Dear Town of Valleyview Ratepayers,
Over the past few months, the Town of Valleyview (Town) Mayor and Council, along with the support of Town Administration, have had several closed session meetings to establish and set 2024 priorities for our community – one that captures key on-the-table capital projects in order to make the best decision regarding our Town as a whole. These capital projects include Highway 43/49 roundabouts construction, 56th Avenue upgrades for new public school, raw water retention pond design in response to climate change, and Town-wide infrastructure upgrades.
Status of Highway 43/49 Roundabouts
Initial intention over the past few years was for Highway 43/49 Roundabout project, spearheaded by Alberta Transportation (AT), to be built during the 2024/2025 construction seasons. In line with this project was the needed upgrades to the Town’s Highway Streets with costs of these upgrades borne solely to the Town at a price tag of $6M. It was recently announced by AT that this project will not be moving forward at this time, solely due to the medium to high risk to our Town’s fiscal budgets, even with the potential to obtain up to 50% or $3M in grant funding to counter the total costs of these upgrades in which the Town still cannot afford. With this project out of AT’s current schedule, now relieves the Town’s capital budgets and the stress on the community to find funding for the Town’s Highway Street upgrades. This project will be revisited by AT in 2025 and will be prioritized accordingly.
Upgrades to 56th Avenue for New K-12 Public School
A new K-12 public school is scheduled to be built adjacent to the Greenview Regional Multiplex over the next few years with completion by fall of 2026. It has been requested by Northern Gateway Public Schools Division that the street paralleling this new school, 56th Avenue, be upgraded to accommodate the influx of buses and parental traffic, thus, for the Town to build an unimpeded bus route. The street and sidewalk upgrades will cost $1.5M and, as per Town resolution 24-08-124, this budget has been approved by Council with a proposed project completion by 2025/2026.
Design for Future Raw Water Retention Pond
The Alberta Government has asked all municipalities to put in place a water shortage plan that will mitigate key factors for drought. The Town presented our 2024 Water Shortage Plan on March 13, 2024 within the Town’s website and Facebook pages. One of our top priorities within this Plan is to design and construct a new raw water retention pond for future potable water use which will increase our Town’s water capacity from 2 to 3 ponds, an increase of approximately 33% or up to 3 months of potable water. Currently, the Town is in the design process and are searching for grants to fund the construction of this pond, in whole or in part. There is a small probability that this pond will be constructed in 2024, however, our intent is for its completion once funding (grant, Town, other) can be secured.
Town-Wide Infrastructure Upgrades
Most of the Town’s underground infrastructure has not been replaced or upgraded since its initial installations in the 1950’s onward and we have continually been repairing line and valve leaks over the past few decades. Since 2021/22, the Town has been preparing for town-wide upgrades to infrastructure through an asset management program. In 2026, and over the next 50-70 years at a cost of $1M per block, upgrades to both underground (water, sewer, sanitary) and above ground (curb, gutter, sidewalks, streets, alleys) will commence starting with priority areas (i.e., oldest and or most disruptive areas within Town).
As a vibrant hub for the region, the Town will look forward to many more years of prosperity and ongoing improvements for our community, ones that draw new residents and businesses to the area as well as retains our youth and seniors. And, while the Town has had the ability to decrease residential taxes from 13.5% to 9.0% over the past 15 years and, in the process, leaned all departments while still completing jobs on time and on budget without obtaining municipal or other loans, these accomplishments would not be achievable without the collaboration and financial backing from the Municipal District of Greenview who continues to support the Town’s current and future services and programs. We would also like to thank our friends and neighboring community, the Sturgeon Lake Cree Nation for their unwavering and committed support to our local economy.
On behalf of Town Council and myself, we look forward to the next few years of growth and construction in and around our community, the Town of Valleyview.
Sincerely,
Mayor and Council
Town of Valleyview