“There are no surplus funds in the Cold Lake Air Weapons Range (tax revenue sharing agreement) and the Town of Bonnyville needs to look elsewhere for solutions (to fix their growing infrastructure deficit).”
Those were the words of Cold Lake Mayor Craig Copeland last week when he told local media he was “sick and tired” of having the municipality's multi-million dollar I.D. 349 agreement looked upon as a potential source of revenue by neighbouring Lakeland communities.
The issue resurfaced earlier this month when Bonnyville Mayor Gene Sobolewski said he was hoping to bring the provincial government and City of Cold Lake to the table to discuss the possible redistribution of what he described as surplus funding flowing from the sizeable arrangement.
In addressing media for the first time since the issue was brought back into the public eye, Copeland said he was keen to put a stop to rumours and misconceptions surrounding the deal.
“I'm not exactly sure where the misconceptions surrounding these supposed surpluses have come from, but I can tell you (they're not true),” Copeland told the Nouvelle last week. “Whenever this thing comes up, we go and talk (to the province) and they're on the same page as us in that this money (from the CLAWR) comes to Cold Lake and comes to Cold Lake alone.”
He added, “I have no idea where the Town of Bonnyville is getting its information from, but it's insulting to us and it's insulting to the provincial government. Every time the issue of money comes up, people come pointing fingers at Cold Lake and it's really frustrating.”
Back in 2011, the City of Cold Lake, following what Copeland described as “failed mediations” with the MD of Bonnyville, Town of Bonnyville and Village of Glendon, sought advice from the provincial government regarding how the municipality could secure funding to help maintain the city.
It was a time Copeland remembers well, with the City in such trouble that a motion was put forward for the urban municipality to dissolve into the MD of Bonnyville should no suitable funding agreement be reached.
That wasn't a solution any party at the table liked the sound of though according to Copeland and so the provincial government, along with the City of Cold Lake, MD of Bonnyville, County of Lac La Biche and Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo, came together for discussions regarding what each party could do to help make Cold Lake sustainable.
Born from those lengthy talks was the seemingly controversial I.D. 349. The agreement would see the City of Cold Lake receive a portion of the tax revenue generated by oil and gas activity on the air weapons range to help address what Copeland described as a “chronic” infrastructure deficit.
Initially signed as a five-year transition agreement, the deal saw boundaries for both the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo and Lac La Biche changed and extended to suit each municipality's needs, while CLAWR funding was funneled into Cold Lake. Under the terms of the agreement, Lac La Biche County would receive $15 million over the five years to help cover money losses attributed to the boundary change, while the MD of Bonnyville would be due $4 million over that same period to go towards maintaining the road leading into the range.
The rest of the money Copeland says, will flow into Cold Lake.
In 2015, the City of Cold Lake expects to receive just north of $19 million in CLAWR funding, money that will be used solely on important capital projects.
“This weapons range funding is so important to the City – without it we certainly wouldn't have been able to do 1 Avenue last year, we wouldn't have the two outdoor hockey rinks we have in the community, there would be no improvements to our lift stations, no second phase for the Energy Centre. There would be nothing,” Copeland said.
Sobolewski's argument centres on the very same premise Copeland and the rest of Cold Lake council lobbied the provincial government on back before the agreement was signed, with the Town struggling with its own “scary” infrastructure deficit.
“All you have to do is point a compass wherever you want in Bonnyville, look at any of the major roads within the municipality and see first hand the increase in traffic volumes, usage and deteriorating state. It's kind of scary when you start taking a look at the amount of infrastructure debt we have and how little we're able to do on our current budget which (are) the same arguments made and utilized by Cold Lake back in 2009.”
He added, “I believe those same principles should stand correct. We're not coming in here saying we deserve x amount or are entitled to a certain amount, we just want to explore and discuss in a professional and rational manner the possibility of (Bonnyville tapping into additional funding).”
The additional funding Sobolewski is talking about, while not necessarily a surplus, stems from growing numbers expected to flow into Cold Lake. Under the initial agreement, original calculations estimated that Cold Lake would receive $17 million in 2017 – the fifth and final year of the transitional agreement. According to Sobolewski, current growth calculations indicate that number will be closer to $23 million, which he explains is where he got the initial $5 million surplus from.
While Copeland admitted he felt for the Town of Bonnyville and it's growing infrastructure issues, he feels the municipality went about this situation entirely the wrong way and indicated the Town was “late to the ball” with regards to getting anything from the CLAWR agreement.
“The thing that gets us about this is that it was the Town of Bonnyville, along with Glendon and the MD in 2009 who told us to go and negotiate our own deal with the province – they didn't want to know back then and now all of a sudden because we have money (they want to talk),” Copeland said. “They're about four years late to the ball. We went to the province and negotiated a deal that was right for the City of Cold Lake, and we're proud of that.”
He added, “I don't like this whole going back in time thing (the Town) is doing. This whole thing came completely out of left field and it's too bad because I thought we were doing a good job rebuilding relationships over the past 18 months. We've taken a huge step backwards here. We'd like Bonnyville to respect the deal we brokered with the provincial government back in 2011, a deal that has had a significant impact on the infrastructure deficit here in Cold Lake, a deal we expect to continue (for many years). Bonnyville is going to have to look at other options for their municipality and figure out a solution without it impacting another community.”
Sobolewski though would not be deterred; stating he would be holding further discussions shortly into the new year to see what more the Town can do to help move potential negotiations forward.
“Our goal here isn't necessarily to cause a lot of harm or anything to the City. We know they've made plans and will be spending (the CLAWR) money accordingly. We're not saying we deserve a set amount, we're not coming into this with any expectations, we just want to sit down and see if we can start a dialogue to see if an opportunity exists (to funnel some money into Bonnyville)
“I'm excited and hopeful for the process moving forward. We may hold something in the first week of January. One thing I would like to do is implore the City of Cold Lake council to please consider (this request) and not to be rash in their conclusionary judgment. We're not going into this process that way, we're not coming out with an expected outcome, so we're hopeful that carries forward into some of the decisions the City will be making moving forward.”
The only issue open for debate according to Copeland would be how the municipality and the provincial government go about governing I.D. 349 once the initial five-year transitional agreement is up. Copeland said the City would be more than capable of taking over governance of what is essentially a rural municipality, but doing so would involve the province coming up with a complicated land bridge agreement to join I.D. 349 and the City together.
“Discussions over what will happen in 2017 haven't happened yet, but we'll certainly address that once the time comes. Whether we move forward and take (the municipality) over, whether the province governs it and whether there will be a landbridge remains to be seen,” Copeland said.
“These are discussions (for another day.)
