A delegation of residents were entertained by Rimbey town council regarding concerns about the Evergreen Estates subdivision.
Several residents attended the June 23 meeting to speak to a few issues that included when the area will be getting a walking path and why they pay so much in taxes for the improvements they receive.
Parents in the area worry about children having to walk along the highway to get to school because there is no walking path.
Meanwhile, other residents in attendance spoke about where all of their tax money is going, why so little of what has been generated to date has been spent on improvements such as paving the subdivision, instead of going into the town’s general revenue fund. The residents also wanted to know whether there are grants available to get the paving done and limiting what the residents would have to pay for the paving improvement.
In a email to the Town presented as part of the discussion, developers Carey and Judy Anderson added they are concerned about their $20,000 annual tax bill going up due to the paving. They also wanted to know if the Town was looking at decreasing the taxes on some lots as they have heard other communities have done.
“The subdivision that we built and paid for has brought in hundreds of thousands of dollars in tax revenue for the Town,” the email said.
“With the economy the way it is and lot sales not moving as we had hoped, we will not be able to afford both the municipal taxes and the paving, so something will need to be decreased in order for us to continue.”
When contacted, Rimbey CAO Lori Hillis explained Council listened to the concerns, though no action was taken at the meeting.
However, the issue of the walking path from Drader Crescent to Evergreen Estates is on the agenda for Council’s July 28 meeting.
Council had approved the $90,000 trail project in its 2018 Capital Budget, but it took two years for the land to be transferred to the Town and now the Rimbey Lions Club have backed out of constructing the trail after agreeing to that in 2018.
The decision comes down to the Town either matching the $45,000 grant funds and work with the Lions Club or fully fund the project out its 2020 Capital Budget. The other choice is to postpone the project until the Lions Club’s grant application is approved.