Barrhead County council recently approved a new equipment purchase, additional funding sources for overbudget projects and recessed a public hearing to a future date.
On Feb. 3, Barrhead County residents had an opportunity to provide input on a Land Use Bylaw amendment that would add “data processing facility” as a discretionary use in Agricultural Land Use (AG) districts.
Seven people pre-registered to speak on the matter, in addition to other attendees. Some residents also submitted written comments ahead of the hearing. Valerie Ehrenholz, for example, said she is against the proposed change.
According to the Land Use Bylaw, AG Districts were created “to permit activities associated with primary production and preserve valuable agricultural land from inappropriate development.” Ehrenholz wrote that adding data processing facilities to this district would violate its stated purpose by prioritizing entrepreneurial endeavours over protecting agricultural land.
Another resident, Alan Breitkreitz, shared concerns about water use and power grid demands.
Lauren Wallace also wrote in, stating, “These plants can create terrible environmental problems and give little to our community.” She would also like to see more opportunities for community discussion on the matter before a decision is made.
The public hearing will continue “as soon as possible,” says County Manager Debbie Oyarzun.
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As per the Capital Plan, Council also approved the purchase of a new loader, a 2026 John Deere 744P from Brant Tractor Ltd.
It will be purchased for $620,000, which includes an 84-month/5,000-hour warranty, although $86,000 of that total will be covered by the trade-in value of the equipment it’s replacing. With a net cost of $534,000, the purchase is $91,000 lower than budgeted in the Capital Plan.
Council also approved additional funding sources for a few 2025 and 2024 capital projects that are over budget.
Road Project 2024-640 TWP Rd 604A (Bear Lake West) is $190,078 over budget. The county says when heavy equipment began work on the road, the base fell apart. The base material, a wet, silty clay, reportedly needed to be removed for the work to continue. The project’s original funding source was a Local Government Fiscal Framework grant, which council has approved for use to cover the remaining total.
On Township Road 624A, Road Project 225-740 was originally budgeted at $435,156, but that was revised to $523,880. The county says a large volume of black dirt needed to be removed before road construction could begin, which significantly increased the work required for the rebuild. That pushed 0.75 miles of the two-mile project into 2026, uncompleted. As such, the additional $186,101 needed will be allocated in the 2026 Capital Budget.
A road project on Township Road 583 was reportedly $42,778 over budget once completed. Funding originally came from the current year’s tax base, which is also what will cover the overage.
Finally, Road Project 2024-241 West of 6 and 758-4-W5 was $14,663 over budget once complete. Funding originally came from reserves, and council approved the same source to fund the remaining balance.
