2 Alberta towns merge to create Diamond Valley

There's a new municipality in southern Alberta after a midnight merger transformed Turner Valley and Black Diamond into Diamond Valley.

That was the name selected by both towns when they voted in favour of a merger last year.

It's a move being taken after the two town councils have talked about doing it for more than four decades.

The decision came after a meeting with the minister of municipal affairs to discuss how to move forward.

The amalgamation will save more than $1 million by eliminating duplicate services.

"Now it makes sense," said Larry Kapustka of the Diamond Valley Sustainable Living Centre. "With the growth that we had in our province, with the ring road being completed, with the projected growth that we hope to see in the Diamond Valley area [this merger makes sense].

"All your services are the same," he added, "but [we] are less one council, so that's a $350,000 savings right there."

Susan Kristoferson of the Diamond Valley Sustainable Living Centre added that there are benefits to being a larger municipality.

"Having a larger population makes the community eligible for grants that smaller communities were not eligible for," she said.

A New Year's Eve celebration was held to mark the official name change.

The new town's population will be about 5,600 people.