Taber Council narrowly approves letter of support for Clearview expansion

Posted on April 30, 2026 by Vauxhall Advance

By Cal Braid
Vauxhall Advance
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

In a follow-up to Taber & District Housing Foundation’s request for a letter of support for its expansion project, town council revisited the topic on April 13 to make a decision. Tim Janzen, CAO for TDHF, presented the request to council in March.

 Part of that request was for an agreement by the Town to sign off on another $4.5 million in borrowing on top of the $4.5 million the Town had already committed. In total, the request would be a $9 million investment by the Town towards the Clearview expansion, with total project costs estimated at $27 million.

 Council approved the letter of support by way of a 4-3 vote after 35 minutes of contested discussions. The request brought out a sharp divide among council member. who were either strongly in favour of moving forward in spite of the risks, or staunchly opposed to those risks and the long-term tax implications for residents. Councillors Antoniuk, Prokop, Remfert, and Sorensen were in favour of the letter, while Firth, Sparks, and Wiebe were unequivocally opposed.

 The impact of TDHF not securing letters of support would mean delays in securing financing and postponement of construction until 2027 at the earliest. In addition, project delays would likely cause an increase in total project costs, and the inability to meet the June 2026 deadline could cause the provincial funding commitment to expire.

 At this point, the Government of Alberta will provide no more than one-third of the funding – $9.07 million. The Town of Taber would contribute the previously-agreed-to $4.5 million, the MD of Taber would agree to $4 million, and $9.5 million more would be required.

 The in-favour voters on council were led primarily by Remfert and Sorensen. Among their reasons were the financial logic of acting now versus deferring. The cost of delaying the project would mean the cost would only rise. A secondary reason was that it would be better to back a planned capital project than encounter future emergency spending.

 In addition, Remfert sits on the housing board and the project would be governed by that board, which has representatives from the nearby municipalities on it. He said that the members would not support unreasonable loan terms or interest rates.

 Remfert and Sorensen saw the letter of support as an enabling tool and not as the final financing decision. It was needed to unlock further funding or better financing. “I believe we are preventing the next step from occurring because we aren’t supporting the letter,” Sorensen explained.

 With projections of 135,000 additional seniors across the province in the next 10 years, the project was seen as almost mandatory, given the housing shortages of the last five years.

 Those opposed included Coun. Sparks, who came in with a prepared statement of opposition. In this term of council, he has on numerous occasions been the voice of fiscal responsibility and an advocate for the town’s taxpayers.

 Arguments against the project’s funding model included the size and duration of financial burden on taxpayers – cited at an estimated six per cent property tax impact for many years. The commitment could put the Town in a  “compromised and poor financial situation” for decades, Sparks said.

On top of that, there were too many unknowns about the debt, terms and implications of requisitions on the municipal taxpayers. Concern about being ‘on the hook’ without limits concerned Coun. Firth. She questioned the logic of the Town telling TDHF, “However you would like to borrow the money, whatever amount you see fit, we are agreeing to pay. And when that amount is a giant question mark, I am not comfortable with that.”

 Later in the discussion, CAO Derrin Thibault clarified, “The letter of support is really each of the partners agreeing that they can go to the commercial lending market…the letter of support grants them permission to go into the commercial market.”

 Coun. Wiebe questioned whether facilities like Harmony Home or other seniors housing options might be better investment targets, especially for lower-income and currently unhoused seniors.

 Firth, Sparks and Wiebe, the councillors opposed to the letter, never wavered in their aversion to the financial risks, and Remfert and Sorensen stood firm in their support of the letter and the project in general. Only Antoniuk seemed willing to be persuaded one way or the other, while Mayor Prokop let the discussion play out after briefly noting his support.

 The entire discussion was a study of governance in action with valid points from each side of the debate. And now, the letter of support goes to TDHF, with its board members acting as a cushion between the project and any financial repercussions the Town may face down the road.