- The agenda for the meeting was approved on motion by Rod Wendorff and carried.
- The Minutes of the June 21, 2023 board meeting were approved on motion by John McKee 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 – The pipe for the 3rd phase has been received. We will be finalizing the fitting order and submitting it soon.
GPS – Nothing new to report for the GPS project.
New Dayton CPR Crossing – The application is being prepared for CPR.
Hill Estates – The line is being finalized. Households should be able to begin using their risers within the next 2 weeks. We are hoping to work on the line for the south acreages next spring.
- Irrican – Jason reported:
We are continuing our conversion over to Quickbooks and our new Water Management Program. We are working to have the new programs integrated together and working for our August annual billings.
- Staffing:
The staff BBQ is planned for Thursday July 27 at 6:00 pm.
- Snowpack Report / Water Supply Forecast / RID Diversion / DDIT:
The Board reviewed the Irrigation Water Supply Forecast from Alberta Agriculture and Irrigation. The Board also reviewed a second report from Alberta Agricultural and Irrigation, showing that based on demand, they anticipate the headworks to be between 0.3% and 5.8% full at October 31, 2023. The Board discussed the reports and what steps the RID should take. To be prudent, the Board decided to limit fall irrigating to crop irrigation only. For now, the Board also decided to keep the allocation set at 15”/acre.
- Irrigating Alberta Inc. (“IAI”)– Jason reported:
Nothing to report.
- Equipment
Jason shared with the Board building/purchasing a larger shed to store an increased volume of fittings. With our growth over the last few years, and because our infrastructure is aging, we are finding that we require more fittings on hand. We would like to be able to store these fittings within a closed building to organize them and protect them from the elements.
On motion made John McKee and carried, the RID Board approves purchasing and installing a new larger shed for the purpose of storing fittings and supplies for maintenance.
Jason and Cody shared with the Board the recent maintenance report from Brandt Tractor on the equipment. The equipment is in good shape, but the John Deere 200 excavators require some maintenance of approximately $25,000. Jason noted that the RID spent $35,000 on a rented 4th excavator last year for pipelining for 5 weeks. The Board discussed the upcoming projects for 2023/24, which include the 3rd phase of the 9 Mile and the 1st phase of the 8-2 rehabilitation. This is a significant amount of pipelining and in order for our crew to complete the work before spring is to use a 4th excavator for most the construction season. Renting an excavator will cost approximately $120,000-135,000. Since the John Deere 200 excavators are getting older, it would normally be time to replace one of them. Jason presented quotes for new 200 size excavators – Brandt Tractor $335,000 and Case – $315,000. Jason recommended to complete the repairs to the currently owned equipment and purchase the John Deere 210 as quoted by Brandt Tractor. This will provide the RID with 4 excavators and invest the funds that would have been spent on a rented excavator into our own excavator. In a few years perhaps our pipelining will slow down and we can sell our older John Deere 200 excavators.
On motion made by Rod Wendorff and carried, the RID Board approves purchasing a new John Deere 210 excavator for approximately $335,000.
- Office Renos/IT Systems/DDIT Upgrade
Jason reported that the upgrades are well underway. The flooring has been replaced and we will have the molding and doors replaced shortly. The cat cable running throughout the building has been upgraded to cat 8, which should last for many years to come.
- 7-1/8-2 Pump Sites
The Board discussed the status of the 2 centralized pump sites. Both pump sites have electrical issues, but 8-2 serves significantly more acres than 7-1. 8-2 is designed for 4,800 gpm, but demand is closer 10,000 gpm. Jason had projections completed to rehabilitate 8-2. There are 2 options: 1 – redo the pump site and add an additional pipe; 2 – remove the pumps and install a gravity line (each irrigator would have to install their own pump system). Option 1 will cost $1.2M plus the new pipe line cost. Option 2 will cost $850,000. Cody noted that the bulk of the irrigators on 8-2 would like to run and manage their own pump systems. The Board discussed the options and recognized that something needs to be done right away to remedy the 8-2.
On motion made by John McKee and carried, the RID Board approves rehabilitating the 8-2 pump site and pipeline into a gravity pipeline system.
The Board set the date of August 9, 2023 to hold a landowner’s meeting to discuss and share this information with the affect landowners.
- Main Canal Agreement
The Board discussed the main canal agreement. The RID has not yet received a revised draft agreement from SMRID. As soon as one is received, Jason will forward to the directors.
New Business
- Directors’ Items:
No items were brought forward.
- District and Gov’t Events:
John McKee attended the Calgary Stampede event hosted by Minister Dreeshen on the importance of Agriculture and Agra Business in Alberta. John reported that the event was well attended by irrigation districts and by government MLAs.
John also attended the LNID’s 125th anniversary celebration. They had a great turnout and everyone was very happy despite the challenges they have faced this year. At this point the canal is partially fixed and they have been able to increase their allocation to 16”/acre.
- Annual Agreement Requests – Jason presented the following requests:
- NE 17-06-17-W4 (Delco)
- NW 17-6-17-W4 (Delco)
- SW 17-6-17-W4 (Delco)
- SE 17-6-17-W4 (Delco)
- 7-6-16-W4 (Delco)
On motion made by Craig Palmer and carried, the above noted annual agreement requests are approved for the 2023 irrigating season.
- HPA Requests – Jason presented the following requests:
- Plan 2211306, Block 1, Lot 4 (Gouw Quality Onions Ltd.)
- Plan 0814279, Block 3, Lot 1 (Deneen Stock and Eddy Bisschop – Willowbrook Estates)
- Plan 2210047, Block 1, Lot 2 (Damien Brilz)
On motion made by Rod Wendorff and carried, the above noted HPA requests are approved.
- Next Meeting Date
The next meeting is set for August 23, 2023 – depending on availability, the August meeting may be postponed until September.
Motion to adjourn – There being no further business the meeting was adjourned at 12:30 pm on motion by Rod Wendorff.