Mountain View County councillors posed some tough questions for the fiscal impact analysis of the Netook Crossing project at their Dec. 14 policies and priorities committee meeting.ìI'd like you to look at how much it will cost us in 50 years if we only have a 30 per cent build-out and you don't have the tax base to pay for services,î Div. 5 Coun. Bob Orr told developer Herb Styles and consultant Darryl Howery during their presentation.ìThat's a fair question and we'll make sure it's addressed,î Styles said.Div. 1 Coun. Kevin Good wanted to know what the financial implications would be for the county if Netook Crossing were to be annexed by the Town of Olds or incorporated as a town or village in the future.Styles said that question would essentially be answered by the study, which would set out the net tax revenues to the county with and without the proposed development.ìSo that will pretty well give you that number,î Styles said.Good also asked whether the study would lump together the two main components of the development ñ one on each side of Highway 27 ñ or provide separate breakdowns. Howery said each quarter section would be estimated separately.When deputy reeve Trish McKean questioned the proposed price range for homes ñ from $300,000 to $700,000 ñ Howery said the average would likely fall between the two extremes but added he was ìtrying to narrow it down to give you a closer estimate.îDuring his presentation, Howery also said he would be trying to narrow down the ìtotal municipal tax takeî from the development, which the current estimate pegs at between $4 million and $20 million a year.The fiscal impact analysis, which will be paid for entirely by the developers, should be completed by the middle or later part of January, Howery said.Addressing P&P, Styles noted he had attended three of the four open houses for the draft Municipal Development Plan and appealed to councillors to regard the proposal with the fairness that characterizes county residents.ìI grew up in a farming community and my stepdad farmed in this county for years before any of us were born and for the most part farmers are people of integrity. They believe in fairness and they believe in doing the right thing,î he said.ìI know there are a number of farmers, some who are even opposed to the development, who still want the county to do the right thing and follow through on their obligations.îCouncillors, however, did not respond favourably to Styles' suggestion that a brief, private exploratory meeting be set up between the developers and some members of council, though Styles later said the idea had originally come from county administration.As reported earlier this month, the developer has filed four separate applications to the county that would create up to 671 country-residential lots on the north side of Highway 27.The proposal, which also includes an estimated 90 commercial lots, would span five quarter sections, or 700 acres, Howery told P&P.At an average rate of 2.6 persons per household, the proposed residential lots would house 1,745 people at full build-out, Howery said.
