Two prominent philanthropists in the community are fighting back against St. Albert’s proposed municipal utility corporation (MUC).
Bruce McPherson and John Farlinger took out a full-page ad in Saturday's Gazette against the proposal because they say the decision to form a municipal utility corporation is being "rammed through." On Monday, city councillors are set to potentially vote on approving the formation of an MUC.
“The mayor’s (Cathy Heron’s) not listening, and I’m hoping to be able to get her attention, and the rest of (council) as well,” McPherson said. “This is extremely serious, and they need to stop and put the brakes on for a few months until we study it further.”Farlinger agreed, saying the straw that broke the camel’s back for him was “the way this is being forced through.”
“It really struck me as being a potential real serious financial problem for the city, and I just thought something should be said about it and I feel fairly confident in that,” Farlinger said.
The two men did not participate in St. Albert’s public hearing, which was held Dec. 2. Farlinger said he thought the idea was “really foolish” and did not anticipate the utility corporation idea moving along so quickly.
City council has been talking about the idea of St. Albert starting a for-profit utility corporation since 2018. However, the initiative really ramped up this year when the city hired consulting firm Grant Thornton to draft a business plan “to support” creation of an MUC (according to the request for proposal).
The business plan was in part released early last month, with a key risk assessment being withheld to maintain competitive advantage, the city has said.
Farlinger said the wording of the request for proposal to create a business plan for the MUC indicates the plan was always meant to act as a “cheerleading section.”
“That’s not a feasibility study; that’s just a cheering section for putting this thing through,” he said.
McPherson said what really caught his attention in the MUC business plan was a descriptor for the risk assessment – which was withheld from the public – that says some risks could be “catastrophic.” He added he wants to see what the consultant's proposed mitigation strategies for those risks are.
“That should be getting everybody’s attention right there,” he said.
Another concern held by the two men is that other municipalities that have MUCs, which St. Albert has held up as comparable, have abundant access to natural resources, which St. Albert does not.
The comparable community that did not have any resource commodity was Chesteremere, which Farlinger noted was a “huge disaster financially.”
“I don’t usually get involved in things like this. I just think it smacked of not enough due care and process,” Farlinger said.
St. Albert's MUC would leave traditional utilities such as water status quo, and would instead explore offering new lines of service. Administration has admitted they have not publicly disclosed all possible ideas, but some options in the business plan include a waste-to-energy plant, small wastewater treatment plant and offering garbage collection to commercial and multi-family homes.
John Farlinger was named St. Albert’s Philanthropist of the Year in 2018 and is a former president of the St. Albert and District Chamber of Commerce, and is a retired Eskimos player. He is the former owner of Farlie Travel.
Bruce McPherson was named St. Albert’s Philanthropist of the Year in 2016 and is the former owner of Century Casino, formerly known as Apex Casino.
