Letter from the Mayor
December 17 2024
Letter to citizens – December 17, 2024
Dear citizens,
Much has happened since my last write up on activities of Town and Council. My goal today is to bring you up to date on some items of business Council has been working on, and to highlight involvement of Council and Town staff at important events.
Review of Town Events:
Nov 11: Our Remembrance Day took place at the Cardston High School. Our MLA Joseph Schow was in attendance. It was heart warming to see so many citizens from Town, County and Blood Tribe who came to honor our fallen heroes displayed on easels at that venue, and to support our Local Canadian Legion led by President Carrie Bust. Cllr Grainger, our Deputy-Mayor, had the privilege to MC the event. The High School brass Band did a superb job to create the appropriate atmosphere for that day of Remembrance. The Elementary School Choir was beautiful and the musical performances were very moving along with the recitation of the John McCrae poem “Flanders Fields”, and Mr. Duncan Thompson’s address. Many thanks to our CHS Band Director, to our CES Choir Director, and Piano player for their great contribution on that day. Many thanks to Ms. Cammi Jacobs for her efforts in making this day so special.
Festival of Lights: When Fall comes around, you can start to see much activity in Town in anticipation of the lighting of the big tree by the Card Home and the illuminating of our lampposts on Main Street right up to the County office. Take time to drive around with friends and family, to see the colorful displays in front of the Civic Center and the Museum, as well as across from the Provincial Building and near the golf Course. Kudos to the Festival of Light Committee, Trudy Woolford, and her busy friends for bringing such Joy to our Town in anticipation of the Christmas Season! The lighting of the Tree by the Card Home, the beautifully decorated floats in the parade delighted young and old lined up on our streets, the fire pits and hot chocolate were a big hit! A special thank you to our Town’s electrical department who passed countless hours stringing lights to make it all possible as well as to all those who decorated their vehicles to participate in the Christmas parade! A big Thank you to Cllr. Brown who helped with the Parade, and for taking care of Mr. Santa and Mrs. Claus to the delight of all! Many thanks to Cardston County for allowing us to stage the parade on their grounds. A big Thank you to the Remington Carriage Museum for their beautiful horse drawn carriage for Mayor Kronen and County Councillor Tom Nish. And how beautiful were the fireworks to mark the 10th year of the Festival of Lights! Thank you to all our firefighters and Parks and Rec staff for such successful event! And heartfelt congratulations to all of you who came to support this special Festival of Lights 10th anniversary event!
Halloween at Remington: The Carriage Museum hosted this Halloween event in Town once again to the delight of all the hundreds of children who participated in it. Children had a fabulous time and were happy to see Cllr Brown and Cllr Grainger in their odd costumes! Yes, they looked great! Thank you to the Town for providing cases of goodies for our Trick and Treaters and for the Friends of the Remington Museum for all their work in offering such fun to young and old!
Community Awareness Night: The gym was packed with people interested in seeing all the mini displays of so many organizations in Town who offer volunteer services and activities to make our Town vibrant. Cllr Brown, Cllr Grainger, and Mayor Kronen enjoyed their interactions with the children and their parents. Thank you to all of you who took the time to express their thanks for their collective diligent work on Council.
Council Business:
Strategic Planning Session: When early October comes around, our CAO, Mr. Jeff Shaw is busy firming up the goals established by Council at their annual Strategic Planning Session. Once elaborated, this document will guide the work of Council with short term, medium, and long term goals. This document will be on the website of the Town. It is a living document and will be revised in a year’s time. Thank you, Jeff, for a great planning session and for your support in the work of Council! Thank you Councillors for your great input in determining our path forward for the benefit of the community!
Budget: At our final December Council Meeting that took place at the last Council Meeting on December 10th, Council approved the 2025 to 2027 operational budget as well as the 2025-2029 capital budget. Council has been working on this most important item since the first week in October. It is a lengthy process that requires the cooperation and hard work of all departments to come up with their own budget projections, identifying their needs and wishes. All this is reviewed by the Senior Team and funneled to Administration and the Finance Department who then presents a first draft and subsequent versions of a budget to Council. Many discussions take place each Council Meeting prior to approving the budget for the three to five upcoming years based on a 2% increase in revenues over last year.
At that meeting, a balanced budget was passed on these premises. What does it mean in term of property taxes? We cannot totally tell until we see the new assessment of properties for our Town. What is certain, this Council will continue to do their best to keep taxes affordable especially at a time of fairly high inflation.
Council are truly grateful to our Financial Department: Ms. Jill Heninger, our Director of Finances, and for the mentorship of Mr. Hakon Skoien, his excellent professional accounting skills and advice, and to our CAO for jointly developing a balanced budget that takes care of inflationary pressures without forcing Council to unduly raise taxes. Thank you to all Council members for all your input in this budget. Well done! The mil rate will be set in May 2025.
Waste Water Treatment Plant Update: Administration has done a great amount of work, along with Council, to plan the upgrade of our sewer treatment plant with new technology that will significantly increase the capacity of our failing treatment facility. Grants have been applied for, and if awarded may allow the Town to carry a limited amount of debt towards this very expensive capital project — around 16.5 Million dollars.
Golf Course Clubhouse update: It is anticipated that the clubhouse construction will finally start in the early spring, weather permitting. The funding of the facility will be mainly through Golf Course reserves, loan and fundraising. A fundraiser will shortly be launched. We hope that all the golfing community and Town citizens who see the merit in such a new facility in our community will contribute to the project. Tax receipts will be issued to the donors. More information will be posted on our website. Keep posted!
Safety and Security: RCMP Sergeant Wright reported to Council on the yearly goals that Council had jointly set with our RCMP detachment. It was very encouraging to see the definite reduction of Crime activity in our Town and for this, Council was very encouraged. The RCMP is vigilant in keeping our Town safe, however, as Council, we want to emphasize the need for each citizen to be active in reporting unusual traffic or activity in their neighborhood to the RCMP. Furthermore, we want to advise that you can let our detachment know when you are out of Town for extensive periods of time. This allows the RCMP to patrol your neighborhood and keep an eye on your property.
Intermunicipal Affairs:
Blood reserve: Elections took place on the Reserve this past November. Congratulations to Chief Travis Plated Hair and his new Council! We look forward to working together in the Spirit of Truth and Reconciliation, and within the framework of our Memorandum of Understanding for the betterment of our communities.
Many thanks to Councillor Brown and to County Councillor Tom Nish for their dedicated work in building meaningful relationships with our First Nations neighbors.
Next Meeting
Council will recess until January 14th. Until then we wish you all a very Merry Christmas and all the Best in the New Year! Please take good care of your loved ones and remember those who need extra kindness at this time of the year.
Always at your service,
Mayor Kronen
