“The DBA remains steadfast in its objective to build on the growth seen in 2023.  The collaboration between The City of Red and the DBA is at all time high and with the pending actions set to be delivered through the Downtown Activation Playbook, I know there are many great things to come that will support our business community and create the thriving downtown we all want to experience,” said Amanda Gould, DBA Executive Director.

“Today Council demonstrated their commitment to their strategic priorities with the support shown to the DBA through unanimous support of the 2024 budget. This mighty Association continues to do great work on a shoestring budget and the 2024 Board of Directors are keen to lend their expertise and entrepreneurial skills to benefit the downtown in its entirety.”
Brandon Bouchard, DBA Board Chair

The DBA’s budget is partially funded through the BIA tax levy, which is collected by The City of Red Deer. Each year, the DBA presents its proposed budget to Council for their consideration. When reviewing the budget, Council considers alignment between the DBA’s downtown priorities and City’s community priorities.

“DBA has constantly hit far above its weight in our downtown, I can’t think of a more supportive messenger of promotion than the team at the DBA, it’s so encouraging to see this strong support for our downtown,” said Mayor Ken Johnston. “I’m encouraged by the leadership and direction of the DBA and look forward to what they have in store for 2024. They continually bring positive initiatives to the downtown even with the constraint on finances.”

The DBA’s total approved budget for 2024 is $775,160, with $277,725 funded through the BIA with the remaining amount funded through items such as grants and contracts. The BIA portion for 2024 is an increase of five per cent from 2023.

The Downtown Business Association has been operating in Red Deer for more than 30 years, serving approximately 350 business owners in the Downtown area. Through partnerships and leadership in advocacy and promotion, the DBA is the catalyst for a vibrant and prosperous downtown that is the place to live, work, play and do business.

Following that, the application was prepared for the annexation of approximately 216 hectares of land from Red Deer County. Based on landowner consultation, the proposed annexation area was altered from the Notice of Intent to Annex Land to include the entirety of one of the landowners’ parcels.

Then in April of this year, the annexation was moved to the next step, when both Red Deer City Council and Red Deer County Council passed a resolution endorsing The City to submit an Annexation Application and Negotiations Report to the Land and Property Rights Tribunal. A Land and Property Rights Tribunal hearing was held on June 20, which allows the Tribunal to receive information and evidence from interested parties. After considering the submissions from all parties, the Tribunal made an annexation recommendation to the Minister of Municipal Affairs for the decision to be made.

Now that the annexation was successfully approved by the province, area structure plans will be prepared and adopted by bylaw, by Red Deer City Council. These annexed lands are intended to be developed as a regional commercial development along Highway 2, providing The City with a significant economic development opportunity.

“Securing this annexation approval has been a great success, thanks to all the collaborative partnerships involved. As we move forward, we’re enthusiastic about the potential economic boost this annexation will bring, especially in addressing our shortage of commercial land along the highways,” said David Girardin, Major Projects Planner.

Annexation is used by municipalities to realign jurisdictional boundaries to ensure a sufficient land supply for long-term development. The Intermunicipal Development Plan (IDP) between The City and Red Deer County provides guidance for all annexations.

To learn more information about this annexation are encouraged to visit www.reddeer.ca/annexation.