Report to the Community A YEAR IN REVIEW
2016
Council’s Report To the Community 2016 April 19, 2017 ood evening and welcome everyone to our 2017 Ratepayer meeting. 2016 was an eventful year. Kneehill County opened our new Administration building in March of 2016, and enjoyed a successful grand opening in July. Along with the new Administration building, was the addition of the new regional medical clinic, and with it an increase in physicians who are practicing in our County. We have gone from a low of three doctors only 3 short years ago to the current compliment of 8, with the possibility of more joining the clinic. It should not go unnoticed that the Administration building, with the attached Medical Clinic, was paid for in cash with no municipal borrowing required, and that the project was completed on time and under budget. 2016 saw another signi icant drop in County revenues, primarily due to a large decrease in our linear/non�residential assessment. The drop of approximately $165 million dollars in assessment meant a real revenue decrease of approximately $2.3 million.
Sound iscal management, such as paying off the water line debenture in the spring of 2016, led us to a situation where we were able to absorb the decrease in revenue without the need to impact service delivery or service standards. Going forward, we are expecting yet another major loss in industrial assessment, coupled with an increase in costs such as the new carbon levy, we expect to see a dif icult 2018 budget. Administration was able to provide us with a healthy 2016 budget surplus of $2.7 million, helping Council to create a revenue stabilization reserve using the surplus from the 2016 budget, to offset the anticipated loss of revenues in the upcoming 2018 budget. Council would like to thank our Administration for the excellent inancial management of your tax dollars. The healthy surplus and our continuing good inancial situation has left us in a position where Council has decided to leave residential taxes at their current rate. There will be no residential or farm tax increase in 2017. Council also decided, in the interest of maintaining our service standards without the need to rely heavily on our reserves, to increase the industrial tax rate by approximately 1 mill rate. This will generate a little over $1.8 million, will cover our requirements to balance the 2017 budget, and will also allow for approximately $1.4 million to be placed in a newly created rural internet reserve.
Council believes that rural internet is very important, both to our residents, and also to the attraction of new businesses and developments to our region.
Kneehill County continues to have healthy reserves and as of December 31, 2016 the total in our reserves was $32.7 million. It is anticipated that with the establishment of the income stabilization reserve and the rural internet reserve, that our reserve balance at the end of 2017 will be approximately $33 million. On the transportation side, there were 650 kilometers of road work completed. In particular, Kneehill County completed approximately 56 miles of shoulder pull in Divisions 5, 6, and 7, with a plan to complete over 110 kilometers of shoulder pull this year, primarily in the south end of the County. Our transportation department laid down over 165,000 tonnes of gravel through our re‐graveling program, and rebuilt over 24 kilometers of black dirt trail with a plan to rebuild 35 kilometers of Black Dirt trail in 2017. Council would also like to thank those members of the Black Dirt Trail Task Force who assisted the County in creating a new Black Dirt Trail policy.
… Rural internet is very important, both to our residents, and to the attraction of new businesses and developments … Kneehill County was excited to announce the acquisition of Horseshoe Canyon in late July of 2016. Council’s vision for this opportunity is that of an iconic tourist site in the County.
In 2016, we invested in the canyon by building stairs, lookouts, and other safety related projects. Currently our traf ic and pedestrian counts for the canyon are impressive. Since July of 2016, we have counted over 62,000 vehicles, and are averaging on an annual basis over 500 vehicles per day. The pedestrian counter on the newly developed stairs to the canyon loor, since November 2016, calculates almost 2,000 people have used the stairs to access the canyon loor. With the numerous improvements and safety measures, we anticipate the traf ic numbers will only increase. Kneehill County is building partnerships with Travel Alberta and the Tyrell Museum to determine the long term future for Horseshoe Canyon. Our Planning and Development department has been very busy. Kneehill County is open for business, and developers have expressed an interest, as many developments are currently in the planning stages. These developments are extremely important for the County. As our oil and gas revenues continue to decrease, the revenue generated from other developments will continue to fund the service standards that our residents have become familiar with. As a Council, we continue to lobby the provincial and federal governments on your behalf. We regularly engage our local MP’s/ MLA’s and the Ministers of the provincial government to enact legislation that makes your lives easier. Council and Administration is available to assist you, our residents, on matters that are important to you. Please call your Councillor, myself the Reeve, or the County’s Chief Administrative Of icer, regarding County business and events. Council packages and other County activities are published on our website, Facebook page, and Twitter feed.
Our Vision Our vision is an engaged, vibrant, safe community where people want to live, work and play.
Our Mission Kneehill County will serve, enhance, and promote our community.
Our Values Rural Quality of Life We live in a community that allows us to slow down and enjoy our families and lives. Sustainability We value iscal responsibility and good management that continues to compliment our sustainability Safe Community with Social Cohesion and Opportunities We believe there is a balance in maintaining community cohesiveness making our region attractive to ratepayers, potential ratepayers and tourists.
Council Contacts Division 5—Bob Long, Reeve T: 403‐443‐5604 blong@kneehillcounty.com
Division 4—Glen Keiver T: 403‐443‐7738 gkeiver@kneehillcounty.com
Division 3—Jerry Wi stock, Deputy Reeve, T: 403‐546‐3067 jwi stock@kneehillcounty.com
Division 6—Ken Hoppins T: 403‐442‐2428 khoppins@kneehillcounty.com
Division 1—Brian Holsworth T: 403‐572‐3501 bholsworth@kneehillcounty.com
Division 7—Bobby Painter T: 403‐442‐2236 bpainter@kneehillcounty.com
Division 2—Carol Calhoun T: 403‐546‐2655 ccalhoun@kneehillcounty.com
Administration Office: Hours 8:30 am - 4 :30 pm Address #1600, 2nd Street NE, PO Box 400, Three Hills, AB, T0M 2A0 T: 403-443-5541 Toll Free: 1-866-443-5541 Email: office@kneehillcounty.com
Strategic Plan: Summary of Accomplishments Safe & Viable Communities
Citizen Communication
Fiscal Sustainability
Think & Act Regionally
Growth through the Land Use Bylaw, marketing development opportunities, planning for infrastructure and emergency services.
Inviting participation in local government, promoting successes, engaging wider audiences.
Economic development, promoting tourism, update financial planning policies, lobby the government for sustainable funding.
Build regional partnerships, seeking initiatives which we can do better together, celebrating partner successes, potential of shared services.
Accomplishments:
Accomplishments:
Accomplishments:
Accomplishments:
Land Use Bylaw Approved October 2016 Rezoning of parcel to proceed with Business Development Hamlet Study in Council review stage Administration/Medical Office Building - Completed Shoulder Pull Program 2016 Engineering on Churchill Water System to “shelf ready” stage Re-focus of Peace Officer priorities, including schools, infrastructure protection, bylaw enforcement, 2017-2019 Ag Service Board Strategic Business Plan
Social Media: Facebook and Twitter Continued news releases: Horseshoe Canyon, Solar Energy Newsletters (4 issues per year mailed direct to all rate payers, including businesses) Operations updates on Facebook and Website Website addition: Concern Form for citizens Report to the Community Evening with guest speaker Doug Griffiths One on One with Reeve Appointments continuing
Planning re-zoning approvals for developments continues Inaugural Event at Horseshoe Canyon, purchased in July 2016 Ag Summer Tour Investing in our local tourism: Keiver’s Lake campground upgrades Budgeting: moving to three year budgeting Meetings with Provincial Ministers in regard to Linear Assessments, Collaboration
Urban Sustainability Grant The Regional Resource Urban Sustainability Grant (RRUSG) was approved by County Council in 2014. An annual amount based on Council’s policy is shared annually between Kneehill’s five urban municipalities calculated annually based on the net tax revenue generated by one mill of County’s linear tax rate, not agricultural or residential tax revenues. The grant has been put in place to assist with financial sustainability for our urban neighbors. This is a regional approach to improve the infrastructure with emphasis on capital planning and projects. A
portion will be allocated to operating support, however that portion may be applied towards capital in the applications. Pressures of the provincial government cuts in spending continue to have an impact on municipalities, with many dissolutions taking place due to sustainability issues and infrastructure debt. Our intent is to improve our region with infrastructure funding, resulting in sustainable communities. In 2016, $1,164,761 was distributed between Three Hills, Trochu, Linden, Acme and Carbon.
Kneehill Regional Partnership meetings Fire Management Committee Meetings held monthly will all fire departments in area Inaugural Event at Horseshoe Canyon: inviting tourism partners Continued partnership with Town of Three Hills, Linden, Acme and Carbon for Peace Officer services. Tourism and Recreation Master Plan draft reviewed in December 2016 Sponsorship of various partner initiatives including the Canadian Badlands Conference, the Alberta Peace Officer Association Conference, the Alberta Summer Tour and other local initiatives such as minor hockey, basketball and other events.
One – on – One Meetings with the Reeve are generally booked the Monday preceding Council Meetings. Please call reception 403-443-5541 to book an appointment.
Where are your local government tax dollars going? .46 cents ‐ Transporta on Services
.20 cents ‐ Water, Sewer and Waste Management .15 cents ‐ Administra on .08 cents ‐ Legisla ve Services (Council)
2016 Operating Expenses School and Requisi ons Tax Write Offs Legisla ve and General Administra on and Assessment Protec ve Services Transporta on Services Environmental Services Planning and Development Agricultural Services Parks, Recrea on, Health and Culture Transfers For Capital Projects Transfers To Reserves
7,930,857 630,757 470,262 2,748,626 1,033,011 6,132,220 1,876,254 466,891 628,535 538,228 11,513,194 1,687,922
.04 cents ‐ Protec ve Services .03 cents ‐ Parks and Recrea on .02 cents ‐ Agricultural Services
Property Taxes
.02 cents ‐ Planning and Development
2016 Capital & Projects Expenses Buildings Engineered Structures Machinery and Equipment Vehicles Land Improvements Gravel Major Road Maintenance Other Projects Debenture Payment Transfer For Future Projects
2016 Operating Revenue
3,034,525 1,102,076 1,152,574 796,638 776,678 3,425,394 1,069,915 458,732 3,385,478 9,002,228 24,204,238
WSA Tax and Frontages User Fees
29,764,455 1,635,438 1,127,275
Interest, Penal es, Licenses
841,836
Grants
268,909
Transfer From Reserves
2,018,835
2016 Taxation Revenue Residen al Farmland Commercial Machinery and Equipment Linear Tax Water Service Area Tax Educa on Tax Kneehill Founda on Trochu Recrea on
1,279,871 1,048,271 1,642,345 4,493,249 14,850,765 1,230,208 6,364,496 40,495 44,949
Operations Department
Shoulder Pull 90 km of shoulder pull done on roads in Divisions 5, 6 and 7.
Micro-Surface 9.7 km on Rge Rd 25-1 (Gorr Road) 2.4 km on Rge Rd 24-0 (PBI North)
Dust Control 20,775 lineal meters of Calcium Chloride 3,550 lineal meters of Spec Crude
Dirt Trails 12 km of dirt trail maintenance completed
Grader Sheds Trochu and Torrington grader sheds construction complete
Ditch Cleans Ditch clean on Rge Rd 22-1 and other various locations throughout County
Bridges BF6645 NE 28-31-24 W4 New steel substructure
Seasonal Tasks Patch and crack sealing hard-top highways and hamlets.
Gravel 650 km of roads re-graveled for regular road maintenance and shoulder pulls Stockpiling at strategic locations during the winter months Gravel Supply – Year 1 of 3 year contract 150,000 tonnes of 4-20 Alberta Transportation Spec. gravel supplied and delivered to the Torrington stockpile.
Planning and Development New Land Use Bylaw was approved September 27, 2016. 30 Subdivision Approvals * 78 Development Permits * 2 Re‐designations * 1 Subdivision Appeal 51 Building Permits * 73 Gas Permits * 34 Plumbing Permits * 70 Electrical Permits
Municipal Development Plan 2017 What is a Municipal Development Plan? The Municipal Development Plan is the high level visionary document that provides guidance and clarity on how future growth and development in the County will be managed. The MDP is a policy document that is general in nature and long range in its outlook. It contains policies on land use, transportation, recreation, economic opportunities and hamlets. It looks to identify areas where development is logical, advantageous, and appropriate.
What is Council’s role? Administration held consultation sessions with Council to ensure the direction of the MDP is in alignment with the vision, mission and strategies of Kneehill County. How can You be involved in the MDP? Developing the MDP is a significant process, requiring dedication from all stakeholders, including but not limited to administration, Council and County residents. This means you! Administration scheduled several public consultation sessions to collect valuable insight from you as ratepayers. Surveys were also mailed to every ratepayer in order to solicit more feedback. We value your input and thank everyone who took the time to respond. Council will be reviewing the information to form a second draft copy for further decisions.
It balances new opportunities and vision with protecting the rural quality of life.
Protective Services Our Public Safety Department continues to provide presence in our rural community, in an effort to deter offences through community awareness, public safety education programs and involvement in our local schools. 2016 Stats: Citations - 180 Warnings - 250 Incidents in Kneehill County - 74
Population Statistics Total Private Dwellings in Kneehill County – 1859 Population Density/Square Kilometer – 1.5 Land area in square kilometers – 3381.02 Population percentage change, from 2011 to 2016 - +1.6 %
Total population as of 2016 Kneehill County Three Hills Trochu Carbon Acme Linden Regional Total
5001 3212 1058 454 653 828 11,205
Economic Development Strategic planning has been a focus for Economic Development through 2016. Initiatives around agriculture and tourism are being designed to market the County to new development and visitors to the Kneehill Region. Economic Development will be launching marketing and support materials in 2017 for new and existing business currently operating, or looking to operate, in the region.
Water, Wastewater and Environmental Services Our department continues to work on providing safe and reliable water systems. There are 13 water systems operated by the County, with over 580 users. 192,929 cubic meters of water was distributed within the County in 2016. On the solid waste side, our department works diligently to manage our land ills and waste facilities. The Torrington site accepted approximately 895,000 kilograms of rubble in 2016.
Agriculture, Parks, Cemeteries Agricultural Service Board Ag Tour held July 20th including honey plant and crop tours. Rental equipment, strychnine sales and farm programming. Floating islands installed at Swalwell Dam. Weed inspections completed, roadside spraying. Plot and boundary surveys for Cemeteries. Planted 150 trees at Swalwell Dam. Tourism & Recreation Master Plan in draft. Hosted inaugural event at Horseshoe Canyon. Land work at Horseshoe Canyon, safety improvements and future planning.
On the Cover...
Horseshoe Canyon Kneehill County’s Parks Department have made numerous improvements to the popular site since Kneehill County’s purchase in 2016. A staircase has been added from the forti ied observation deck above to the canyon bottom below, where pathways have been newly constructed throughout.
Innovations in Agriculture Summer Tour County employees, which were also highlighted throughout the stop. The Golden Acres Honey Farm was the second stop on the tour and allowed attendees to become educated on the massive production happening within our County, which provides honey for well-known brands including the “No Name” brand.
On July 20th, 2016, Kneehill County’s Agriculture Service Board had the pleasure of hosting their Innovations in Agriculture Summer Tour, where ratepayers were invited to observe and learn about various innovative practices happening within the County. Attendees began the tour at the newly expanded County shop to showcase the additions that were made to ensure the structure was compliant with chemical storage codes. In addition to the storage unit, measures have been taken to minimize chemical exposure for
After a catered lunch at Swalwell Dam, where ratepayers were shown the new Floating Islands and aeration units which were installed to help improve oxygen levels and water quality, the tour continued with a lesson on the nuances of electric fencing and ending the tour with a demonstration on using drones to collect data for variable rate fertilizing. Ratepayers finished with a roast beef dinner on their return to the Three Hills Rural Hall after an exciting, informative day.
Ag Summer Tour 2017 Wednesday, July 26 More details coming soon. Check our website and our Facebook page for updates!
Swalwell Dam Floating Island Project Kneehill County, in partnership and through a grant from the Alberta Conservation Association, has begun installing an aeration unit and loating island in the Fyten reservoir (Swalwell Dam). Our objectives for this project are to enhance the habitat, to improve water quality, and to increase wildlife and ish productivity at the site. In addition, the site will be used for educational purposes, demonstrating farm water quality improvement and conservation initiatives.
Building the Kneehill County Community The Fergusons: 2016 BMO Farm Family Alberta Agriculture Service Board representatives from local rural municipalities nominate a farm family from their area. All nominees are honored at the Farm Family Award Ceremonies held in conjunction with the Calgary Stampede. Kneehill County Ag Services Board and Council recognize together, with the Calgary Stampede and Bank of Montreal (BMO) the importance of honoring farm families. Those that best typify the ideals and way of life for the farm family unit and their contributions to the enhancement of the family’s quality of life, their rural community and society. These guidelines include community involvement, Agricultural Industry Involvement and Business updates, Team Farm Management, and Technical Practices.
Annually, Kneehill County Council awards scholarships based on academic achievement in high school and community leadership activities. Congratulations to Tessy Rupert and Rachelle Frere, recipients of Kneehill County’s 2016 scholarship awards!
Kneehill County distributes grants to non-profit organizations bi-annually, following review of the many applications received.
Thank you for a year illed with Accomplishments!