Amalgamation Update – April 5, 2021

ENGAGEMENT KICK-OFF EVENTS - THANK YOU FOR PARTICIPATING!

Thank you to all community members that participated in our Kick-off Engagement events on March 30 or April 1, 2021. Insightful feedback was collected, and we’re closer to identifying and understanding some key issues surrounding the amalgamation.

KICK-OFF EVENT RECORDING:

If you were unable to attend the Kick-off events, you can view a recording of the presentation here.

GET INVOLVED – COMPLETE THE QUESTIONS:

Additionally, during the meetings, we asked participants to engage in answering three relevant amalgamation questions. If you haven’t had the opportunity to participate, the questions will remain open until April 14, 2021 to complete HERE.

UPCOMING ENGAGEMENT ACTIVITIES:

The Towns of Black Diamond and Turner Valley are in the early stages of amalgamation negotiations and are continuing to request input from stakeholders.  

There will be two upcoming engagement events seeking input on both electoral wards and municipal naming over the next few months. More details will be provided in the weeks to come. All engagement events and activities will be advertised locally and here on our site.

HOW CAN YOU STAY INFORMED AND PROVIDE FEEDBACK: 

1. Provide your feedback, input, and questions directly through the Town’s emails: (amalgamation@town.blackdiamond.ab.ca or amalgamation@turnervalley.ca)
2.  Regularly review the Public Information Paper posted on the Town websites as it will be updated throughout the negotiations: www.turnervalley.ca and www.town.blackdiamond.ab.ca
3.  Attend or participate in any, or all engagement events and activities.
4.  Call the Towns to ask questions, request written copies of the information, or provide feedback.  

• Turner Valley Office:  403-933-4944 
• Black Diamond Office: 403-933-4348

Public Information Paper

The Public Information Paper provides a comprehensive and real time overview/update of:

• amalgamation background,
• process and timeframe,
• public engagement opportunities,
• links to stakeholder input,
• the technical data and information collected to make decisions on highlighted topics, and
• the decisions that are made by the Joint Friendship Agreement Committee (JFAC).

This paper will be updated throughout the entirety of the amalgamation process.

Progress Update

Amalgamation Negotiations - March 2021 Update

Over February and March, the engagement plan was developed and communications launched.  The first public and stakeholder engagement event will be held in two timeslots to provide options for participants - March 30, 6:30-7:30 PM and April 1, 10:30-11:30 AM.  Stakeholder letters were sent in March requesting feedback by April 15, 2021. 

The Joint Friendship Agreement Committee (JFAC) met on: 

• February 10^th for a general update and overview of the engagement strategy.  
• March 10^th to get project updates, and to hear recommendations from the Procedure Subcommittee.  

On March 10^th, JFAC made the following decisions: 

1. Bylaws and Resolutions of Existing Municipalities: 
   1. JFAC agreed to support deferring the updates of bylaws and resolutions to post-amalgamation. 
   2. JFAC agreed to direct administration to inventory bylaws and resolutions to determine priorities for alignment in the pre-amalgamation timeframe. The timeline for this task will be dependent on administration capacity but is expected to be complete by September 2021.
2. First Election
   1. JFAC agreed to support the potential amalgamation application recommending that the first election for the amalgamated municipality would occur in Q4 of 2022.
3. Interim Council 
   1. JFAC agreed to support that should an amalgamation application proceed with the first election in Q4 2022, no interim council will be required.
4. Intermunicipal Collaboration Framework (ICF) Extension
   1. JFAC agreed to support including in the potential amalgamation application a confirmation that the ICF deadline has been previously extended until April 1, 2022, and if the amalgamation application is submitted, the Towns will request an adjusted deadline for an ICF between the new municipality and Foothills County. 

If you have a question or wish to provide feedback about the amalgamation, please email either: 

amalgamation@town.blackdiamond.ab.ca or amalgamation@turnervalley.ca.  

The municipalities will provide responses to questions raised by members of the community.

Please visit the following sections for more information.

	Click on any of the icons to link to the information