Hello Cochrane,
This kicks off my first mayor’s column and council’s third week in office since the election. I am very pleased with the group of individuals you have chosen to represent our community. Thank you for entrusting us with the important responsibility of listening to the voices of the community and steering Cochrane into the future.
To date, I have devoted much of my time familiarizing myself with various town strategic planning documents and policies, one of the most important being the budget document.
In an effort to get up to speed on the job as quickly as possible, I’ve been attending many functions and meeting with a broad cross-section of Cochranites, including community groups and individuals. Council and I are committed to working to maintaining connections with the community, and we hope you will come to the Historic Downtown area this Saturday evening for Light Up to say, “Hello.” This year’s theme for our firepot is Come Meet Your New Council.
It is important to me that the community be provided with a snapshot of activities in which I am engaged on behalf of the community. Here’s a partial list:
Just days after the election, I had the honour of welcoming to Cochrane Lt.-Gov. of Alberta Lois Mitchell and together we unveiled the new cenotaph bronze.
On the heels of her visit, I met with Insp. Lauren Weare, who is head of the Cochrane RCMP detachment, attended Bow Valley High School’s awards ceremony, and attended Remembrance Day ceremonies organized by Mitford School and the Cochrane Legion.
I also met with the Honourable Danielle Larivee, Alberta’s minister of Children’s Services, when she was in town to present a cheque from the province to community organizations.
I spent time with the Mayor of Airdrie, the Calgary Regional Partnership, the Mayor of Okotoks, and Urban Systems (the company that serves as Cochrane’s engineering and traffic consultants), judged the Rotary Youth Talent Festival, as well as had many more meetings with citizens of Cochrane. To say the least, it has been a very busy start to my time as mayor!
Next week, we will be attending the Alberta Urban Municipalities Association (AUMA) conference in Calgary attended by the Premier and many cabinet ministers.
I am currently working to secure meetings with a few of them including the Minister of Transportation to further our efforts to cure our current traffic concerns. I am encouraging all of council to attend with me to help relay Cochrane’s willingness to work with the province to find a solution.
I have taken the message from the election very seriously and have fully embraced my new role. I am pleased with the progress to date and am excited to keep pushing forward.
