- The agenda for the meeting was approved on motion by Craig Palmer and carried.
- The Minutes of the November 23, 2023 board meeting were approved on motion by Rod Wendorff and carried.
Business Arising
- O&M Report and AIM Project Update:
Jason 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 crew has completed the final tie in and are working on the last spur line. They will be close to finishing by Christmas break, but they will likely need 2-3 days to wrap everything up in the new year.
GPS – In the new year we will work on collecting individual irrigators main line data for the engineer’s model. From there the final design can be completed and then our engineer will have the design peer reviewed.
New Dayton CPR Crossing – CPKC has accepted our application, which includes the peer reviewed geotechnical report. We are now waiting to hear back from CPKC for a construction timeline.
8-2 – We will be ready to start working on 8-2 in the new year. We will not have all of the fittings until near the end of February, which means we will have to juggle sections of the installation so that we can keep working until the fittings arrive.
Smith Estates – We are working with the engineer to finalize the design and complete plans for a spring installation.
Chin Chute Rehabilitation (IRP 2392) – We received the first progress bill from SMRID for the project.
- Irrican – John and Jason reported:
The battery project open house went well. There were only a few members of the community that attended, but they were supportive of the project. The batteries have been ordered from Tesla.
- RID financial – Amanda and Jason reported:
We are collecting annual payments. We anticipate that there will be quite a few payments made by the end of the year. In the new year we will begin working on the year end.
- ATB Wealth Management Presentation by Tyler Simms/Darren Tanner:
Tyler and Darren from ATB Wealth Management provided the Board with a review of the RID’s investment performance over the few years. They reported that, surprisingly, markets and bonds, both had very difficult years in 2022/23. Markets are bouncing back and they expect that bonds will improve. They do not recommend any changes to the portfolio.
- Snowpack Report / Water Supply Forecast / RID Diversion / DDIT:
The Board reviewed the most recent reservoir report and snow pack report from the government. The headworks storage has increased to 25% compared to 19% last month. It looks like the little bit of snow that was in the mountains melted and went into the reservoirs. The reports are very concerning and at this rate it looks like we need to plan on rationing next year.
- AGM – March 21, 2024:
The Board discussed the following topics for the annual seminar: drought, water outlook, presentation from LNID about their water situation in 2023. The Board agreed to bring more ideas to the next Board meeting and this will be discussed further.
New Business
- Directors’ Items
The Board received a request from a potato grower renting land within the RID to consider allowing irrigators to rent their unused allocation to other irrigators. Other districts allow this practice, but it does require management/Board approval for the transfers. The Board will continue the discussion next meeting. In preparation the Board asked Jason to find out what other districts charge as an admin fee for these transfers.
John McKee shared that someone approached him regarding Coutts receiving water from the RID. It was unclear if they meant potable water or raw water. The Board discussed the issues with providing water to Coutts, including inter-basin water transfers. A lot of work and approval from EPA would be needed before such a project could even be considered.
- IRP 3 Year Plan:
Jason presented the 3-year IRP plan. The projects for 2024 include: the New Dayton CPR Crossing, the 9 Mile phase 4, district aerial photos, and Chin Chute. These projects will over spend our IRP funds so the RID will have to fund the projects from reserves and then recoup the funds over time as IRP funds are received.
On motion made by John McKee and carried, the Board approved the 3-year IRP plan as presented.
- EPA Meeting – January 10, 2024 at 10:30 am:
EPA is meeting with each irrigation district to discuss water sharing for the upcoming season. They have invited the Board and admin to visit with them on January 10, 2024 at 10:30 am. The meeting will be in Lethbridge at provincial building. John and Craig indicated they will be available to attend that meeting.
- Director Elections – 2024 is the Stirling Area:
2024 is the year for the Stirling area director election. The notice will go into the paper on January 11, 2024. Nomination forms are due by February 15, and if needed an election will be on March 7.
- Next Meeting Date
The next meeting is set for January 17, 2024.
Motion to adjourn – There being no further business the meeting was adjourned at 12:10 pm on motion by Rod Wendorff.