Strangled by a town government that sees little value in an agriculture complex, stabbed by a county council that is oblivious to public needs, the killing shot was delivered on Sunday at the CDAS (Cochrane and District Agriculture Society) Town Hall meeting by its own Board.
Without a whimper, the CDAS Board is rolling over for the town and county. It was obvious from the responses to questions asked that the board has barely read its own lease or Rocky View’s request for proposal, much less sought a legal opinion of their options. The CDAS Board has taken at face value the threats of through the roof levies for sewer and water from the town and the vague lip service from the County, that something else may be provided. The challenges faced in continuing to operate are seen as too much for this board. (Wait until they try to develop a new site!) No effort will be coming from this Board to save these facilities.
Moving will not solve the water and sewer problems. Any new property will likely be without the services needed for the current activities and will not have indoor and outdoor arenas, BMX course, cross-country course, barns, roads, trails, signage or parking. Even at the full value for all the facilities on the current site, they are grossly undervalued. There are tens of thousands of volunteer hours that do not show up “on the books,” as well as tens of thousands of dollars in donated services and materials. How will these efforts be replaced? Any revenue that is generated by the sale of this land - which was turned over to Rockyview for a dollar on the understanding it would be leased back to CDAS - will go into the bottomless pit of general revenue; no commitment is forthcoming from the County.
The “experts” in Agriculture Societies who moderated the question period – who were introduced as working for the Government of Alberta and later stated they did not – added no Ag Society expertise to the meeting. They couldn’t name one established Ag Society that has successfully moved in recent history. I can name two – Rocky Mountain House and Grande Prairie. The Municipalities in both of these locations recognized the value and commerce that these facilities brought, made commitments and supported the moves whole heartedly to make sure that all events proceeded without interruption.
How can Rocky View give an assurance to a new landowner that the development proposed in any request for proposals will be approved? Won’t this be an issue for the town to decide? It makes one wonder how much the town and county have already decided in private meetings.
All that has been held by the County are private meetings - the Council discussion was held “in camera” although it doesn’t seem to fit the very specific outline for “in camera” sessions outlined in Section 197 of the Municipal Government Act. Shouldn’t these proceedings be made public?
A suggestion was made by a member of the public that this RFP be postponed a year to fully analyze the options, benefits, costs and opportunities. What is the hurry? There are 9 years left on the lease and land prices are currently depressed. No valid reason to not consider this suggestion was provided; it was just ignored.
Secret meetings, no time for reviews, no visible reasons, gains made on volunteer efforts and no commitments to replace a facility that is used by over 5,000 people a year? Draw your own conclusions as to why.
So, this year, go the fairs, watch the horse trials, the BMX events, the youth events; cheer on your friends and relatives as they rope, ride, race or exhibit. After over a hundred years, there isn’t much time left.
Alan Kidd
