Mayor Ted Clugston says he is optimistic with Aurora's future in Medicine Hat despite the company  announcing a temporary pause. He also says the city has been working to attract other anchor businesses in the city's north end ( Tiffany Goodwein/ CHATNEWSToday)

By Tiffany Goodwein

Mayor not counting Aurora out as city focuses on development

Nov 28, 2020 | 9:00 AM

MEDICINE HAT, AB – It is a facility that is supposed to be a major economic driver in the city’s north end. Aurora Sun’s massive facility equivalent to 21 football fields was earmarked to bring some 650 jobs to the city, and with it business traffic to the Box Springs Business Park. But with Aurora Sun announcing a temporary pause of operations, the Mayor says the city has been working for some time to bring other economic anchors to the city’s north end.

“As you know we have Invest Medicine Hat which their main goal is business retention and expansion. I would love to tell you guys there are always irons in the fire, and there happens to iron in the fire up there as well,” Clugston said,

The city recently hired an engineer to conduct a functional service report and area structure plan for land north of Aurora for industrial uses., but Clugston couldn’t get into further details.

Since Aurora Sun was announced in spring 2018, the project was dubbed as Invest Medicine Hat’s biggest success. Now with its future in pause, questioned Invest Medicine Hat’s biggest accomplishment is now, the mayor still said Aurora Sun.

“Aurora, to tell you the truth. We were in competition with the entire country for that facility. We were in competition with Quebec frankly, and Quebec Hydro wanted that facility and we beat them all out, and they could have gone anywhere in Canada but they chose Medicine Hat,” Clugston said.

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The mayor stressed that Aurora’s pause is only temporary and he is optimistic that production will start up again once demand increases.

“We want Aurora here. We courted them, helped them get construction underway, and we will be as patient as we need to be,” he said.

The mayor also confirmed that the city benefits from a tax perspective with Aurora Sun, being that it is a cannabis production facility.

“ We don’t share any of the sales proceeds like other levels of government but because it is intended to be a marijuana THC facility, that doesn’t qualify under the new rules in the province of Alberta as food production. So it is taxable for property tax purposes. So Aurora has to pay property taxes to the City of Medicine Hat. If they were growing cucumbers there, they would be tax-exempt,” Clugston said.

On average, Aurora Sun contributes $1.6 million annually in property taxes to the City of Medicine Hat. Even with the facility on pause, the company is still required to pay property taxes annually, however, Clugston said the amount may be less depending on a variety of factors.

“ It depends on how long they are paused. Property taxes are a very, very complicated formula dependent on, are you actually up and running, are you employing people, vacant properties say an apartment building that doesn’t have any people in it, or a commercial property, that has been vacant for three years pays less property taxes than one that is full,” Clugston said.

In terms of future development, the mayor says they continue to focus on both the north and south ends of the city but noted the north end has the most land available for growth.

“We don’t really have a favorite like we aren’t picking winners or losers. The south though is pretty much built out now, I mean we don’t have any commercial land basically in the south anymore. The city-owned residential is almost all gone we are pretty much on the border with the county now. We do have Coulee Ridge in the South, now that’s private sector…and there may be some commercial there in the future,” he said.

There have also been talks of a possible multiplex going into the Box Springs Business Park area. Clugston said that a multiplex is something the city is looking into but where it goes has not been discussed.

“We are moving, away and I know this is very contentious and people get very upset of the neighborhood type sheets of ice and neighborhood pools, and moving towards larger complexes, which are highly, much more efficient. One Ice plant for four sheets of ice versus one ice plant for one sheet in the community and our facilities are also getting aged” Clugston said.

The future of city facilities is expected to come up during budget discussions at their next council meeting on Dec. 7.