“comfort camping units,” which are accessible, and can ideally be used throughout all four seasons. “That opens up use of that amenity to groups that might not have been able to access those types of facilities before,” Joe says. Invest Medicine Hat, the city’s economic development agency, is also actively working on revitalizing the city’s downtown core. They have a property adjacent to city hall that has been vacant since the 70s, and they are drawing on the grant funding to turn it into a hub for community events and activities. From a business development perspective, Medicine Hat is also developing an industrial park in the city’s northwest, which will be located adjacent to existing plants from CF Industries, Methanex, and CancarbLimited.Thelandinthat industrial park will be serviced and priced competitively, especially in comparison to larger municipalities. According to Joe, that park will be particularly well-suited to companies in the agricultural and ag-tech industries. Currently, the city is also directing grant funding towards a variety of asset management renewal projects – including some roof replacements, fire and security alarm upgrades, pedestrianbridgereplacements and rehabilitation, sidewalk repairs, and upgrades to the Echo Dale Regional Park, among other projects. None of these projects, Joe stresses, will result in tax increases – that was a condition of the funding. All of them will be sustained through either increased revenues or operating agreements with community partners. All of the projects were also selected and designed with energyefficiency and environmental SEPTEMBER 2022
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy OTYzNTg=