The regional partnership group of 34 communities, Northeast Alberta Information HUB, dined, held elections and listened to guest speaker Andrew Coyne at its annual general meeting at the Centennial Seniors Centre on June 23.
Coyne, national editor at Maclean's magazine, talked about post-election Canadian politics, the successes and failures of the Liberal, NDP, and Bloc Quebecois parties, and what he sees in the future for the federal Conservatives. For video highlights of Coyne's presentation, see below.
Members elected MD of Bonnyville Coun. Glen Johnson to represent MDs and counties and Sonny Rajoo for Two Hills for towns under 3,000, both by acclamation. In a contested ballot, members also elected Peter Cardinal from Kikino Metis Settlement.
Other representatives on the board remained the same from last year, including chair Soren Odegard, vice-chair Richard Coleman, secretary-treasurer Bruce Marriott, and directors Marg Hatch from Mannville, Bob Buckle from Cold Lake, Frank Sloan from the County of St. Paul and Sandy Jackson from Whitefish Lake First Nation.
After elections, Odegard gave the annual report, calling the organization's growth “unbelievable" and pointing to the nearly $1 million budget for 2010-2011.
“We can all be proud that we are one of the busiest REDAs (Regional Economic Development Alliance) in Alberta and that the outcomes we are working on will position our region well into the future."
Bob Belzpalko, HUB's new manager, delivered the operations report.
“It's always good to remind ourselves where we're headed and where our vision and mission is. It is to promote and facilitate economic development that supports business and enhances the quality of life and environments of all its members' communities," he said, speaking to the mission statement.
HUB hopes to increase the amount of freight going to the U.S. through the eastern trade corridor through Wild Horse. The corridor aims to draw traffic down Highway 41 away from Highway 2, he said.
“Economic development is a fancy term for we want to bring money to our community," he quipped. “Money increases investment, it increases the tax base, and with tax base, you increase your quality of life."
Part of the manager's mandate will be to get out to every member community, he said.
Barbara McCarthy from Joly, McCarthy & Dion Chartered Accountants presented the statement of financial position. McCarthy reported revenues at around $936,000, up nearly double from 2009-2010, with the biggest boosts from the Rural Alberta Development Fund and the Regions in Transition fund. Other grants also came in around three times higher than the previous financial year at just under $100,000.
Expenses rounded out at $986,880 for a deficit of around $51,000. The rise in expenses came from consulting costs at under $450,000, $309,000 more than the previous year, and aboriginal community development at $232,400, $74,400 more than the previous year. All expenses from phone, office, website development, catering and bookkeeping came in higher.
With the deficit, net assets at the end of the year fell to $104,270. Capital assets came in at $539,240, comprised mostly of deferred grants from the Rural Alberta Development Fund and unrestricted net assets.
