- The agenda for the meeting was approved on motion by Rod Wendorff and carried.
- The Minutes of the March 15, 2023 board meeting were approved on motion by Rod Wendorff and carried.
Business Arising
- O&M Report and AIM Project Update:
Cody shared a slideshow of pictures taken over the last month of repairs & maintenance and pipelining activities. The status reported on each project is as follows:
9 Mile & North – Pipelining is now completed. Wilde Bros. used their high speed disc on the trench to smooth out the trench. We still need to tie in ZoBell’s pivot and the small acreages.
Cross Coulee Pipeline – The project is near completion. Jenex is levelling off the trench and completing the finishing work.
GPS – Nothing new to report on this project at this time.
New Dayton CPR Crossing – The geotechnical report will be completed within the next month. Once that is completed, we will work with CPR to work out a timeline for construction.
- Irrican – Jason reported:
Amanda is working to get QuickBooks up and going. We tried to use QuickBooks online, but it did not have all of the features we needed so we have switched to the desktop version.
- Equipment – Jason reported:
Chinook equipment reported that the telehandler should be available within the next month.
The Board discussed purchasing a high speed disc for the district to use to improve our pipeline trenches. The Board discussed a 16’ vs 21’ disc. Brandt has a 16’ disc for $109,000. Flaman rentals has a 21’ Kinze for $159,000.
On motion made by John McKee and carried, the Board approves purchasing a 16’ disc from Brandt for $109,000.
- Snowpack Report / Water Supply Forecast / RID Diversion / DDIT:
The Board reviewed the most recent snow pack and reservoir report. The snowpack continues to hover just about the lower quartile line. The reservoirs are still quite low, with the exception of Ridge, which remains full.
The Board also reviewed the Irrigation Water Supply Forecast from Alberta Agriculture and Irrigation. The report recommends a 14-17” allocation for the year.
- Irrigating Alberta Inc. (“IAI”)– Jason reported:
The IAI districts will be meeting on May 10 to discuss the remaining pipe quantity needed for our AIM projects compared to Ipex’s capacity to manufacture pipe. The goal will be to determine a reliable timeline for districts to receive the pipe they need for their projects.
- Software/Hardware/DDIT Update – Jason reported:
Jason shared with the Board a preliminary look at the new DDIT/assessment roll program. The Board was very happy with the program and looking forward to a fully function program.
- 8-2 Pump site and Pipeline:
The district engineer is working on the analysis on this pump site and pipeline so that the Board can decide how to proceed with improving the site.
- Main Canal Agreement
The Board discussed the main canal agreement. John agreed to speak with the SMRID to arrange a time to for Boards to meet and discuss the agreement.
New Business
- Directors’ Items:
No director items were noted.
- IRP Funding in 2023 Provincial Budget:
The Provincial Budget included IRP funding of $13.5M. Projected IRP funding in 2024 and 2025 is $13.5M and $15.5M. Included in the current year budget is an additional $5M for a dam feasibility study of the Eyremore area.
- AIDA Bylaw Changes:
AIDA recently had a Board meeting and approved updates to their bylaws. Part of those changes included allowing each irrigation district to include someone on the AIDA executive committee. The RID Board discussed and agreed to have John McKee represent RID on the AIDA executive committee.
- Town of Raymond – Drainage and Parcel Annexation Application
The Town of Raymond is relocating the stampede grounds to the east of highway 845 within the town limits. Beside that stampede grounds, the RID has an irrigator that flood irrigates his parcel. The flood ditches in the parcel have been damaged by cattle, which helps contribute to water draining through the new stampede grounds. The RID has agreed to work with the irrigator and the Town to help the drainage stay on the irrigators parcel. This will likely be done in May or June.
- Annual Acre Request on Parcels under 50 Acres:
There are 2 requests for annual acre agreements on parcels less than 50 acres. The Board has discussed these 2 requests in the past. The RID bylaws prevent permanent acres from being assigned to parcels less than 50 acres. The Board discussed annual acres and it was noted that we already have a couple of annual agreements for less than 50 acres. The Board looked at the merits of irrigating the parcels and decided that subject to the following conditions they can approve year to year, annual agreements on the 2 parcels:
- An acceptable land classification report is obtained;
- The irrigator uses either a wheel line or center-pivot;
- The irrigators are responsible for all costs to install infrastructure to their respective parcels; and,
- The irrigators must acknowledge that they are operating under an annual agreement that will be review each year. There is no guarantee that water will be available each year, and due to the current parcel size they do not qualify for permanent irrigation acres on those parcels.
The Board will review and approve each annual agreement once the agreements are formally submitted to the Board.
- Horsefly Spillway:
In the last main canal advisory committee meeting, SMRID submitted a proposal for the main canal to cover a shortfall of $1M on the Horsefly Spillway projects. Various municipalities are contributing to the project. The finalized project will be the property of SMRID. The spillway will provide a point where the main canal can spill back into the river. The RID Board recognized the value of being able to spill back into the river system and approves of using $1M of the main canal reserve funds to complete the spillway project.
- 2023 Budget & Bylaw Review
The Board reviewed the proposed budget and annual bylaws. From the water supply report the Board reviewed the allotment for the year.
On motion made by Craig Palmer and carried, the RID Board approves the 2023 budget as presented, and the 2023 annual bylaws, which include setting an irrigation allotment of 15”/acre.
- Household Purposes Agreement Requests:
An HPA was requested for: Plan 1711083, Block 1, Lot 7
On motion made by John McKee and carried, the RID Board approves an HPA for parcel Plan 752J, Block 38, Lot 1-8.
- Next Meeting Date
The next meeting is set for May 17, 2023.
Motion to adjourn – There being no further business the meeting was adjourned at 3:20 pm on motion by Rod Wendorff.