Coronation town council heard TD Canada Trust (TD) has announced the closing of its branch in Coronation at their Dec. 4 regular town council meeting.
Administration will draft a letter to TD pointing out the impact that closing this branch will have on the community, especially its seniors.
Mayor Matthew Peacock also asked if Coronation could attract a credit union instead.
Administration was directed to inquire what can be done to get such an institution in Coronation.
Emergency centre
When electrical power goes out for an extended period in the Town of Coronation it can become an emergency. A few years ago, a blizzard knocked out power for three days and created an emergency situation for the hospital and senior citizens on oxygen.
Paintearth County was approached to fund half the project, which looks hopeful but has not been approved to date.
2024 interim budget
The council meeting Dec. 4 was primarily for hashing out a 2024 Interim budget which allows the town to pay bills and proceed with projects until a final budget is approved in 2024 which must be finalized and submitted to government before May 31.
After an extensive discussion and reviewing of reports, Coun. Mark Stannard moved to table the interim 2024 budget to the next meeting for administration to bring back the updated budget with the changes discussed.
The motion carried unanimously.
Mill rate discussion
The Town of Coronation’s mill rate won’t be final until May, 2024.
While council would like to keep a rate increase as low as possible, as in recent years, inflation this past year was 3.5 per cent.
While several mill rate scenarios were discussed, CAO Flint suggested a 3.5 per cent or four per cent mill rate increase may be necessary to avoid future budget issues.
Many factors between now and May 2024 will affect the ultimate decision, not least of which is the amount of grants and funding received from the government and county.
Some municipalities, CAO Flint reported, are looking at mill rate increases of six to nine per cent.
Back taxes owed
Outstanding back taxes and utilities are of concern to council.
A property tax report showed $533,579.43 are still owed through 2022, although $50,000 was received this year from overdue accounts.
The report noted $176,944.18 are still owed this year.
When back utilities are included, Coronation is owed over $760,000 in outstanding taxes and utilities.
Upcoming projects
Town administration has requested two significant grants for future projects.
One is a $10 million grant to Green and Inclusive Community Buildings for a new arena.
Council hopes to replace the Coronation arena in 2025 or 2026.
The other is for a $270.000 grant from the Alberta Strategic Transportation Infrastructure Program (STIP) to repave the airport runway, and to pave the taxiway and apron.
If the STIP grant is not received, council will transfer $200,000 from reserve for this project.
A majority of the new water meters were installed in Coronation in 2023 with 140 remaining to be installed in 2024.
The town needs to replace a 1988 one-ton truck, as this truck was recently removed from service.
Sidewalk upgrades, curling rink repairs, computer service upgrade (as current service is no longer supported), a new ice plant, industrial subdivision development and sewer upgrades are included in upcoming projects.
Council is exploring options to provide new opportunities for both summer and winter recreational activities.
Funding requests at risk
Requests for funding by community groups keep going up, year by year.
CAO Flint suggested to council that funding to community groups be cut by up to half, especially where these community groups post a reserve.
Excluded from the cuts are the Coronation and District Handibus Society and the Coronation Memorial Library.
CAO Flint said, “It’s going to get to the point where, I think, some of these groups have to look at their expenses, and maybe look at their operations as well.
“It’s either that, or we are going to have to keep increasing the mill rate to cover these costs.
“From administration’s standpoint, we’re taking money out of recreation, we’re taking money out of public works, common services, and roads, to fund some of these groups.”
In debating this recommendation, council asked administration to inquire how other towns the size of Coronation are fulfilling requests by community groups.
The full amount requested by these groups is still in the current budget, but cutting funding to approximately half for the arena, curling association, Communities in Bloom, the golf club and the community events guild is being considered for a savings of up to $37,500 while administration focuses on the town’s core services.
New doctor for Coronation?
CAO Flint reported that despite the desperate need for another doctor in Coronation, there is no definitive word on when another doctor will be approved for the town.
This problem is affecting the central Alberta region, and not just the Town of Coronation.
Pending changes to Alberta Health Services by the provincial government is contributing to the backlog of requests for additional doctors.
The issue is already a crisis, when it takes six to nine months after placement for a new doctor to arrive.
This could affect both central Alberta and the Town of Coronation for years.
Lane Koster
ECA Review
