Growth is a good problem for a municipality to have, just as it is for a business. But like any good business, it needs to be well-managed.
That was the overarching message delivered in Mayor Jeff Genung’s State of the Town address to shareholders in the community at the Cochrane RancheHouse last night.
While being the fastest-growing community in Alberta has its pitfalls from resulting infrastructure lags, it’s also provided Cochrane with many opportunities to become recognized as a “community of choice,” according to the mayor.
“We have made significant strides in producing a community that people can live, work and play [in],” said Genung to the crowd of 100-plus people in attendance. “That is the kind of community that we’re trying to produce here and build here.”
In his address, Genung highlighted many of the completed and ongoing projects that are a result of the community’s growth in the last year – including the Jack Tennant Memorial Bridge, Highway 1A improvements, the construction of the Highway 1A/22 interchange, and the transit and innovation hub, to name a few.
The hub, which is set to open later this summer, will house Innovate Cochrane – an organization that launched earlier this year with the goal of identifying unmet innovation needs in the community. The organization will soon be releasing a model where it will be able to foster start-ups and people with new business ideas from its headquarters at the transit hub.
“The idea is that once these businesses start there, thrive and are built there – they will then move into your market and be active businesses in our community,” said Genung. “[They’ll] lease space, build space, hire employees and do business in our community.”
It’s opportunities like the innovation centre that make Cochrane a more attractive place for its young people to stay or come back to, he added, with grad season in mind.
“If we’re not providing opportunities for our children, then I don’t want to be involved – but that is growth,” he said. “If we don’t provide that room for growth, our kids aren’t going to want to be here.”
Genung referenced the Town’s draft strategic plan and how it will help shape growth going forward in a head-on approach.
He added Cochrane is “at a crossroads.”
“When I moved here I think there were 1,200 people. There are 32,000-plus [now] according to the census.”
However, there is much more to growth than population size, the mayor stressed.
“We are growing and evolving as a vibrant and innovative community and striving to preserve our inherent charm of the past,” said Genung.
While new businesses and residents will always be welcomed by the community with open arms, as part of its draft strategic plan, the Town will also ask and expect more of builders and developers seeking space in Cochrane in a move to protect and promote its western heritage.
“Leveraging our desirability is what council is on track to do,” the mayor said.
Looking even farther into the future, Town council is currently looking at building a 50-year strategic plan, Genung added, where – with extensive engagement from the community – a “North Star” for the town’s future will be determined, and a plan can be built around it with future growth in mind.
In his speech, the mayor also addressed the Town’s relationships with surrounding communities including Rocky View County (RVC) and Stoney Nakoda First Nation. He highlighted the Town’s recent partnership with RVC to match the funds needed to build a turf field at the tri-site of Cochrane High School, Manachaban Middle School, and Elizabeth Barrett Elementary.
Genung also emphasized the Town’s unique opportunity to work together with Stoney Nakoda First Nation as one of eight partnerships selected in Canada this year for the Community Economic Development Initiative grant.
Several business owners, community leaders and elected representatives from the area were in attendance for the address, including Banff-Airdrie MP Blake Richards, Airdrie-Cochrane MLA Peter Guthrie, Airdrie Mayor Peter Brown, and RVC Deputy Mayor Crystal Kissel.
The event was organized in cooperation with the Cochrane and District Chamber of Commerce. President Ozzie Sawicki spoke briefly to kick off the evening, and Town chief administrative officer, Mike Derricott, was the master of ceremonies.
