Sherwood Park Minute: Issue 92

Sherwood Park Minute - Your weekly one-minute summary of Sherwood Park politics

📅 This Week In Sherwood Park: 📅

• Merry Christmas! We hope you had a wonderful day with family, friends, and food! Thank you to every single one of our readers and supporters who reached out, donated, volunteered, or shared our content this year. We appreciate every single one of you and hope you have a wonderful holiday season.
  
  
• We usually reserve these weekly updates for sharing news and analysis, but as the year comes to a close, we want to be upfront with you. Our year-end fundraising campaign is underway, with a target of $10,000 to be met by December 31st. This funding is essential to sustaining our operations and allowing us to carry our work into the new year. If you find our work valuable and want to help ensure it continues, we’d be grateful if you would consider making a contribution. Even a modest gift makes a meaningful difference. You can donate by clicking here, and we sincerely thank you for being part of this effort.
  
  
• Mayor Rod Frank  reflected on 2025 as a demanding year shaped by a municipal election, budget pressures, and major capital projects. The Mayor was encouraged by winning re-election with broad support, but expressed concern about historically low voter turnout and the added costs of provincially mandated hand-counted ballots. Council approved the 2026 budget with a tax increase under 5%, aiming to balance service quality with affordability as residents face rising living costs. Advocacy with the Province remains a priority, particularly around municipal funding and maintaining support for core services like roads, transit, fire, and policing. The year also saw the opening of several key community facilities, new leadership within Administration, and continued residential growth across both urban and rural areas. Looking ahead to 2026, the focus will be on managing growth, maintaining high satisfaction levels, and preparing for major events while navigating broader economic uncertainty.
  
  
• Strathcona County reported a $12.9 million operating surplus for the third quarter of 2025 and is forecasting an overall surplus of about $10.6 million by year end. The surplus was driven by higher-than-expected revenues from development activity, permits, service fees, and investment income, along with savings in utilities, fuel costs, and staffing vacancies. Utility operations also posted a surplus, supported by growth-related increases in user accounts and lower business expenses. County officials noted the surplus falls within recommended best-practice ranges for municipalities and does not affect the tax rate. The surplus will be placed into reserves to support long-term financial sustainability. Officials also cautioned that economic uncertainty could affect future revenues and spending patterns.
  
  
• The New Year’s Festival will take place on Wednesday, December 31st from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm across multiple locations in Sherwood Park. Broadmoor Lake Park will host the main outdoor celebration, including winter games, ice sculptures, warming zones, fire dancer performances, and the fireworks show at 8:00 pm. Peace Park and the Festival Place parking lot will feature a winter fun zone with snowshoeing, hot chocolate, and s’mores. Indoor activities will run at Festival Place, including aerial artist performances and a Lego display, while the Sherwood Park Arena and Sports Centre will offer recreational skating, a hockey shootout, and skating club performances. Donations for the Strathcona Food Bank will be collected throughout the event. The festival is free and designed to be family-friendly.

🚨 This Week’s Action Item: 🚨

🪙 This Week’s Sponsor: 🪙

This week's sponsor is you! We don't have big corporate backers, so if you like what you're reading, please consider making a donation or signing up as a monthly member.

Having said that, if you are a local business and are interested in being a sponsor, send us an email and we'll talk!