Red Deer city council repeatedly stressed on Monday that no decision had been made yet on how the electric utility will be overhauled.
Also repeatedly emphasized was that the public will have access to the information council will use to make its decision and a public hearing will be held before council votes on how to run the utility responsible for maintaining the city's electricity system.
The city has been running its electricity utility the same way since 1928. Council has been told that given changes in technology, financing options and public expectations, maintaining the status quo is not an option.
Three options are on the table: divesting the city's electrical utility assets, modernizing the existing electrical utility department, or creating a municipally controlled corporation.
Several councillors called the electric utility decision one of the biggest council has faced.
Adding to the challenge is that it may be one of council's most complicated decisions, with many potential options inside the three main approaches.
City manager Tara Lodewyk said the public have been raising questions about what decisions council has made and when the public will have an option to have its say.
To ensure the process remains as transparent as possible, the utility governance file was brought to council on Monday to provide an update on how it is expected to play out over the next few months.
"We want to have accurate and complete information out within the public and we want to make sure it is understandable, that our citizens are aware of all the steps to date and the steps to come," said Lodewyk.
"It also allows people to plan and prepare because we want participation in the journey and the next steps," she added. "We needed to get in front so people can be ready.
"This is a major decision for council and the city. We know the public are going to have a lot of questions. This is a complex topic."
In July, council voted to hire a consultant to explore all of the implications of going to a municipally controlled corporation.
"While council asked for more information on one of the options, and we're providing that, it does not mean once we gather this information council can't choose another option," she said.
Under a tentative timeline, public engagement sessions would take place in the first quarter next year with a formal public hearing sometime in the second quarter.
The city also plans to pull all of the information on utility governance together on one place on the city's website. It can be found by searching utility model governance model on reddeer.ca.
Some councillors have already received dozens of emails on the topic and judging by council discussion some in the community believe an MCC is a done deal.
Councillors seconded the need to ensure the public is involved in the decision making and the necessary information is available.
"This is such an important decision for the city that ease of access is important," said Coun. Dianne Wyntjes.
