Whether or not the Village of Clyde continues to exist as its own municipality is not likely to be decided until after the October municipal election.
That was the message Alberta Municipal Affairs representative Coral Callioux gave village councillors at their Feb. 19 council meeting when she updated them on the status of the dissolution study.
“It is not the practice of Municipal Affairs to have any processes in the works in a municipality when a municipal election cycle hits, so we don’t interfere with the local democratic process,” she said during her presentation before village councillors last Tuesday.
However, there is no set timeline for when the study is to be completed, nor a deadline for when the Municipal Affairs minister will rule based on the study’s findings.
As part of Callioux’s presentation, councillors chose who would represent Clyde on the dissolution review board.
Coun. Neil Olson was selected as the village’s representative, while interim CAO Annette Schwab will serve as the board’s administrator. At the Feb. 12 Westlock County meeting, Coun. Jim Wiese was chosen as the county’s representative.
The viability review process — through a viability review team supported by Village staff — will conduct analysis on the viability of the proposal in an attempt to determine whether or not the village should dissolve and become a hamlet within the county.
“If it’s determined that the Village of Clyde is trending towards being non-viable, then the team also develops a viability plan that must include two options,” Callioux said.
“One option is that the village remains a municipality and implements certain recommendations for improvement. The second option would be that the village dissolves.”
The viability review is overseen by a team of municipal affairs representatives — including Callioux and municipal sustainability advisor Linda Reynolds — as well as representatives from four municipal associations involved in developing the municipal sustainability strategy.
Clyde is not the only municipality currently going through a dissolution study, Callioux said.
“Right now the Village of Clyde will be the second municipality working through the viability review process,” she said.
“We are midstream through another municipality and learning from that exercise as well, because this is a new process.”
The process has several phases. It starts with a self assessment reviewed by municipal council members and is followed by further research and analysis. An initial findings report is compiled before a direction is determined based upon the team’s decision.
Overall, the process aims to determine what the impact of dissolution would be on the residents of the municipality and the county.
The next steps are to present information to Westlock County and to mail out letters explaining the dissolution process to village residents.
