seven Persons Creek. And that’s with a brand new public space with stalls to rent in the heart of downtown. The News shouldn’t really point fingers. It supported parade day pancakes at the Royal Canadian Legion some years ago now. Isn’t it strange how a city gets bigger but seemingly has less and less? A look ahead The Stampede winds up today with hopefully a sunnier experience on Saturday, but who’s really complaining about the weather? City council enters its summer break having cancelled its early August meeting. They next sit of August 21. The Alberta cabinet meets this week. 100 years ago Accepting the gift of a new public swimming pool from the Rotary Club, Mayor Huckvale declared it open “and moments later the commodious pool was alive with happy bathers,” the News reported on July 28, 1923. Huckvale took the first dive followed by Rotary Club president C.S. Pingle, then Rotary members in a mass plunge. The 102-foot-long, 38-foot-wide pool had depth ranging from 3-7 feet at the site on the grounds of the Technical High School. “In every respect this huge pool is a credit to Rotary and to the city,” the News declared. Navigation of the Oldman River was “resumed after 30 years” as the “Petrolia” a riverboat carrying geologists on a survey was launched in Lethbridge. All those of Chinese descent residing in Canada would be registered to help collect a head tax and control immigration from Asia following an order in council in Ottawa. Collin Gallant covers city politics and a variety of topics for the News. Reach him at 403-528-5664 or via email at cgallant@medicinehatnews.com Editor’s note: A previous version of this article stated “…Hatters believed that Aurora was continuing to rob the city blind, when in fact, they were paying the city $1 million per year to not buy power they had blocked off. It came via a contract clause insisted upon by the city.” This has been updated to reflect the fact that this figure is an educated estimate. The estimate is based upon a widely publicized report from Invest Medicine Hat in 2020 that stated the Aurora site is taxable to $900,000, coupled with Aurora stating its carrying costs at $2 million for the building, leaving a remainder of $1.1 million. 41-40
