M.D. council rectifying addressing in Hays area

By Heather Cameron
Taber Times
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

During the M.D. of Taber Council Meeting on May 14, Administration brought a Request for Decision memo before Council regarding the Hays Readdressing Project.

“In order to align our addressing system out in the Hays block, we need to change a few things so that it complies with how they collect and process that data when they get emergency calls,” said M.D. of Taber Chief Administrative Officer Arlos Crofts.

According to the memo and Administration, the changes are being proposed in advance of the NextGen 9-1-1 program completion, as spatial data testing has begun in 2025 with a final migration expected by 2027.

The memo went on to explain that as a result of the NextGen 9-1-1 program and data requirements, the M.D. of Taber has identified 109 addresses that will need to be redone, but changes to addressing are significant to many industries, residents and businesses, and Administration plans to remain sensitive to industry requirements and communications throughout the project. As such, the memo states, there are different options available. Option 1 is changing the address signage to numeric while maintaining the road names while Option 2 is changing both addresses and road names, which would also likely require additional and extensive community engagement resources in addition to ensuring that there is budget available for signage replacement. 

The projects, the memo explained, will require creation of address ranging logic/strategies, reassignment of addresses in internal database, and communication with landowners, Canada Post, and utility companies, as well as physical replacement of signs for each household. The memo emphasizes that Option 1 is the most cost effective.

M.D. of Taber Director of Community Services Bryce Surina also emphasized that Administration planned to apply for grant funding through the public safety programs and had already applied for a grant already that they did not receive, but they would continue to look for additional grant opportunities to assist them in their endeavor to support some of the changes being brought forth by this program.

Following discussion for clarification, a motion was made that the M.D. of Taber approve the proposed changes to rural addressing throughout the Hays block-based Proposal Option 1 and approve a 2025 operating budget addition, under planning and development contracted work, to support the project to a maximum of $3,500. The motion was carried.