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Last updateSat, 21 Sep 2024 12pm

MSI grants in line with budget

Mayor Terry Yemen and CAO Ray Romanetz at Drumheller Town Council.

It appears the Town’s estimates for its Municipal Sustainability Initiative (MSI) Grants were in line with its estimates used for budgeting.
    MSI is one of the major funds from the province for municipalities. It is comprised of capital funding, the Basic Municipal Transpiration Grant (BMTG) and operating funding.
    Mayor Terry Yemen received a letter dated April 7 from then Minister of Municipal Affairs Ken Hughes outlining what the town would be receiving.
    According to the letter, the MSI capital component is $1,496,922, about $60,000 more than the town budgeted for in its 2014 Capital Budget.
The town was expecting  $480,000 in is BMTG funding and learned it would be receiving $481,740.
    On the operations side however, the town saw a decrease from the figure it budged for of $126,200, and will be receiving $69, 176.
    This year’s total MSI funding is$ 2,047,837.
    In his letter, Hughes explains what MSI funding is based on and how the allocation may change each year.
    “Changes in allocation amounts are mainly due to the shifts in each municipality’s proportion of population, education tax requisition, and/or kilometres of local roads compared to the provincial total, combined with a reduction in the MSI Operating budget,” it states.
     One major change all municipalities will see in the future is the elimination of the operations funding from MSI.
 This will continue to decrease to $15 million province-wide in 2015, and then eliminated in 2016.
    The funds from the operating will be realigned to encourage collaboration with other municipalities with the Alberta Community Partnership Program.
    Hughes did say he is hoping to lessen the impact to municipalities for this major change. 
“While we continue to realign MSI Operating funding to encourage transformational change, $25 million in additional capital funding will be provided in 2014 to lessen the impact of the phased elimination of the MSI Operating program,” states his letter.
    Since the letter from the Ministry was drafted, Hughes announced he has resigned from cabinet and would be running for the leadership of the Progressive Conservative Party.


Blades for bucks

A rip-roaring floor hockey match was held at Drumheller Secondary School, with the DVSS team playing against the team from the Drumheller detachment of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Last year’s game was for fun, and teacher Jeff Messom suggested the school team try something new, so DVSS senior student Justin Schinnour and Constable Willis of the RCMP organized the hockey game as a fundraiser for the MS Society through the Canalta Cares team.

Drumheller residents were generous again, helping the teams raise just under $600. Schinnour noted the event was planned in four days.  DVSS won the match in a shoot out 9 to 8.

Kneehill, Wheatland streams recede

 

Last Friday parts of High Eagle RV Resort were under the flow of the Rosebud River. The flow in area rivers and streams has slowed since last week, and Alberta Emergency Alert has now downgraded a Flood Watch for the area to a High Stream Flow Advisory.

While a number of emergency alerts are in effect for areas surrounding Drumheller, it  appears that run off is subsiding.
    Since Friday, April 4, much of Central Alberta has been the subject of Alberta Emergency Alert warnings. There was a High Water Level Advisory for Kneehill County, which was put in place on April 7. On April 9, Wheatland County began issuing a High Water Level Warning for its area streams.
    A Flood Watch for parts of Central Alberta, including Drumheller, was issued on Wednesday, April 9 and as of  Monday night it has been downgraded to a High Stream Flow advisory.
    Glenn Koester, Reeve of Wheatland County, said it appears that the rivers and streams in the area are slowing down. Last week's warm temperatures took a bit of a drop over the weekend, which may have helped slow down the dramatic melt of  the relatively large snowpack on the plains.
    “On Sunday, the Service Berry Creek sure looked lower, and we were in Rosebud this morning (Monday), and the Rosebud River was down quite a bit,” said Koester.
    Last week however, campsites at the High Eagle RV Park were submerged as the river broke it banks.
    Koester is appreciative of  the efforts  of county crews did to keep roads passable in the area. While some needed grader touch-up other needed more work.
    “They worked hard,” he said. 
    Kneehill County’s website shows a number of road closures and washouts due to the spring run off, however Reeve Bob Long says it appears the worst is over.
    “We’re pretty much holding our own now, the peak happened,” said Kneehill Reeve Bob Long .
    He says most of the closures were precautionary, however there were a few culverts washed out.
“At this time of year it isn’t necessarily because the water is so high, but when the ice come out it jams up in the culverts,” said Long.
    Watchers of the Red Deer River saw another dramatic ice flow late Sunday. This followed a ice bottleneck last week.
    This time it appears the Little Red Deer River was jammed up with ice. Over the weekend, there were reports of flooding in a Bowden subdivision. On Sunday, Drumheller residents saw the ice from this jam flow through the valley.


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