Community News – Christopher Northcott

Notice of Public Hearing – Proposed Bylaw 2026-007 – Data Processing Operation

Christopher Northcott on March 30, 2026

I have received inquiries regarding the proposed Data Processing Operation rezoning application. A Public Hearing is scheduled for April 1, 2026, and notice has been circulated.

The following is the Public Hearing Notice and supporting materials.

Notification-Package-Bylaw-2026-007 Download

One question I received concerns the impact of the proposed development on Vulcan County tax revenue.

Looking at the 2025 Tax Rates for General Municipal Taxes, if completed the proposed development will generate significant tax revenue for Vulcan County given that the development will be assessed as Non-Residential property and taxed accordingly. Assessment values on Farmland are much lower, being regulated by the province and not reflective of market value, so this must be considered when comparing tax rates across different assessment types.

Vulcan County General Municipal Tax Rates for 2025 are as follows:

General municipal property taxes raise the money required in the municipal budget that cannot be raised from all other sources of revenue. The overall taxable assessment of Vulcan County changes from one year to the next. A growth in taxable assessment that stems from new development (being new assessment) helps alleviate the burden of paying for the “revenue shortfall” across all ratepayers, assuming municipal expenditures are not increasing to the same extent or greater, or that other budgeted sources of revenue do not change. There are a lot of assumptions that go into a municipal budget!

Vulcan County provides information on its rezoning process here: https://www.vulcancounty.ab.ca/departments/planning-development/land-use-bylaw-amendment/rezone/

These types of applications are provided under s.62 of the Vulcan County Land Use Bylaw, which can be found here: https://www.vulcancounty.ab.ca/document/2594/

Members of the public are encouraged to attend and provide comment at a Public Hearing if they deem themselves to be affected by the application. Evidence submitted in Public Hearing becomes part of the public record. As per s. 184 of the Municipal Government Act of Alberta, a municipal councilor must participate in the Public Hearing in order to vote on the bylaw amendment that requires one.

Presentations from Local History Night

Christopher Northcott on April 11, 2024

The Friends of the Milo Library hosted a very enjoyable Local History Night at the Milo Community Hall on the evening of April 5th. The event was well-attended and various displays from the Milo Library Archives were available for viewing.

Additionally, the following two presentations were offered:
1.) Project Overview of the Furrows of Time, Volume 2, community history book project for Arrowwood and Shouldice, Mossleigh and Farrow. The material was written-up by Linda Gooch and presented by Christopher Northcott.

Furrows-of-Time-Vol-2 Download

2.) Vulcan County Missing Graves Project, as prepared and presented by Dr. Craig Coburn of the Dept. of Geography and Environment at University of Lethbridge.

Missing-Graves-Coburn-2024-reduced Download

April 5th, 2024, Local History Night

Christopher Northcott on March 4, 2024

2024-04-05-MILO-LIBRARY-Local-History-Night Download

Update on MITACs Locating Missing Graves Cemetery Project

Christopher Northcott on December 1, 2023

The following update is provided on behalf of Councillor Laurie Lyckman and myself, with gratitude to the university researchers for the detailed overview, as well as our local volunteers for their ongoing work on this project.

Global New Lethbridge news story from November 23, 2023, can be found, HERE.

Calgary Herald Article from November 12, 2023 can be found, HERE.

Alternate link to Calgary Herald article as distributed in the Ottawa Citizen, with comments, can be found, HERE.

The University of Lethbridge Press Release from November 6, 2023:

collaborative_research_project_utilizes_geospatial_technology_to_locate_lost_graves_sites_in_vulcan_countynov0623 Download

The November 2023 Project Update:

Missing-Graves_November_2023_Update Download

Additional photos from September with some description. The first two are from Carmangay Cemetery and the third shows the outline of a church foundation in the Marquis Municipal (Milo East) Cemetery:

Locating Unmarked Graves in Vulcan County: The Frontiers of Remote Sensing Technologies

Christopher Northcott on October 8, 2023

Earlier this year, the Department of Geography at the University of Lethbridge and Vulcan County successfully applied for a MITACS research grant, funding for a project that pushes the limits of remote sensing technologies in looking for unmarked graves in Vulcan County.

To make this project happen, MITACS provided 50% of the funding or $15,000. Vulcan County has funded 25% of the project or $7,500. The remaining 25% of the funding came from the communities of Carmangay, Lomond and Milo, with each village contributing $500 and each community contributing $2,000. The sponsoring community groups are the Carmangay Historical Society, the Carmangay Agricultural Society, the Lions Club of Lomond, and the Lions Club of Milo.

This project will help resolve a longstanding problem of “lost” graves, enhancing our awareness of local history while contributing to the respectful management of our cemeteries. The data generated will have significant practical applications, especially as it concerns creating and updating cemetery profiles to local geographic information system (GIS) profiles that then identify unmark graves.

In this effort, we are fortunate to be working with Dr. Craig Coburn of the University of Lethbridge, benefiting from his expertise as well as the additional resources that he has at his disposal. Supporting his research and field work is research intern Paul Novoseltzev.

CDTSA’s Lobbying Efforts on Bill C-21

Christopher Northcott on September 2, 2023

There is a page on the website of the Calgary and District Target Shooters Association regarding their perspective and response towards forthcoming gun control legislation.

With the opening of the Milo Range, the CDTSA has been keen to support and be part of the local community. This facility is an attraction that draws people to our area and generates economic activity.