Ongoing development was the major theme during the Cochrane and District Chamber of Commerce’s Jan. 9 Lunch and Learn event, where Mayor Truper McBride provided his ‘state of Cochrane’ address to a group of approximately 40 business members.
McBride highlighted several municipal developments currently underway in Cochrane, including the newly named Heartland community in the west side of town, the highly anticipated Quarry site and several individual projects, like the aquatic and arts centre, that are first and foremost on many residents’ minds.
Despite the multitude of projects Cochrane will see going into the next five years, the mayor emphasized his number one priority when it came to development – fiscal sustainability.
“We want to be able to do this without borrowing,” said McBride, adding that with Cochrane’s rapidly increasing population, demands on he and council are similar to that of a small city. “We’re not the small town we used to be.”
McBride said he estimates the population of Cochrane to hit 18,000 very soon and reach 20,000 by this time next year. Studies have shown a steady increase in population in and around Calgary over the next 25 years, with Cochrane anticipated to be anywhere from 65,000-75,000 after that time.
McBride said council is taking this growth into account when planning for the future, looking at what type of urban design will best suit the community.
“We don’t want to turn this into a big city,” he proclaimed, saying that over the next 60 years there should be no need to annex any additional land for development. “The trick is to maintain that land properly…people don’t like sprawling municipalities.”
As for the progress of the Quarry site, McBride said people could expect to see big-box stores, like Sobey’s and most likely Wal-Mart, some residential buildings, an arts centre, a pedestrian mall and a transit hub. He did not believe any kind of education facilities would end up on the site.
The mayor said the recent approval of the Community Revitalization Levy (CRL) would be a great tool for council to improve the Quarry site and surrounding area, saying the retained funds will provide for ‘a much nicer downtown’ with trees, trails and pathways.
“This is a tremendous investment council is putting into downtown,” McBride said.
Speaking to the aquatic centre, the mayor admitted that its progress ‘has taken a long time,’ but that it remains one of, if not the most important on the town’s list of priorities.
One of the reasons for the rather slow movement on the new pool is related to cost, which tallies in at $30 million for what McBride called a Cadillac version, including a wave pool, water park and warm water therapy pool.
Funding for the aquatic centre is broken up into thirds; the first provided by council, second being sought from other levels of government and final third through fundraising. Fundraising $10 million was something McBride said has never been done in Cochrane, and will pose to be a challenge.
The mayor divulged that at some point before the next municipal election, council would have to determine whether raising $10 million is feasible, or perhaps they may have to scale back what the facility will offer.
McBride said he does not want the pool to become an election issue and that he would like to see shovels in the ground before it has a chance to become one.
The new arts centre is very much the same as the aquatic centre when it comes to financing, with the town offering approximately $5 million toward the project, and falling in at number two on the town’s priority list, anticipated to begin construction two years after the pool.
With a new curling facility also being constructed at the Spray Lake Sawmill Family Sports Centre, the old building on 5th Ave. will eventually be torn down, along with the current pool facility, opening up a parcel of land in a desirable location.
McBride could not confirm what would eventually develop on that land, but that talk of a convention centre, community hall or residential building has been tossed around.
The possibility of the Lions Rodeo Grounds expanding is also not out of the question, a location McBride feels strongly about.
“I would never support (the) Lions Rodeo Grounds being developed,” he said. “That area is a treasure to Cochrane.”
Also not wanting the park to change location, McBride said there has been a lot of thought going into how the rodeo grounds can be integrated into downtown and Quarry site to complete one, cohesive downtown unit.
Transit was also addressed during the event.
McBride said that after Ipsos Reid discovered that 72 per cent of Cochranites want a transit system in the community, administration has been working diligently to come up with an alternate plan to their original, one the mayor admitted was ‘too much.’
Hoping to eventually gain approval from all council members, McBride said the new plan would ‘surprise’ many people in the community, and that it would accomplish three things: it would evolve over time organically and fiscally and it would meet the needs of those who need it right away.
On the negative side of the coin, twinning of Highway 1A through town does not look to be happening any time soon.
McBride said that because of the provincial government’s lack of funds due to low oil prices, road projects like Highway 1A and the intersection with Highway 22 have been put on the back burner.
McBride did point out, however, that there is a new advance left-hand turn signal at the Highway 1A/22 intersection for traffic coming from the north and turning east onto the 1A.
McBride was asked during the event whether he planned on running in the next municipal election, to which he answered with uncertainty, saying he first had to weigh progress made on the town’s list of priorities.
For more information on the town’s projects and financial priorities, visit the financial section of the town’s website (cochrane.ca) and view the Ten Year Financial Plan.
