Posted
March 13, 2018

Town of Millet Annexes Land Under JEDI Partnership

In December of 2016 the Town of Millet submitted an annexation application to the Municipal Government Board (MGB) to annex 301.86 hectares (745.91 acres) of land from the County of Wetaskiwin to allow for its future growth and expand the industrial land inventory within Millet. After careful examination, the MGB approved the annexation effective January 1, 2018.

What is “annexation”?

Annexation is the act of transferring land from one municipality into another municipality; land that was previously under the Municipal Jurisdiction of the County of Wetaskiwin has been transferred to the Town of Millet.

The Joint Economic Development Initiative (JEDI) region consists of the Town of Millet and the County of Wetaskiwin and is home to hundreds of businesses in the Oil and Gas Manufacturing and Services, Agri-Business and Warehousing industries. This municipal partnership has a unique relationship compared to other areas in the province of Alberta, as they have a dynamic economic organization between them under JEDI. The annexation to Millet was amicably facilitated as a result of the industrial land development cost and tax revenue sharing agreement between the partner municipalities.

Neighbouring communities such as Leduc, Nisku, Beaumont and Edmonton have been experiencing rapid expansion, which has led to a shortage of serviceable land and driven prices of available land in those areas. Alternatively, the JEDI region has a competitive price point per acre for land compared to neighboring communities.

The successful annexation is good news for the future of JEDI as it is expected that the area will continue to see new industrial growth. “There are a number of established businesses already on the land,” said Terri Pelletier, CAO of Town of Millet. “We are now seeing more land developers interested in the area because of the annexation, possibly leading to more commercial & industrial developments.”

How will the annexation assist with regional future growth?

The land within the annexation will benefit under the Town of Millet’s jurisdiction. In 2017, the Town of Millet had joined the Capital Region Southwest Water Services Commission laying down 27 kilometers of pipeline to bring North Saskatchewan River water to the residents of Millet. At the opening event, Wetaskiwin-Camrose MLA Bruce Hinkley commented that the importance of the pipeline and higher quality of water for Millet would provide “an opportunity for this town to grow and expand.”

The annexed land is comprised of mostly industrial zoned land, however, there is some urban fringe and residential land as well. These properties, as a result of the annexation, not only have access to Millet’s safe potable water but they also have access to Millet’s Municipal wastewater system. Municipal wastewater systems are built to withstand heavy loads and can better accommodate heavy precipitation or storm surges that might overwhelm smaller private systems which can be more prone to overflow potentially sending contaminants into nearby surface and ground waters.

“This change would not have been possible without the support and partnerships created by JEDI,” said Pelletier. “Because of the revenue sharing, the annexation area was able to be supplied with water for its industrial, and some urban fringe, stakeholders more quickly and easily.”

This is just one example of the many advantages of municipalities working together as JEDI partners to achieve positive results which benefit the businesses and residents in the JEDI region.