Woodlands County councillors unanimously voted on March 23 to table the hay lease of a145-acre municipally-owned property near the Whitecourt Airport until their next meeting.
Councillors also instructed the administration to draft a policy on how the county awards agricultural leases on its lands.
The votes came after an hour-long debate on the administration's recommendation to award the lease to an Alberta numbered company at $41.69 per acre (not including GST) for three years without an option to renew. The previous lease was $34.60 per acre.
It was one of two bids received. The other was from Whitecourt Central Coun. Ron Govenlock for $41.30 per acre (not including GST), who excused himself from the discussion.
Infrastructure director Andre Bachand noted the lease was advertised in the local newspaper and the county's social media channels. Alberta 1775203 Ltd. and Govenlock were the only bids they received. The property has been leased at least three times in the past, all by the same individual.
He said, normally, the lease would have included an option to renew for two years, but in 2020 the county added additional cleared lands to the property.
Goose Lake/Freeman River Coun. Dale McQueen suggested the current agreement should be extended for a minimum of one year.
"I am wondering if the administration knows how much it is going to cost to clean that land up," he said. "It is swampy, crappy land. Do you know if you can even drain it? ... If you can get it in order, it will take more than one year to get it up to snuff. I think this is the stupidest RFD I have read in my whole life. Let him continue to farm it for the next few years and if he can get it in order then put it out for a bid."
Whitecourt East Coun. Jim Rennie asked if the administration knew if the numbered company was an experienced farmer in the area.
"When we take in tenders for a road, we examine credentials and here we don't see any," he said.
Bachand said Alberta 1775203 Ltd. is an experienced rancher in the region that has cattle as well as a forestry company.
Fort Assiniboine/Timeu Coun. Dale Kluin agreed with McQueen saying the current lease should be extended, especially given the time of the year.
"It will be difficult trying to find somewhere else to find feed for your herd in the next couple of months. You can't have a surprise like this in April because you are not going to be able to find a replacement," he said, adding they needed to time when a hay lease comes up for renewal.
Mayor John Burrows asked if there was any consideration not to lease the land for hay due to the proximity to the airport, as wildlife has been an issue.
"One of the recommendations under the Wildlife Management Act is not to plant anything attractive to animals, like hay, to discourage grazing," he said.
Bachand said staff is reviewing the practice, and in the future, they may recommend to the Airport Advisory Committee to eliminate hay in the airport lands and seed it with a slower-growing grass.
McQueen interjected that it was unfair to the leaseholder to change the terms midstream.
"When you get the wool yanked out from under your feet, it is a crappy feeling, especially when a good part of your livelihood depends on it ... this is just a bad decision," he said.
McQueen then moved to extend the current lease for another two years at the previous rate.
Blue Ridge Coun. Bruce Prestidge said he was not sure what the issue was as the current lease agreement was about to expire, including the two-year option.
"It is a new contract, we have to start over with this. Mr Govenlock's contract was set to expire, so it went to tender and the highest bidder wins," he said.
Chief administrative officer Gordon Frank noted the motion was premature, saying the first step would to vote on the lease renewal.
Prestidge then moved to accept Alberta 1775203 Ltd's bid but that the lease agreement be modified to give the holder the option of extending it for two additional years.
The motion was defeated, with Coun. David Kusch, Prestidge and Burrows voting in favour, while McQueen, Kluin and Coun. Jim Rennie opposed.
After the vote, Burrows voiced his confusion over the opposition to the motion, saying earlier in the meeting unanimously passed a motion to renew another haying lease in the Flat Roads area in Whitecourt with minimal discussion.
"No one brought up the timing of it," he said, asking administration if there was a policy in place that would clarify the matter.
No such policy exists, Bachand said.
Kluin interjected, saying the issue was timing. Later in the meeting, when replying to a question of when haying lease agreements usually come to council for renewal, Bachand said it had been scheduled to become council in January. However, due to the extra work and complications due to COVID-19, everything was delayed. He added the land is unleased as the agreement expired Dec. 31.
"Doing it at this time of year without giving at least a year extension is unfair," Kluin said. "In the farming community, you can't be losing your hay crop in April. There is no way in hell you are going to find a replacement for that hay and if you do it is going to cost you a pile of money. If this had been done when it was supposed to, a person still would have had some time."
Prestidge said regardless of the timing of the agreement, it should have taken no one by surprise.
Frank suggested, as a way to solve the impasse, that council reject the bids and extend the previous agreement for one year.
Kusch and Burrows responded by saying they did not see how that was extending the agreement at a lesser rate benefited the county.
"I don't care if it is not fair or beneficial to the county. It is about doing the right thing," McQueen said. "Because administration wasn't on the ball and did not get the contract out in time, you don't pull the rug out from someone, a month or two before it is time to work in the fields."
Kluin then called the made a motion to accept Frank's recommendation. It was defeated, with McQueen, Kluin and Coun. Jim Rennie voting in favour with Prestidge, Kusch and Borrows opposed.
Burrows reiterated the need for a policy "so this never happens again" and then made a motion instructing administration to draft a policy regarding the leasing of municipally-owned land, specifically for agricultural use.
Kluin then moved to table further discussion on the lease until the next meeting.
Barry Kerton, TownandCountryToday.com
