The April 14 town council meeting was one for the books, with the launch of the aquatic/curling centre fundraising initiative, ‘Rock the Waves’, (see page 7) and was summed up with councillor Tara McFadden stating, “I can’t imagine a better night in council”.
The evening kicked off with Mac de Beaudrap, senior manager of protective services, presenting Mayor Ivan Brooker with a certificate from the province honouring the Town of Cochrane for the efforts in the June flood.
A second certificate was issued to Cochrane Emergency Services for their flood efforts, as well as 24 individual certificates for emergency service staff.
Council also presented gifts to a handful of volunteers, recognizing individuals who assist council through their volunteer efforts.
Higher than anticipated growth in Cochrane has resulted in municipal property taxes dropping 1.7 per cent, or an annual average of $36 per household.
Paige Milner, senior manager of corporate services for the town, advised council that assessment growth would result in $490,000 more in municipal tax revenue — a growth of 7.3 per cent, originally thought to be four per cent in the 2014 budget.
Council sought the option favoured by administration to drop taxes and put $130,000 of the additional growth into operating reserves for contingencies.
“This is a balanced approach that will assist the town in being resilient in the event of an economic downturn,” said Milner, adding that a slight decrease in education tax is also anticipated.
Councillor Jeff Toews questioned whether monies should be put aside for an equipment life cycle fund for other projects and a fire master plan but was reassured by Brooker that a healthy surplus would be announced in the coming weeks to address those issues.
Council approved a motion for the Town of Cochrane and City of Calgary to enter into a five-year secondary emergency response agreement.
Fire Services Chief Mac de Beaudrap explained that the reciprocal agreement outlines the terms and fees if either party requires secondary support.
“Calgary does not charge us any more than we charge them,” said de Beaudrap, asserting that Cochrane Emergency Services does respond to out-of-town vehicle collisions and that they would have right of refusal to provide support in the event of a crisis, like the 2013 flood.
Doug Campbell, SOTB chair, and Peggy MacLeod, SOTB board secretary, made a presentation to council to highlight the achievements and history of the society, provide an update on membership and programming growth and indicate the direction of the club.
“We are very appreciative of the staff support you have given us,” said Campbell, who emphasized the significant presence Cochrane now has in the Alberta 55 Plus Games.
“We hope Cochrane will be in a position to host the games in a few years (following the build of the aquatic/curling centre),” he said.
Campbell also indicated future wish list items such as an elevator from the main floor of the Spray Lake Sawmills (SLS) Family Sports Centre to the SOTB Centre and public transit or shuttle bus services to the SLS Centre.
Cochrane Posse
Rob Cameron from the Cochrane Posse presented information to council on the RCMP Musical Ride, which will be in Cochrane from Sept. 4-8.
The Cochrane Posse is a group of Cochranites who represent the town on horseback at celebratory events and parades around Alberta.
Cameron outlined the Posse’s desire for other non-profits and community groups to assist with the Musical Ride.
He said that the Posse does not wish to apply for grant monies from the Community Grant Program through the town, as this would take resources away from other groups needing funds.
The Posse would prefer to rely on groups and individuals to step forward to assist with ticket sales, the ‘Adopt a Horse’ program and other details to make the Musical Ride a success.
Cameron said that 100 per cent of all funds raised by the Musical Ride go back into the community.
Jeff Couillard, co-chair of Cochrane Sustainable Partners Uniting Resources (SPUR), made a presentation to council on SPUR’s guiding role in the community as environmental stewards.
Couillard said SPUR’s role is ‘simple, yet complex because we don’t have an easily defined mandate’; in 2009, SPUR was tasked to ensure the Cochrane Sustainability Plan continues to be implemented in all future decisions made by the town.
He presented a copy of SPUR’s ‘2012 Progress Report’ to all councillors and was praised for his presentation by individual councillors.
“You keep the vision of sustainability alive…it’s a great task and we appreciated SPUR for doing it,” said councillor Ross Watson.
Council accepted a motion for a public hearing on April 28 and a first reading was given to the land use bylaw amendment for Heritage Hills Phase 3D, as presented by Kathy Dietrich, senior manager of planning and engineering for the town.
A redesignation from Residential Urban Reserve to Single Detached Dwelling District is being sought in the subdivision of Heritage Hills; the amendment would allow for 19 residential lots in the area.
The planning for the Heritage Hills community has had a fragmented history, due to the 2004 annexation agreement with Rocky View County. Only the one portion of land was approved to proceed with development in 2005 and the rationale is that an approval for another 19 lots would be logical, as that section of land is no longer going forward for joint commercial/industrial use.
Affordable housing
Council approved a resolution that endorsed the Federation of Canadian Municipalities housing campaign to develop a new long-term federal plan to address the national housing crunch.
Council also unanimously approved a motion to include a property tax grant for the Cochrane Society for Housing Options in the annual grants budget, amounting to approximately $17,000.
Posting Expenses
Mayor and council voted unanimously in favour of posting their quarterly individual expense reports, as per request of councillor Morgan Nagel.
