Alberta's Municipal Affairs Minister hasn't signed off on the amalgamation of Black Diamond and Turner Valley just yet.

Ric McIvor has sent a letter to the two town councils acknowledging the work previous councils have done, but wants to hear from the newly installed councils to see how they feel.

Black Diamond Mayor Brendan Kelly says they they were caught a little off guard.

"We kind of find ourselves in a bit of a precarious position, when previous council sent the application to the minister in the fall the understanding when the application went in, we were kind of hoping for a 'yes' or a 'no' or 'yes if you do these things' or 'no because of these things' and part of that hope was because we have three new councillors and myself as the new mayor and there's been a lot of work put in by the previous councils and their depth and knowledge is quite extensive," he says. "We didn't get that answer so didn't really expect that, but that's o-k."

The minister wants to hear back from the two councils by the end of this month how they want to move forward.

Kelly says the town councils will get together Wednesday Feb. 9 for a final chance to go over everything that's been done in the past and any new information that might come forward.

"This is a big decision and we want to make sure the new council has an opportunity to review as much material as possible."

Both councils are expected to take another vote their Feb. 16 meetings.