WHEREAS under the Resource Road/New Industry Program (2000-2002) projects eligible for funding would enhance the transportation of goods and people related to value-added processing facilities, intensified farming operations, resource-based industrial developments or high-throughput elevators which began operations or were expanded in 1997 or later;AND WHEREAS the Resource Road/New Industry Program (2000-2002) was terminated at the end of 2002/2003;AND WHEREAS the Minister of Transportation was advised that the criteria for the Resource Road/New Industry Program did not meet the needs of communities with extreme terrain and climatic conditions such as the foothills of the Rocky Mountains, local or destination traffic and agricultural industry;AND WHEREAS the Resource Road Program (2003/04 to 2005/06) was announced as part of the governments 2003 budget;AND WHEREAS project eligibility and the criteria for the Resource Road Program (2003/04 to 2005/06) is virtually the same as for the Resource Road/New Industry Program (2000-2002) with the exception that the funding for approved projects is 50% government and 50% municipal/industry and 75% government and 25% municipal for roads heavily used/impacted by non-local or through-trips;AND WHEREAS agricultural operators who, because of their operations size, may not find it economically feasible to contribute to a project under the Resource Road Program, still require upgrades to the road servicing their property;

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Alberta Association of Municipal Districts and Counties urge the Government of Alberta to establish a separate grant program to assist with upgrading roads in municipalities with extreme terrain and climatic conditions such as: the foothills of the Rocky Mountains local or destination traffic rather than through traffic, and agricultural industrywhere municipalities may not find it economically feasible to contribute to a project as required under the Resource Road Program.

When the Resource Road/New Industry Program was instituted for the years 2000-2002, it was with the intent of providing funding for eligible projects that would enhance the transportation of goods and people related to value-added processing facilities, intensified farming operations, resource-based industrial development or high throughput which began operations or were expanded in 1997 or later. Under this program the road had to be used by at least 25 trucks per day, on average, during any three-month period of the year and at least 400 vehicles per day if paving was proposed. Roads primarily used for local traffic were not eligible for funding under this program.The funding for the 2000-2002 Resource Road/New Industry Program was 75% government and 25% municipal, to a maximum of $2,250,000 with the municipality being encouraged to negotiate cost-sharing agreements with the owner(s) of the development(s) being served by the project. This program was terminated at the end of 2002/2003.The Resource Road/New Industry Program 2000-2002 did not recognize extreme terrain and climatic conditions such as the foothills of the Rocky Mountains, local or destination traffic and agricultural industry. Our council met with the Minister of Transportation on a number of occasions to discuss concerns about the criteria of this program and its inability to address the needs of municipalities with these types of conditions. Council suggested that a separate program be established for municipalities impacted by these types of conditions.As a result of a lobbying effort, the Resource Road Program (2003/04 to 2005/06) was announced as part of the 2003 budget. While we welcomed the reinstatement of the program, the criteria for the program are basically the same as for the previous program. The exception is that the funding for approved projects is 50% government and 50% municipal/industry and 75% government and 25% municipal for roads heavily used/impacted by non-local or through-trips. As with the previous program, the Resource Road Program (2003/04 to 2005/06) does not recognize extreme terrain and climatic conditions such as the foothills of the Rocky Mountains, local or destination traffic and agricultural industry, nor does it recognize that agricultural operations, due to their size, may not find it economically feasible to contribute to a road project or that roads may be heavily used by recreational vehicles, rather than industrial types of vehicles, which also adversely impact the condition of the road. The needs of municipalities addressing these conditions are as great as the needs of other municipalities. It is imperative that the province recognizes this and develops a separate program to fund road upgrades, taking these factors into consideration.

The AAMDC has no resolutions currently in effect with respect to this issue.However, several resolutions have been endorsed by delegates with respect to the Resource Road Program: Resolution 5-99S urges the provincial government to allocate funding to tourism road infrastructure through the Resource Road/New Industry Program. The province responded by saying there was no intention to expand the program at this time. Resolution 4-99S urges the province to deem those secondary highways that are also used intensively as resource roads to be eligible projects for funding under the Resource Road Program. In its response, the province said the program would apply to some projects on secondary highways used by resource industries but not eligible under the Secondary Highways Partnership Program. Resolution 4-98S urges the provincial government to examine the feasibility of implementing a royalty on resource extraction industries which would be used to help fund a Resource Road Program throughout the province.