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Kneehill County cancels nearly $900,000 in Trident levies, penalties

Copy of Copy of Pumpjacks Hwy9

Kneehill County council approved the cancellation and expense of nearly $900,000 in levies and penalties on former Trident Exploration tax rolls within Kneehill County boundaries during the regular Tuesday, February 8 council meeting.
Trident Explorations ceased operations in Kneehill County and other areas in April 2019, which has left counties handling obligations stemming from the company’s unpaid taxes.
“Cancellation (of these tax rolls) includes penalties of $407,307 which are penalties from 2018 to 2021, $407,553 in levies for a portion of 2020 and previous to 2018,” property tax officer Caroline Siverson explained during the presentation.
Ms. Siverson explained new companies have purchased some of the former Trident assets, and a portion of the 2020 levies along with the full 2021 levies were paid; however, levies and penalties from 2018 to 2020 remained. According to the report, this amounted to $897,209.78.
Along with cancelling these penalties and levies, the county has also applied for $82,330 in Provincial Education Requisition Credit (PERC) rebates on these tax rolls.
The province enacted two programs to assist municipalities facing financial pressures due to industrial and oil and gas properties going into receivership or insolvency due to the struggling energy industry. The PERC and Designated Industrial Requisition Credit (DIRC) programs allow municipalities to apply for credit on the associated requisitions paid to the province on delinquent properties.
Funding for these programs is based on a first-come-first-served basis, though Ms. Siverson noted there is “quite a bit of money in the program.”
Kneehill County submitted its application ahead of the January 31 deadline to ensure it was in the queue to receive this funding; in total, the county has applied for $307,174.73 in credits under the two programs.
Ms. Siverson added if any arrears are collected, the education and designated industrial requisitions would need to be reimbursed.
Council approved cancelling a total of $897,209.78 in levies and penalties on the Trident tax rolls and voiding some $36,000 in penalties for 2022, and also approved the submitted PERC and DIRC application.

Drumheller RCMP, fire, EMS respond to two-vehicle accident

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Drumheller RCMP along with members of the Drumheller Fire Department and EMS responded to a mutual aid request from Carbon Fire for a motor vehicle collision on Highway 575 near Range Road 215 on Wednesday, February 9.
A Ford pickup truck hauling a trailer was travelling westbound on Highway 575 when it lost cargo from the trailer. The driver performed a U-turn to collect the cargo.
While performing the U-turn a second vehicle, an SUV also travelling westbound, crested the hill and struck the trailer on the driver side, causing the SUV to roll over.
Drumheller Fire and EMS responded to the scene and the driver of the SUV was taken to hospital via ambulance for assessment following the accident.
An investigation into this incident is ongoing.

Humane Society gets new home

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The Drumheller and District Humane Society has a new home, thanks to the Community Facility Enhancement Program (CFEP).
CFEP fosters healthy, vibrant communities across Alberta by working in partnership with non-profits. CFEP provides matching funding to help non-profits leverage other sources of funding to acquire, build, upgrade or develop public-use facilities.
The Humane Society has been approved for a grant of $207,825 to be used towards the purchase of a facility.
The society has purchased a building at 31 HyGrade Crescent in the industrial area.
This is a four-bay facility and plans are to utilize two of the bays, for an expansion of their current facility, where the Society was pressed for space. The new space will also allow it to house dogs.
CFEP provides matching funding to help non-profits leverage other sources of funding
to acquire, build, upgrade or develop public-use facilities. This helps to extend the lifespan of public facilities or create new ones which build community hubs that keep people connected and engaged, creating far-reaching and positive impacts on all Albertans.
The announcement also included a grant for the Stettler Ag Society for $37,700 for site redevelopment on the Agriplex grounds.
“In addition to creating jobs and driving economic growth, agriculture is something that brings rural communities together and that’s exactly what we have seen at the Stettler Agriplex,” said Minister of Agriculture, Forestry, and Rural EconomicDevelopment and MLA for Drumheller-Stettler, Nate Horner. “Many of our communities are centered around animals, both livestock in the agriculture sector and pets in our everyday lives. That’s why I’m proud to support the $245,525 investment Alberta’s government is making into the redevelopment of the Stettler Agriplex and for the Drumheller and District Humane Society to purchase a facility.”
The Humane Society’s Facebook page notes they are wasting no time and the official date for the move to the new building is February 16.

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