Neat to Know: July 9, 2024
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Please enjoy this week's edition of Neat to Know, a roundup of City news, updates, and other important information. You can expect to see the week's most interesting content and even some that may have not been delivered through our regular channels.
Stay safe and cool during extreme heat
As temperatures soar this week, we want to remind everyone to take simple precautions to stay safe and cool:
- Schedule activities for cooler parts of the day, and plan to take breaks in the shade.
- Use air conditioning if available, or visit cooler public places like the Medicine Hat Library, Big Marble Go Centre, or Medicine Hat Mall during operating hours.
- Stay hydrated with water and avoid alcohol and caffeine.
- Wear a broad-rimmed hat, long-sleeved shirts, and UV-protective clothing.
For more information on staying safe in the heat, visit the Alberta Health Services website.
ICIP Transit funding
The wheels on Medicine Hat Transit buses will go round and round for years to come thanks to $2.7 million in funding from the Government of Canada for two transit-related projects.
The City of Medicine Hat received this funding through the Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program’s Public Transit Infrastructure Stream. It amounts to 33 per cent of the eligible cost of two projects – Transit Bus Replacements and Transit Scheduling System.
Most of the $2.7 million in funding will go towards the Transit Bus Replacements project, which will replace two para-transit and 10 regular buses in our fleet. Two buses will be replaced each year until 2029, though these timelines are subject to change.
And the Transit Scheduling System will go towards improving the quality and efficiency of our existing public transit.
What does this mean for Medicine Hat Transit users? With this funding from the Government of Canada, residents can be sure the quality, reliability and value of this service will be maintained for years to come!
Read more on these two projects here: https://www.medicinehat.ca/en/news/city-of-medicine-hat-receives-federal-funding-for-pair-of-transit-projects.aspx
Turner Park Irrigation and Landscaping project
Turner Park, in the Ross Glen neighbourhood, will undergo several noticeable improvements as part of the Turner Park Landscape and Irrigation Upgrade project. The project starts Monday, July 15 and is expected to continue into the fall.
These upgrades will make the park more accessible and functional, while maintaining its beauty. Upgrades will add a trail system to the park, install a shade sail near the playground, upgrade irrigation systems and establish alternative landscaping options.
Turner Park will be closed during construction. Families looking for other playgrounds to use during this project can access several nearby, including Taylor Place Park, Taylor Boulevard Park, Redwood Park and Medicine Hat Christian School.
To learn more on this project and check out the site plan design: https://www.medicinehat.ca/en/news/turner-park-landscape-and-irrigation-upgrade-project.aspx
See the Light after Beat the Heat at Inland Skate Park (light bulb replacement)
After a successful “Beat the Heat” event, we wouldn’t blame Medicine Hat skateboarders if they continued to do just that by using our great skateparks after dark. Heat and concrete don’t mix!
Our staff will be replacing some light bulbs at Inland Skate Park on Wednesday, June 10 to help keep the facility bright for those nighttime skateboarders.
This work will force a brief closure of the Inland Skate Park, from approximately 8:30 a.m. until 12 p.m. on Wednesday. The section of Kipling Street SE in front of the skate park will be reduced to one lane. This roadway is currently limited to local access only during construction at the top of Old Cemetery Road. Please drive with caution in this area and obey posted signage.
Hillwood Skate Park in Crescent Heights is available for users looking for another place to skate during the closure.
Your whole day, our whole life, is powered by electricity. On July 10, National Lineworker Appreciation Day, we celebrate and thank the lineworkers in our community for their dedication and service. These men and women spend their careers maintaining, expanding and improving infrastructure that brings us the electricity we expect without thinking. They are there to restore power whether in a blizzard, the sweltering sun, or a midnight rain. They design and draft new plans, build new lines and continuously replace aging parts. They work in control rooms - monitoring the system, answering calls from thousands of customers or building maps to track the hundreds of thousands of individual parts. Whether working fifty feet in the air to fix a broken pole, in a vault underground, or designing drawings for a new project, lineworkers ensure that we all continue to receive the power we need to live our daily lives and we are grateful for their service.
Community Well-Being Plan
Community Development continues its work on a realistic and inclusive Community Well-Being Plan. Check out the final What We Learned report on Shape Your City now! This report is the result of multiple community engagement sessions with over 1,000 participants. Learn what your community had to say about the state of, and future of, well-being in Medicine Hat.
View the report on Shape Your City
There will be additional opportunities for your input this fall as a final report with recommendations is developed.
E After Dark - In Our Nature
Saturday, August 24, 2024 at the Esplanade Arts and Heritage Centre
Join us for an adult only night of immersive visual art and electrifying beats, with free and premium experiences to choose from.
7 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.: Begin your evening with a complimentary gallery experience for art exhibition In Our Nature. Engage with the artists, enjoy immersive interactions, and indulge in curated food and beverage options.
9:30 p.m. to 1 a.m.: The party ascends to new heights on the Esplanade rooftop with a late-night silent disco ($). At this unique party, guests will wear specially designed wireless glowing headphones with three live DJs battling for your attention.
On now! Drop-in public info session: East Ring Enhancement Project
Three days: July 9, 10, and 11 between 11 a.m. and 7 p.m. in the Sage Boardroom at the Big Marble Go Centre
The East Ring Enhancement Project ensures Medicine Hat remains wired for what's next and can support projected growth in commercial and residential electricity use by upgrading a 40-year-old electricity transmission line. We've been working hard to identify the best possible route for the transmission line considering environmental interests, engineering design, costs, and community feedback. Our project leaders have narrowed down the options and would love to chat with you.
What work is on the GO at the Big Marble Go Centre?
The Kinsmen Aquatic Park remains closed at the Big Marble Go Centre (BMGC) as we make several infrastructure improvements, including:
- Replacement of water filters and pool filters
- Upgrading amenities
- Improving access to wave pool surge tanks to address staff safety
Though these upgrades may be unseen to the public eye, they will ensure the Big Marble Go Centre and the Kinsmen Aquatic Park meet the needs of our residents for years to come.
This project is on schedule and the Kinsmen Aquatic Park is set to reopen Sunday, September 15! Updates will be regularly posted to the BMGC page on our website.
We understand that not being able to have full access to the Big Marble Go Centre has impacted users, so we’ve taken steps to address this. We have applied discounts for annual passes, month passes, punch cards and daily passes.
Thank you for your understanding and patience as we complete these necessary upgrades!
When in drought: remain diligent
This week, we're seeing the hot, dry weather Environment Canada has been predicting. This is a great chance to remind everyone that the provincial Water Sharing Agreement is still active and we are still under Phase 1 of our local Water Shortage Management Plan. Please minimize non-essential water use.
- Limit watering your lawn to only three days per week (even addresses on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, and odd addresses on Wednesday, Friday and Sunday)
- Fill the sink instead of letting the water run when washing dishes.
- Turn off the water when brushing teeth or shaving.
- Avoid pressure-washing your deck or driveway and use a carwash (that normally recirculates water) to wash your car instead of your hose at home.
Learn more here: Water Conservation, Shortage and Drought - City of Medicine Hat
Medicine Hat's electric lineworkers and their grid
Most often, we don’t really think much about how our electricity is supplied. We just expect our lights to turn on when we flip a switch and our phones to charge when we plug them in. But behind the outlet, electricity is flowing into your home, connected to the largest, most complex machine humans have ever built. And while we are connected to this vast machine, our City has a microcosm of it - our own grid.
If you were to stretch it all out end to end - over 2,500 km – Medicine Hat’s conductors would run from here, across the prairies and Canadian shield to Toronto. Of the nearly four thousand transformers that shift high voltage power to the usable voltages in our homes, the oil that fills and cools them is enough for 65,000 oil changes - every vehicle in Medicine Hat. It’s made up of 9,000 wood poles - a small forest. But a power system isn’t just a line of conductor or mass of metal, it’s like a net cast over our whole city, connecting us all in a grid.
Medicine Hat’s grid is filled with substations that break down the power to individual neighbourhood feeders which weave across the city connecting homes, businesses and industry. It’s filled with fuses and relays, breakers and meters. Poles and wires, cables and insulators. Every time we turn on an appliance, power is flowing through this vast system, causing elements to warm, motors to spin, and lights to turn on.
And in keeping with National Lineworker Appreciation Day on July 10, we want to say thank you to our local lineworkers for keeping the power flowing.
Today, City Council has the opportunity to ask questions about the new growth initiatives that were presented June 25 as part of the development of the City’s 2025-2026 budget.
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