As 2025 comes to a close, Clearwater County’s newly-appointed reeve Jordon Northcott doesn’t hesitate to say Caroline amalgamation underscored many of the year’s challenges.
Becoming official on New Year’s Day, the county was immediately plunged into a litany of challenges in aligning the former village into the county.
He says it was no small task for council, administration and local boards and committees to work through all the restructuring required to start getting everyone on the same page.
To that end, Clearwater County is working on a new area structure plan (ASP) for the hamlet of Caroline. Northcott says there will be opportunities for Caroline residents to give their feedback on what they would like to see in their community early in the new year.
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Second only to amalgamation, Northcott says the 2025 municipal election was also top of mind.
During the campaign, Northcott says he heard over and over again that residents truly value the rural character of the county, as well as the contributions of the agriculture sector.
“The amount of agricultural products that are exported out of Clearwater County — whether it be beef, wheat, hay, barley or forage — are significant,” he says. “The new council really does have a desire to hear the concerns of residents.”
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Going into 2026, he says there is a long list of “to-do” items for council to consider; and it will likely be a challenge for council to prioritize them all.
That includes consideration of a growing list of funding requests to replace aging infrastructure such as water and wastewater — not just in Caroline, but in areas throughout he region.
Other key considerations pertain to funding requests for community halls, modernization of the Caroline Arena ice plant, among others.
He adds, council will be considering what they heard from residents during the municipal election campaign when considering funding requests.
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Northcott was appointed reeve during the Oct. 23, 2025 organizational meeting.
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