Photo: Shaun Penner / EverythingGP staff

By Shaun Penner

Hythe votes to dissolve

Hythe residents overwhelmingly vote to dissolve into County of Grande Prairie

Mar 31, 2021 | 7:12 PM

Residents of Hythe have voted overwhelmingly in favour of dissolving the village to become a hamlet within the County of Grande Prairie.

Out of the 251 votes cast on March 30 and 31, 239 voted in favour of dissolving into the County, while 12 voted to remain a village.

The vote follows a viability review triggered by village council in April of 2020, as rising operational costs and much-needed infrastructure repairs were becoming too costly for the village to manage on its own.

The viability review by the Ministry of Municipal Affairs found $14.2 million in infrastructure deficiencies within the village, which would have to be addressed within a 10-year period should the village have remained its own municipality.

Mayor Brian Petersen also said cuts to the Municipal Sustainability Initiative from the province, as well as a 10 per cent decline in assessed values for properties within the village for this year would have led to a 150 per cent increase in property taxes.

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With the vote to dissolve complete, Minister of Municipal Affairs Ric McIver will now make a recommendation to the provincial cabinet on how to move forward.

Should dissolution be approved by cabinet, Hythe residents would then be represented by the councillor in Division 7 in the County (currently Linda Waddy).

Reeve Leanne Beaupre says if the province decides to allow the municipality to dissolve, County Council is ready to welcome Hythe residents into the County.

“It is our intention to extend a warm welcome to the citizens of Hythe into our County of Grande Prairie community. They have long been our neighbours and our friends,” said Beaupre. “Further, County Council and Administration will work together in the interests of both County and Hythe citizens to ensure as smooth a transition as possible.”

Both Peterson and Beaupre said, following the vote tally, that they are glad the wishes of Hythe are now known, which will allow them to move forward.

“I’d hoped it would happen this way, and I was glad that the vote was very clear,” said Peterson. “It would be a lot tougher dealing with a 52/48 type vote.”

Both say there are still many details to work through as they now look towards the transition process.

A similar move was made by residents of Grande Cache in 2018, who also voted to dissolve to become a hamlet within the Municipal District of Greenview.