Advocacy Efforts

In recent years, the Hamlet of Marten Beach has experienced increasingly frequent overland flooding events that have damaged homes, displaced residents, and discouraged recreational use of this picturesque community on the northern shore of Lesser Slave Lake. These events have proven costly and traumatic to Marten Beach residents, and pose an ongoing risk to the municipality and Province.

Following extensive engineering, financial and environmental studies and requisite public consultation, a preferred flood mitigation option has been chosen (Option 5: Room for the River with Dykes) at an estimated capital cost of $12 million. This option returns the highest positive long-term net present value for both the Province and the MD. In October of 2022, Nichols Applied Management (Nichols) conducted an analysis that explored capital funding options including the feasibility of the MD financing the project in its entirety.

Council continues to advocate for a funding arrangement where project costs are shared between the MD, affected residents, and provincial grant contributions. However, most residents of this small community would be hard-pressed to take on such a financial burden. As such, the MD would likely shoulder some or all of the resident portion (to be recouped later). This leaves provincial funding as the remaining unknown variable.

Historically, MD financing of large capital items has been largely ad-hoc, consisting of special one-time transfers or small transfers of earned interest income. As such, a large portion of capital spending has typically been supported by the Municipal Sustainability Initiative (MSI) or other grant funding. However, due to the pending shift from the MSI program to the Local Government Fiscal Framework (LGFF) with no apparent formula to forecast the amount received, we face significant funding uncertainty for this venture.

The Marten Beach flood mitigation project will likely be MD-funded in large part; augmented by any provincial grant funding received. We intend to apply for a Disaster Mitigation and Adaptation Fund (DMAF) grant with its potential to cover 40% of the total capital project cost, leaving the MD with a $7.2 million expenditure. If our grant application is unsuccessful, we will likely need to finance 100% of the anticipated $12 million expenditure.

Council notes the Province’s 2020 repeal of the Well Drilling Equipment Tax Rate Regulation (WDET) and consequent elimination of a major tax advantage for oil-producing municipalities such as ours. Assuming the WDET is assessed at the last regulated rate, the 486 wells drilled within our borders since its repeal would have resulted in more than $3.4 million in tax revenues for the MD.

Given that the spirit of the WDET was to provide rural municipalities with revenue to offset infrastructure costs, MD Council suggests that the Province consider a repayment of these lost tax revenues to cover its share of the Marten Beach flood abatement project.

The MD has recently completed its new capital reserves plan. Far more detailed and comprehensive than the legacy plan, this version mitigates some of the uncertainty around our capital reserves account and whether there are funds available to undertake this project.

The new plan also helps the MD identify other priority capital projects that may take precedence over flood mitigation. Within the new plan, the MD shows sufficient capacity to pay for either a 60% share or the full 100% cost of the flood mitigation project with its capital reserve account. However, doing so would leave the MD with diminished capacity to fund anything other than priority 1 projects — or cover any unplanned capital expenses — over the next five to ten years.

Council acknowledges the Ministry for its recent orientation and recommendations regarding the pending transition of the MSI program to LGFF funding. A greater understanding of how to leverage the LGFF model is a step in the right direction; however, we still face long-term uncertainty with respect to understanding and accessing reliable provincial funding avenues for large-scale projects such as Marten Beach.

Although the MD’s revised capital plan provides administration with greater oversight of priorities and capacity, there remains significant opacity regarding funding of the capital reserves account as the details around LGFF grant values are yet to be finalized. Further, Council is unclear on what other funding programs, if any, may apply to this project.

• Council requests seeks special consideration for additional grant funding to help pay for the Marten Beach flood mitigation project
• MD Council requests that the Government of Alberta bear its fair share of partial financial responsibility for the chosen flood mitigation strategy in Marten Beach
• The Marten Beach flood mitigation project is hindered by uncertainty regarding applicable provincial grant partnership programs. What is the status of an allocation formula for LGFF?

Funding 100% of the Marten Beach flood mitigation project would negatively impact our fiscal resiliency, and would result in the MD carrying the largest debt load of all counties and municipal districts in Alberta.

• Infrastructure Funding Sources
• Health Care Personnel Shortages
• Seniors Home Care Funding
• Fine Revenue Sharing Transfers
  

Our municipal infrastructure supports key industry sectors; connects workers and creates jobs; fosters community growth; and impacts quality of life both locally and province-wide. By sustaining this infrastructure, we remain a viable region and a heavy contributor to the Province’s bottom line.

Lesser Slave River is home to North America’s most lucrative heavy oil play, the Clearwater Formation in Marten Hills. Forestry giants like Tolko, Vanderwell and West Fraser thrive on our vast tight-grain timber resources. By these measures alone, we are one of Alberta’s major economic drivers. To the Province, this represents hundreds of millions in tax dollars, stumpage revenues and royalties each year. For this relationship to be equitable and sustainable, the MD must work in alignment with the Province to support the vital infrastructure that makes it all possible. Such a partnership is the very essence of the Province’s Building Forward Plan.

The linchpin in our sustained industrial output and resultant tax revenue is transportation infrastructure. Our Ten Year Capital Plan cites much of this infrastructure; yet there appears to be no straightforward process for adding these projects to the Province’s capital list. Year over year, provincial funding for strategic infrastructure projects is never certain; nor is the formula predictable. In some cases, there appear to be no formulas at all. Due to the pending shift from the Municipal Sustainability Initiative (MSI) model to the Local Government Fiscal Framework (LGFF) model, the MD faces even greater funding uncertainty than ever before; thus increasing the difficulty of planning for critical infrastructure objectives.

We seek guidance on how the Province invests in planning, constructing, renewing and maintaining infrastructure over the long term. Through a better grasp of applicable sources of infrastructure funding (including respective formulas and thresholds), we can chart a clear course forward. In tandem with this request to Minister Neudorf, the MD has engaged premier financial consultant Nichols Applied Management to help us further explore and weigh our various capital funding options.

From repairing transportation corridors and improving connectivity in under-serviced rural areas to responding to local effects of climate change, our infrastructure priorities align with the strategic objectives and principles of the Building Forward Plan. Specific near-term priorities include:

• $80 million to rebuild the Smith Bridge
• $12 million dollars for flood mitigation in the Hamlet of Marten Beach
• $22 million for utility infrastructure upgrades over ten years

In addition to these three capital expenditures, we are also making plans to repair and/or rebuild facilities like the fire hall and community library in the Hamlet of Smith. Council envisions undertaking these projects in alignment with the Green Municipal Fund, Green and Inclusive Community Buildings fund, or similar programs. In doing so, the MD could Leverage available green energy dollars to offset the cost of building/renovating; in addition to reaping the long-term benefits of reduced GHG emissions, increased energy efficiencies, and other savings related to net zero building standards. The difficulty, however, lies in locating these programs as they shift across ministries, and understanding the formulas and criteria behind them.

Simply put, the MD relies on provincial grant dollars to undertake capital projects that safeguard the integrity of its infrastructure and support the provision of core services. The prospect of financing major capital projects through reserves or similar mechanisms is neither prudent nor financially sustainable for the MD. Doing so would significantly hamper our capacity to pay for unplanned expenses, and would negatively impact the MD’s financial resilience. As we continue to explore alternative funding possibilities that include collaborating with industry, landowners and other stakeholders, we also need access to provincial funding mechanisms that are accessible, predictable, long-term, responsive, and adequate.

Certainty in capital planning is extremely important for our MD as we meet the needs of today and plan for the sustained prosperity of our region. By better understanding the relevant provincial funding programs, and by having a clear path forward for leveraging these programs, the MD will be far better equipped to create plans that are accurate, actionable, and in alignment with the overarching goals of our provincial partners.

• Council requests special consideration for the funding of transportation infrastructure that is heavily utilized by industry
• Council seeks guidance from Minister Neudorf on any and all funding programs, formulas (and respective ministries) relevant to our stated infrastructure needs
• Council seeks clarity on green energy grant programs that would help fund retrofits to, or replacements of, aging community facilities
• The MD seeks to establish and maintain a consistent point of contact for infrastructure funding programs, thresholds and formulas

We continue to explore project financing options that include collaborating with industry, landowners and other stakeholders, but we also must achieve clarity and consistency regarding Provincial funding mechanisms.

• Marten Beach Flood Mitigation
  
• Health Care Personnel Shortages
• Seniors Home Care Funding
• Fine Revenue Sharing Transfers
  

As municipal leaders who have weathered significant crises and borne witness to their social aftershocks, we are confident that inaction on addressing fundamental flaws in our rural health care infrastructure will result in unforeseen economic, social, and quality-of-life ripple effects for many years to come.

We have emerged from a global pandemic with chronic cultural fatigue within our health care system. Some practitioners are retiring; others are saying ‘enough is enough’ and leaving the industry altogether, having been overworked and under supported during the two gruelling years of the COVID-19 pandemic. Many bright young minds avoid the profession altogether due to training barriers, licensing thresholds, and an anecdotal perception of what it’s like ‘on the inside.’

COVID-19 cannot be the sole scapegoat for the state of health care in rural Alberta. Medical and nursing professionals (registered nurses/licensed practical nurses/nurse practitioners) continue to be difficult to recruit. This leaves facilities perpetually short-staffed, which in turn places pressure on the remaining medical staff, resulting in lengthy treatment delays and postponements. Direct outcomes here in the MD range from waits of up to twelve hours in the emergency ward, to residents avoiding medical care altogether.

Establishing a framework for the recruitment, retention, and support of trained medical professionals continues to be a primary concern for MD Council. Health care training, licensing, and funding mechanisms must evolve or be completely reworked in order to support proper health care delivery in rural Alberta.

Like most of rural Alberta, health care service levels continue to decline in the Lesser Slave River region. These service level challenges directly impact the daily lives of our citizens, and secondarily compromise the MD’s ability to position the region as a destination of choice for industry, skilled labour, and other target demographics.

MD Council urges the Government of Alberta to review and rework most aspects of health care, including the recruitment and retention of health care professionals in smaller centers and rural communities such as ours.

We seek further dialogue around the ideas tabled during the fall 2022 Provincial Health Tour, including rural internships; increased educational opportunities; less stringent GPA requirements; a simplified physician licensing process; and an improved housing, onboarding, and support framework for new personnel. We also seek to know what progress has been made since the fall 2022 Provincial Health Tour to address critical medical personnel shortages in the MD.

• The shortage of skilled health care personnel poses a considerable and ongoing challenge in the Lesser Slave River region.
• The Province needs to revisit its approach to health care, and redouble its resolve to implement sensible policies, programs and mechanisms.
• MD Council would like a status update on the questions and concerns expressed during the fall 2022 Provincial Health Tour; specifically:
  • Did the Provincial Health Tour sessions result in any action plans?
  • What, if any, progress has been made to address medical personnel shortages in the Lesser Slave River region?
  • What, if any, plans are in place to address medical personnel shortages in the MD?
  • What is being done to retain existing health care personnel?
  • Is there a plan in place to recruit more health care personnel?
  • Does the Province monitor the percentage of Alberta-trained health care professionals that choose to stay and continue working in Alberta?

Health care service level challenges directly impact the daily lives of our citizens, and secondarily compromise the MD’s ability to position the region as a destination of choice for industry, skilled labour, and other target demographics.

• Marten Beach Flood Mitigation
• Infrastructure Funding Sources
  
• Seniors Home Care Funding
• Fine Revenue Sharing Transfers
  

The population of seniors in Alberta continues to rise faster than other age groups. Figures in the latest budget suggest nearly one in five Albertans will be 65 or older by 2030. Accordingly, the Government of Alberta is planning for a wave of aging seniors that will rely on its continuing care system in the next decade.

Not surprisingly, the Province’s Facility-based Continuing Care Report released in 2021 called for a broader shift to home-based care. Alberta Health is already taking action to implement several of the recommendations, including expanding community care and services options to enable more people to stay at home.

In its budget 2023 highlights, the Province has conveyed its assurance that seniors and vulnerable Albertans will receive the support they need. The MD has gleaned few specifics regarding what will change related to its regional needs, but budget documents indicate additional home care funding will increase the number of individual seniors served, helping them stay in their homes longer.

We seek to know the specifics of how the Province’s recently-announced health care funding increase will reflect on key issues in our communities.

Expanding services to include 24/7 home care in home living settings is a practical move that would avoid costly patient transfers and visits to higher levels of care. Such an investment would result in a savings of hundreds of thousands of dollars annually. It would also help ease the current strain on EMS services.

An average of $60,000 is spent each year for each person in designated supportive living. Conversely, home care costs $11,000 per person per year (one sixth of the cost).

Will the Province support an increase in operational funding for housing management providers? Using the sole metric of inflation, housing management bodies are operating with 12% fewer resources than they had in 2018; with record-high inflation figures forecasted for the year ahead. It is reasonable to expect a resultant increase in the Lodge Assistance Program (LAP) grant to offset this year-over-year inflation, which currently sits at 4-5% for food and 7-10% for non-food costs. At minimum, a 12% increase to operational funding is needed immediately.

The ten-year Stronger Foundations Affordable Housing Strategy underscores the Province’s focus on improving affordable housing while building a sustainable system that provides flexible, fair and inclusive housing options well into the future. Delivering on these promises will be critical to the future of affordable, accessible housing in Alberta. Regardless, as the groundwork is laid for this long-term strategy we must also address the immediate challenges housing providers are facing.

One of the actions cited in the Stronger Foundations Affordable Housing Strategy was development of a five-year maintenance and redevelopment plan for all government-owned assets, and improvements to capital maintenance and renewal.

Affordable housing encompasses a spectrum of aging-in-place scenarios, from lodge/supportive and designated supportive living to independent living. Maintaining and refurbishing existing housing properties is fiscally prudent, because the cost of doing so is nominal when compared with replacement. Aging in place and living independently strategies provide our seniors with the ways and means to age with dignity. Funding for home care, assisted living, and accessible transportation are all key components to making these strategies work in our rural communities.

• We urge Minister Copping to expanding funding for home care services to include 24/7 home care in home living settings
• We request an increase in operational funding for housing management providers in alignment with year-over-year inflation
• We seek reassurance that the Province will inject significant new investment into capital maintenance funding as part of its Stronger Foundations strategy

We seek to engage Minister Copping in a dialogue about increased funding for assisted living, supported living, and housing options for our aging community members.

• Marten Beach Flood Mitigation
• Infrastructure Funding Sources
• Health Care Personnel Shortages
  
• Fine Revenue Sharing Transfers
  

When municipal enforcement officers issue tickets for speeding violations, they are due and payable to the Crown. A portion of the revenues generated from these infractions is then returned from the municipality from which the infractions incurred. In the case of our municipality, this revenue provides our Protective Services team with additional funds to support community safety and address local policing and enforcement priorities; resulting in meaningful and sustained positive community impacts. 

Many of these community activities and departmental improvements are enabled by the MD’s ticket revenue-sharing mechanism with the Province. However, we are concerned by
a variance in revenue share percentages the MD has received year over year in relation to actual tickets written by our enforcement officers.

The MD received $76,724.90 in fine revenue transfers from the Province between 2016 and 2020. Given the total sum of $241,168.00 for traffic fines issued by the MD within this  five-year sample, Council has concerns that the MD’s portion of fine revenues within this period is not reflective of the agreed-upon percentage.

MD administrators have made numerous attempts to derive its actual fine revenues from the supplied provincial-municipal revenue sharing reports. However, with neither the formula used to derive the calculations nor a provincial point of contact to help decipher these highly convoluted documents, this data has proven impossible to extract.

Like many other Alberta municipalities, the MD of Lesser Slave River has worked with the Province to absorb a variety of reductions, cuts and downloads over the past several years, while working to manage infrastructure, maintain services and safeguard its communities. One such example is when the Province granted itself a greater share of revenue from municipally-issued fines in 2020.

It is understood that difficult times often call for difficult measures. Diminishing provincial funding avenues aside, the MD intends to make the most of existing funds, mechanisms and resources to which it is rightfully due. One step we can take in this direction is to ensure our provincial fine revenue transfers reflect the actual tickets issued within our municipality.

• Council seeks to clarify the MD’s present fine revenue share agreement with the Province, including the formula used to calculate monthly percentages
• Council seeks to establish and maintain a consistent point of contact regarding fine revenue sharing transfers between the MD and Province
• Council requests disclosure of provincial fine revenue repayment records to the MD, including the formulas used to calculate these amounts, from 2016 to present
• Council requests reimbursement of any outstanding monies due to the MD via the fine revenue sharing program from 2016 to present

Bylaw enforcement is a municipal responsibility, but the resultant ticket revenues are shared with the Province. The MD has concerns that its share has not been calculated properly.

• Marten Beach Flood Mitigation
• Infrastructure Funding Sources
• Health Care Personnel Shortages
• Seniors Home Care Funding
  

The MD of lesser Slave River is uniquely positioned as a resource-rich, industry-friendly region with the capacity to support new businesses, foster growth, and incentivize diversification. Our municipality is home to North America’s most productive and lucrative heavy oil play. Our forestry industry taps into one of the most extensive tight-grain lumber reserves in the western hemisphere. We provide fertile ground for new sectors and strategic alliances to take root, like the recent $35 million Expander Energy biomass plant.

The MD’s robust industrial sector provides cascading benefits to the respective producers; the local workforce; area businesses; and the region in general. As a recipient of hundreds of millions in royalties and stumpage fees each year, the Government of Alberta is also a beneficiary of this industrial output.

Industry is thriving in the MD, and our region’s untapped economic development potential sets us apart from most rural municipalities. However, to capitalize on this potential we must take meaningful strides with our provincial counterparts to remedy our physical and social infrastructure deficiencies.

Crumbling roads and inadequate transportation infrastructure — including a major bridge at risk of failure — hobble existing operations, and all but eliminate the MD’s ability to court new industry or development. These deficiencies increase the cost of transportation; throttle access to production inputs; limit access to markets; and shrink the available local labour pool.

The flaws in our healthcare infrastructure are less visible than roads and bridges — but equally impactful to the state of the MD. We have emerged from the global pandemic with critical fatigue among our health care professionals. Some are retiring; others are saying ‘enough is enough’ and leaving the industry altogether. Direct outcomes here in the MD range from twelve-hour waits in the emergency ward, to residents avoiding medical care altogether. From a higher social perspective: we are living longer, yet our health care professionals are dwindling. This predicament is not unique to Lesser Slave River. Like COVID itself, it is endemic to the entire province. A fundamental shift is needed in how we attract, train, retain and support our medical professionals.

Each day that our requests for infrastructure support are delayed, postponed, or outright ignored represents another squandered opportunity to market the Lesser Slave River region to prospective businesses, developers, new community members, or seasonal visitors.

• Transportation infrastructure is heavily utilized by industry, and it is nearing the point of failure at critical junctures
• The approach to health care in rural Alberta needs an overhaul
• Failure to address the region’s infrastructure decay will lead to productivity decline, squandered opportunities, and capped economic development potential

The issue: The Province must recognize present and emerging economic barriers and act expediently to implement a multi-faceted action plan to support and expand our region’s rapidly evolving economy.

• Health Care Personnel Shortages
• Hwy 2 Intersection Upgrades
• Marten Beach Flood Mitigation
• Repairs to Highway 88
• Smith Bridge Rebuild

Health care service level challenges directly impact the daily lives of our citizens, and secondarily compromise the MD’s ability to position the region as a destination of choice for industry, skilled labour, and other target demographics. As municipal leaders who have weathered significant crises and borne witness to their social aftershocks, we are confident that inaction on addressing fundamental flaws in our rural health care infrastructure will result in unforeseen economic, social, and quality-of-life ripple effects for many years to come.

We have emerged from a global pandemic with chronic cultural fatigue within our health care system. Some practitioners are retiring; others are saying ‘enough is enough’ and leaving the industry altogether, having been overworked and under supported during the two gruelling years of the COVID-19 pandemic. Many bright young minds avoid the profession altogether due to training barriers, licensing thresholds, and an anecdotal perception of what it’s like ‘on the inside.’

COVID-19 cannot be the sole scapegoat for the state of health care in rural Alberta. Medical and nursing professionals (registered nurses / licensed practical nurses / nurse practitioners) continue to be difficult to recruit. This leaves facilities perpetually short-staffed, which in turn places pressure on the remaining medical staff, resulting in lengthy treatment delays and postponements. Direct outcomes here in the MD range from waits of up to twelve hours in the emergency ward, to residents avoiding medical care altogether.

Establishing a framework for the recruitment, retention, and support of trained medical professionals continues to be a primary concern for MD Council. Health care training, licensing, and funding mechanisms must evolve or be completely reworked in order to support proper health care delivery in rural Alberta.

• The shortage of skilled health care personnel poses a considerable and ongoing challenge in the Lesser Slave River region.
• The Province needs to revisit its approach to health care, and redouble its resolve to implement sensible policies, programs and mechanisms.
• MD Council would like a status update on the questions and concerns expressed during the summer 2022 Provincial Health Tour; specifically:
  • Did the Provincial Health Tour sessions result in any action plans?
  • What, if any, progress has been made to address medical personnel shortages
    in the Lesser Slave River region?
  • What, if any, plans are in place to address medical personnel shortages in the MD?
  • What is being done to retain existing health care personnel?
  • Is there a plan in place to recruit more health care personnel?
  • Does the Province monitor the percentage of Alberta-trained health care professionals that choose to stay and continue working in Alberta?

Key issues: Like most of rural Alberta, health care service levels continue to decline in the Lesser Slave River region. These service level challenges directly impact the daily lives of our citizens, and secondarily compromise the MD’s ability to position the region as a destination of choice for industry, skilled labour, and other target demographics.

MD Council urges the Government of Alberta to review and rework most aspects of health care, including the recruitment and retention of health care professionals in smaller centers and rural communities such as ours.

We seek further dialogue around the ideas tabled during the summer 2022 Provincial Health Tour, including rural internships; increased educational opportunities; less stringent GPA requirements; a simplified physician licensing process; and an improved housing, onboarding, and support framework for new personnel. We also seek to know what progress has been made since the summer 2022 Provincial Health Tour to address critical medical personnel shortages in the MD.

• Economic Development
• Hwy 2 Intersection Upgrades
• Marten Beach Flood Mitigation
• Repairs to Highway 88
• Smith Bridge Rebuild

RMA 2022 Fall Convention

The intersection of Highway 2 and Bayer Road is located 3.75 kilometres west of the Town of Slave Lake. This is well-known by locals as a highly dangerous intersection due to the lack of a westbound left turning lane. According to the Alberta Transportation Traffic Counter (70000912) located nearest this intersection, this highway sees approximately 3800 AADT in each direction.

Bayer Road has 32 residences along it, and is located on the south side of Highway 2. The north side of the intersection is Sawridge Road, which has approximately 5 residences located nearby. Highway 2 is a regular commuter thoroughfare for residents of Kinuso, Assineau, Faust, Widewater Canyon Creek and Driftpile who travel to and from work in Slave Lake or the surrounding area.

Previously, the MD has reached out to Alberta Transportation to request that this intersection be widened to accommodate a turning lane, in addition to the installation of streetlights and signage improvements. Despite these requests, the position of Alberta Transportation was that traffic volumes did not warrant such improvements.

On average, emergency responders attend approximately 13 calls per year along this stretch of highway. That is more than one emergency call per month. Not all of these incidents happen at the Bayer Road intersection, but a good deal of them are accidents due to a vehicle turning left heading west and the driver behind them not seeing the vehicle or losing it in the sun. A turning lane would help increase safety and reduce accidents at this location.

• There is no left turning lane for traffic eaving the westbound lane of Highway 2 on
  to Bayer Road. There is also no deceleration lane or widening of the intersection that would allow traffic to flow safely.
• There is no roadside illumination at the intersection, despite the majority of traffic occurring between 6:00am and 9:00am and 4:00pm and 7:00pm (dusk or darkness periods for the majority of the year).
• There is limited signage to indicate that traffic may be slowing, turning or otherwise stopping on the highway.
• Daily traffic count in 2021 was 3820 westbound and 3810 eastbound.
• There is a high volume of loaded log trucks in the area, as well as other heavy trucking. This commercial traffic, coupled with high speeding rates in the area, increases the risk at this intersection.

The issue: The intersection of Highway 2 and Bayer Road is not an accident waiting to happen; it is accident prone. Traffic continues to increase, and if the present situation is not remedied, a major accident is an eventuality.

How can the MD and Alberta Transportation improve the safety of this intersection before that happens?

• Economic Development
• Health Care Personnel Shortages
• Marten Beach Flood Mitigation
• Repairs to Highway 88
• Smith Bridge Rebuild

The Hamlet of Marten Beach has experienced increasing occurrences of overland flooding in recent years. These flooding events have damaged homes, temporarily displaced residents, and discouraged recreational use of this picturesque community on the northern shore of Lesser Slave Lake. Within the last three decades, Marten Beach has experienced two separate “hundred-year” rainfall events (in addition to three “twenty-year” rainfalls). These events have proven costly and traumatic to Marten Beach residents, and pose an ongoing risk to the municipality and Province.

MD Council, with the assistance of a specialized team of engineering, financial, environmental, and social analyst experts, has undertaken an extensive study on the Marten Beach area regarding flood risk mitigation strategies. This study resulted in five potential flood mitigation strategies. Upon review of the options presented, combined with consideration of community input and legacy studies, MD Council directed administration to evaluate Option 5C: narrowing the entire channel. A detailed cost-benefit analysis isolated Option 5C as returning the highest long-term net present value for both the Province and the MD.

In addition to evaluation of this risk management strategy, the MD has placed a moratorium on development in the area until Alberta Environment and Parks has provided the required flood mapping forecast criteria.

Prior to arriving at its decision, numerous options were considered, including buying out property owners; moving or raising houses; and installing berms and sheet piles.

All legacy studies conducted by both the Province and the MD were reviewed. In consideration of the recent studies and legacy data, the MD has developed a four-pronged approach to finally address the repeated flooding in a meaningful way. The four components are as follows:

Communication and engagement

• Current website communication sub-site for updated progress status
• Provision of pertinent information regarding resident preparedness and response
• Provision of pertinent information regarding on site future development, upgrades, and maintenance guidelines
• Ongoing status of engineering flood mitigation design and implementation concept design

Emergency preparedness plan

• Establishing the responsibility of the resident
• Establishing the responsibility of the MD
• Establishing the responsibility of the Province
• Determining critical points of implementation

Land Use Bylaw guidelines and amendments

• Drafting of Municipal Development Plan and Land Use Bylaw document amendments as necessary to allow for safe future development practices within the various flooding zones
• Creation of a flowchart for intuitive use and informational uptake by residents

Engineered flood mitigation design and implementation concept plan

• Production of a preferred area flood mitigation concept plan for Council and resident endorsement
• Strategies for funding the flood mitigation concept plan
• Strategies for political engagement to obtain funding from available grant sources
• Development of an implementation timetable

The Marten Beach area has been prone to flooding for many years, wherein a reactionary approach has historically been applied by way of critical incident response and post-flood recovery activities. A proactive approach, while comparatively expensive, will prove far less expensive in the long run.

The Marten Beach subdivision was approved when the MD of Lesser Slave River was still an improvement district; therefore it falls under provincial jurisdiction. It is not reasonable to expect the MD to shoulder the entire cost to fix an inherited problem.

• Transportation infrastructure is heavily utilized by industry, and it is nearing the point of failure at critical junctures
• The approach to health care in rural Alberta needs an overhaul
• Failure to address the region’s infrastructure decay will lead to productivity decline, squandered opportunities, and capped economic development potential

The issue: The cost to mitigate the ongoing flood threat in Marten Beach is estimated at $10.6 million. Neither the MD nor Marten Beach homeowners have sufficient means to cover the entire mitigation project. Further, there are presently no applicable federal or provincial grant programs. MD Council requests that the Province bear its fair share of partial financial responsibility for the chosen flood mitigation strategy in Marten Beach.

It is not a matter of if Marten Beach will flood again; it is a matter of when. It only makes sense to take proactive measures to mitigate the risk rather than perpetually pay to clean up the mess each time flooding occurs.

• Economic Development
• Health Care Personnel Shortages
• Hwy 2 Intersection Upgrades
• Repairs to Highway 88
• Smith Bridge Rebuild

RMA 2022 Fall Convention

Highway 88 runs north from the Town of Slave Lake toward Wabasca and Red Earth. The highway is an important corridor for the oil & gas and forestry sectors; facilitates the transport of goods and services to remote outlying regions; and provides recreational traffic access to Lesser Slave Lake Provincial Park.

Currently, Highway 88 is in a state of severe disrepair. The highway experienced back-to-back major floods in 2018 and 2019 that led to major washouts. While these washouts have been repaired, numerous other sections are riddled with potholes, crumbling shoulders, and cracking and heaving of the asphalt.

These deficiencies further erode the safety of a road that is already very narrow with hardly any shoulder. 2021 traffic counts from Alberta Transportation state that Highway 88 sees approximately 2000 AADT in each direction. Traffic has substantially increased over the prior year due to the continued rapid expansion of the Clearwater Oilfield. The Province and the MD both stand to benefit from the Clearwater oil play; however, if access becomes diminished or difficult, then it will be a net loss for all involved.

The MD wrote to Minister of Transportation Ric McIver in 2021 requesting to know what the plan was for rehabilitation of this highway. The Minister's response was that there was no plan.

Data provided by local service providers states that emergency responders attend approximately 19 calls per year on this stretch of highway. That is an average
of almost two calls per month. The increase in large truck and heavy equipment traffic will only push this number upward — especially when combined with the present poor road conditions.

• Transportation infrastructure is heavily utilized by industry, and it is nearing the point of failure at critical junctures
• The approach to health care in rural Alberta needs an overhaul
• Failure to address the region’s infrastructure decay will lead to productivity decline, squandered opportunities, and capped economic development potential

The issue: The road is becoming increasingly unsafe, and there is no plan to improve it despite its status as a valuable piece of transportation infrastructure for industry, residents and visitors alike.

• Economic Development
• Health Care Personnel Shortages
• Hwy 2 Intersection Upgrades
• Marten Beach Flood Mitigation
• Smith Bridge Rebuild

The Smith Bridge is located on the north side of the Hamlet of Smith crossing the Athabasca River. Built in 1944 and finished in 1945, the structure is approximately 228m long, 5.5m wide, and a vertical height of 4.7m. Historical issues include sloughing of the north abutment; erosion gullies on both abutments; and horizontal cross brace damage due to oversized load collisions. Recent inspections, including a 2021 scour survey, have found significant deterioration of pier 3. The current alignment makes this pier extremely susceptible to debris accumulations, requiring near-constant monitoring and periodic debris removal at the expense of the MD.

In early 2016, the Clearwater Oilfield was discovered in the Marten Hills area. Highway 2A via the Smith Bridge provides one of the easiest access points to Clearwater — currently the most productive and lucrative heavy oil play in North America. In addition to the MD’s robust oil & gas sector, there is a significant forestry industry thriving in the Lesser Slave River region. The Government of Alberta benefits from royalties and stumpage fees to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars each year.

The Smith Bridge reached the end of its service life in 2022; however, in January of 2022 the Alberta Government extended its life to 2034. Estimated replacement costs for a two-lane open-top bridge, plus the required repairs to the alignment and north slope, range from $70 to $100 million. Provincial funding for this project would eliminate a major barrier to industrial expansion and continued economic stability in the region. The bridge needs $553,000 IN URGENT REPAIRS in order to remain operational for an additional 4 to 5 years.

In November of 2022, the MD submitted two STIP grant applications to the provincial government. The first application was to fund urgent repairs necessary to maintain the operation of the Smith Bridge, while the second application was to initiate the design process for replacing the bridge.

• This is a major bridge located on a road that services residents, tourists and the travelling public — but it is also heavily utilized by the oil & gas and forestry industries. The traffic needs of today are significantly different from those of 1944, and it is not feasible to expect a bridge from that era to meet the current economic demands.
• The narrow bridge deck width and restricted height due to the overhead structure prevent the bulk of industry vehicles and equipment from using the Smith Bridge to access their sites in the north of the MD.
• The bridge’s outdated design also limits the size of agricultural equipment that can cross, which results in agricultural producers taking a 60km detour to access their properties.
• At the recommendation of the project’s Engineering Team, the MD has implemented a 15% reduction in the weight limits on the bridge until the urgent repair work is complete.
• If a provincial commitment to assist with the replacement of the bridge came today, it would still take four to five years before construction could be completed.
• The Smith Bridge and Old Smith Highway combine to create an important emergency route. During the 2011 wildfire when Highway 2 was closed, this route was the sole reason many residents were able escape to safety.

Key issues: The Smith Bridge is a vital part of the MD’s transportation network, but it is past the end of its engineered service life. Council is hard-pressed to explain to constituents why it was deemed safe to postpone the bridge’s replacement date by a decade despite numerous engineers opposing such an extension. Further, the Smith Bridge was designed for traffic volumes and vehicle weights from 80 years ago. It is a bottleneck to multiple thriving industrial sectors from which the Government of Alberta directly benefits. It is incumbent upon the Province to finance the construction of a new bridge, as the Province is a primary long-term beneficiary of the industrial activities made possible by this infrastructure.

With the projected timeline of four to five years before a new bridge would come into service, the MD and the Province need to develop a meaningful strategy to replace this critical infrastructure now.

• Economic Development
• Health Care Personnel Shortages
• Hwy 2 Intersection Upgrades
• Marten Beach Flood Mitigation
• Repairs to Highway 88