Infrastructure grant program to help growing communities

By Lethbridge Herald on October 22, 2024.

Minister of Municipal Affairs Ric McIver announces a new funding stream intended to relieve pressure on public infrastructure, on Tuesday at the Galt Museum alongside Lethbridge East MLA and Minister of Affordability and Utilities Nathan Neudorf, at left, and Lethbridge mayor Blaine Hyggen. Herald photo by Al Beeber

Al Beeber – LETHBRIDGE HERALD – abeeber@lethbridgeherald.com

Minister of Municipal Affairs Ric McIver on Tuesday at the Galt Museum launched a grant program which the province says is intended to relieve pressure on public infrastructure in Alberta’s fastest growing communities.

Applications are now open for the Local Growth and Sustainability Grant which will provide $60 million over three years to help Alberta cities and towns meet the impact growing populations are having on infrastructure including water treatment systems, bridges and roads.

Applications close Nov. 29.

The grant program has two components, one being the growth element for which $15 million is being committed by the province in 2024-25 to help mid-sized communities with populations between 10,000 and 200,000 meet their needs for growth-related infrastructure.

The $5 million sustainability program is for communities with fewer than 10,000 residents to address health and safety issues.

McIver was joined at the podium by Lethbridge East MLA and Minister of Affordability and Utilities Nathan Neudorf and mayor Blaine Hyggen.

McIver and other members of the UCP caucus are in Lethbridge this week. On Monday , premier Danielle Smith joined UCP West candidate John Middleton-Hope while he campaigned.

Today, Minister of Mental Health and Addiction Dan Williams will be meeting with media at the Lethbridge Recovery Community for another press event.

At the museum, McIver said the application process will be a competitive one and noted the grant program won’t be “a silver bullet” for all the problems growing communities are facing with infrastructure needs.

Instead the LGSG program is meant to complement existing infrastructure programs, McIver said.

The minister said from January to September, there have been more than 33,500 homes start construction, a 35 per cent increase over 2023.

But with rapid population growth “also comes pressure on public infrastructure such as roads, bridges, water treatment systems, public transit” and other infrastructure in many communities, he said.

“We’ve heard from municipalities that something is needed to help keep up with this growth and capitalize on the economic potential that comes with it,” he said as a reason for launching the grant.

The program will help the province “respond directly to the types of things that municipalities, particularly mid-sized municipalities in Alberta but all towns and villages have said, is required. And it’s meant to complement the existing infrastructure funding programs that are already in place including the Local Government Fiscal Framework that is providing over $820 million next year, an increase of 13 per cent over this year,” McIver added.

Neudorf said with growing populations “there is an increased demand on public infrastructure and that’s why today’s announcement is so crucial and important. It gives extra support to some of our communities experiencing significant growth and it will allow communities to capitalize on economic development that opportunities, including support for new industrial and commercial development, opportunities that will only serve Alberta’s communities in the long run and provide benefits above and beyond the new grant program.”

The MLA said he’s also proud of the work the government is doing on education, healthcare and housing to support Alberta’s growing population. That includes funding for four school projects in Lethbridge, expanding services in surgical capacity at Chinook Regional Hospital and medical training for doctors at the University of Lethbridge, he said.

In a media statement provided by the province, Hyggen noted that Lethbridge is experiencing growth pressures along with many other communities and “The Local Growth and Sustainability Grant offers essential funding opportunities for our priority projects, such as expanding the wastewater treatment plant and enhancing efforts to recruit more healthcare workers. We are grateful to the province for introducing this new funding stream, and we look forward to submitting competitive proposals that ensure a sustainable and healthy community for our residents.”