From The Trail

It's been a busy time on the campaign trail! 


This weekend was the iconic Cochrane Outhouse races hosted by the Heavenly Outhouse in support of the Cochrane Activettes Food Bank.  A great time for a worthy cause.  For more information on the Food Bank and how to donate, visit http://cochraneactivettes.ca/794-2

A few of the Cochrane Rangers helped with my Vote Tara outhouse entry.  And of course a soccer game broke out!  Thanks ladies and thanks to the Rangers who donated to the Food Bank! 

Thanks Chaos!

And then there was door knocking.  I spend some time meeting folks in West Valley and West Terrace and also in Sunset Heights.  I've had some amazing help from some good friends and from my daughter Kaleigh who is my best door knocker!

Kaleigh & Mikki Helping Door Knock in Sunset Heights

See you on the trail!

Tara

Of Traffic...... 

Traffic.  

A sure sign of a vibrant community.  

But frustrating to experience as we try to run downtown for groceries, cross the 22 and 1A intersection to get home or get stacked up at lights as we try to pick our kids up at school. 

And as more people move to town and more business open up in Cochrane, we're only going to get more vehicles on our streets.  We're never going to see the traffic of a small town again, but what is Cochrane going to do about it?

The big problem of course is the 22 & 1A intersection.  

The highways and this intersection are provincial and under Alberta Transportation authority.  We all know this intersection is "failing".  It's not only a Cochrane road but a regional intersection and we've all seen how far the traffic gets backed up at peak times.  This has been something that councils have been lobbying on for close to 20 years.  Cochrane had managed to get this added to the provinces 3 year plan and things were moving ahead for the twinning on the highway through town and the major upgrade of the intersection.  And then the recession hit.  And the province relocated the monies and we're off the 3 year plan and back to lobbying.  Every time I see our MLA, Ron Casey, I bring this up and he assures me that every time he sees the Transportation Minister, he mentions it.  What this means for us, is that the needed major upgrades are off the table and the best we can try for are tweaks.  I can't use the Nenshi adjectives to describe my thoughts on this.  

The other challenge of course is how traffic moves through our downtown and we can do something about that.  So what are we doing?  Of course there is no quick fix, or it would have been done.  But here's a partial list.

• Developing a multi-model plan.  Planner language for how we can move pedestrians, bikes and vehicles around.  This plan is in the works and will provide options to improve movement.

• An intersection study is in the budget for 2014.  (New council, don't cancel this!)  This will evaluate key intersections in town and make recommendations for changes to improve them.  We all have thoughts on which lights should have advance greens!  

• Working with the province on access issues to 1A & 22 as interim solutions before the major upgrade.  If it ever happens.  Staff are trying to convince AB Transportation to install traffic signals at 1A & Centre Ave.  If approval happens, this could possibly be implemented in 2014.  

• Our Downtown Plan - recently approved - a big portion of this plan looks at how to connect the 2 down towns across the tracks and improve connectivity and access, not only for vehicles, but for bikers and walkers.  (As someone who has tried to push a stroller downtown for groceries, it's way past due!)

• And staff are continuously looking at the traffic flows and trying to find improvements, but the truth is, that as we grow, so does our traffic.

I wish I could provide the easy answer with a quick solution, but I can't.  Traffic is going to be an ongoing issue that Cochrane is going to struggle with.  But know that I share your frustration as I get stuck at the railway crossing or get lined up on the hill trying to get home.

Best,

Tara

Tara's Council Update - Sept 23, 2013

Tara's Council Update - Sept 23, 2013

We're off!

We have 13 candidates for council and 3 for Mayor.  Hats off to everyone who is putting themselves forward, it really is about public service.

Your candidates:

Three individuals declared their intention to run for Mayor: 
1. Ivan Brooker
2. Joann Churchill
3. David Smith

Thirteen community members are seeking one of six seats on Town Council:
1. Shana Bruder
2. Dan Cunin
3. Kaitee Dal Pra
4. Mary Lou Davis
5. Steve Grossick
6. Jamie Kleinsteuber
7. Marty Lee
8. Gaynor Levisky
9. Tara McFadden*
10. Morgan Justice Nagel
11. Jeff Toews*
12. Jim Uffelmann
13. Ross Watson*
(* incumbent)

Tara's Council Update

View Agenda and Public Hearing Agendas here

Overview:  3 Proclamations to recognize worthy causes, amendment to the Business License Bylaw to make it work better for businesses, adopted of the Integrated Downtown Action Plan, adoption the Wetland Conservation Policy, review of our committees and FCSS Terms of Reference, naming of a pathway and skating rink to recognize some amazing citizens and an update on the new website.

1.  Proclamations:  By request, Council declared; Oct 2, 2013 "World Cerebral Palsy Day", Oct, 2013 to be Breast Cancer Awareness Month and Oct to also be Canadian Library Month.  All great causes.

Passed 7-0

2.  Business Bylaw Amendments:  Council made 4 amendments to the bylaw to make it easier to administer and better businesses.  Business fee deadline was changed to Dec 31st, better ties in with calender year ends.  The deadline and late fees were changed and also the license can be purchased at a pro-rated fee to reflect when the license was purchased.

Passed 7-0

3.  Integrated Downtown Action Plan:  A mouthful of a title, but this is a very exciting plan.  I can't stress enough how important this is.  This lays out how we plan on developing our downtown and ensuring that what's important to Cochrane is reflected in our downtown core.  This was 18 months or work and included a lot of public engagement, including the downtown storefront location.  The plan is a 79 page document that defines what our downtown is and what actions to take as we move forward.  A very visionary plan that identifies next steps for issues list traffic management, pathways and bike use, creation of a cultural hub and redevelopment of some town lands.  Council made some minor changes.

I did have some concerns in regards to the future of the site that hosts the rodeo grounds, pool, curling club and Boys and Girls club.  With the relocation of the pool and curling rink there are opportunities with this site that could include selling part or all of the site, raising funds to pay for infrastructure like the future pool, etc.  It's a big decision and these lands are valued not only by the user groups on them but by Cochrane as a whole.  More discussion needs to be had on the future of these lands, so I proposed an amendment that was passed, that removed the identified tasks of preparing the site for disposal.  Much conversation needs to be had before we get to that point!

Council passed this 7-0

4. Wetland Conservation Policy:  This has been a long time coming but I'm glad to finally have it adopted.  Again a great deal of public engagement work went into this with the plan being taken physically out to the public for dialog, including showing up at the Farmers market.  This policy lays out how Cochrane will manage the conservation of wetlands in the context of building a community and has raised the bar on wetland conservation.  This also provides clarity to developers so they know what to expect when dealing with wetlands in Cochrane.

Passed 7-0

5.  Committee Review: Council reviews the committees annually.  The FCSS Terms of Reference was amended to ensure that Rocky View County (who partners with us on FCSS here) is represented.

Passed 7-0

6.  Requests for Naming of Public Areas:  We received requests to recognize some amazing citizens and I'm proud to announce that Glen Boles is going to have a section of pathway names after him and that in recognition of Tim Bannister, the outdoor rink will now be called the Tim Bannister Memorial Outdoor Rink.

Passed 7-0

7.  Website Update:  Staff presented an update on the Town website project.  I'm sure I'm not the only one frustrated with our existing website so this is all good news.  The new website will be much more functional and a great feature, is that it will allow residents to sign up for e-mail updates.  Not the same as mine!  But a good communication tool.

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And that's a wrap!

As always, if you have any questions, please contact me.

Best,

Tara

My Other Job

I really do have the 2 best jobs in Cochrane.  As a Councillor, I get to have an impact in our community and in working with the Glenbow Ranch Park Foundation, I promote and fundraise for the Park.  It's great to be able to make a living doing something you believe in.

This weekend, Glenbow Ranch Park Foundation hosted the first Ride for the Ranch at Glenbow Ranch Provincial Park.  It's a fundraising trail ride for the Foundation.  This picture was taken by Heather Simonds one of GRPF's volunteers and a professional photographer the morning of the ride.  I love it.  

To check out more of Heather's work and other photos from the Ride, visit http://heathersimondsphotography.com/galleries-4/

Door knocking In Heritage Hills

I was door knocking in Heritage Hills this weekend and had some great dialogue with residents.  It's amazing how fast our community is growing and it's been a while since I've seen some of those areas.

Heritage Hills is a community full of young families and experiencing the frustrations of a community being built but the greatest concerns I heard were in regards to transportation and connectivity.

1.  Frustration with Highway 22 and 1A

The concerns about the intersection is one of the dominant frustrations I've heard throughout Cochrane.  As anyone knows who uses that intersection, it gets badly clogged and traffic backs up, especially during rush hour or long weekends.

The challenge is that the intersection is under the mandate of Alberta Transportation.  The need to have it upgraded was identified nearly 20 years ago.  In my first term, Cochrane had managed to get the intersection and the highway twinning down the hill to the intersection added to the provincial 3 year plan for upgrades, but then the recession hit and the provincial government had to make other decisions.  So we're back to lobbying to get it back on the 3 year plan.  Frustrating.  I bring this up every time I see Ron Casey, our MLA and he assures me he brings it up with Ric McIver, the Minister of Transportation every time he sees him.

I'm thinking it's time we intensify our lobbying.

2.  Community Pathway Access to the rest of Cochrane and safe access across Highway 1A

It was disturbing to find out how many kids and families are crossing Highway 1A on a regular basis without a safe crossing. This is a huge concern with this development and the challenge is that it's so isolated by both the highways and geography.

The solution for access lies in development of the community to the south of the highway, Heartland.  When that development builds out further it will lead to a new intersection, with lights, at the Horse Creek Road intersection.  Depending on that, it could be a year or 2 before we see the intersection in place.

There is a new Area Structure Plan being developed for Heritage Hills that will include connectivity plans.  That will be Sept 25th at the RancheHouse to gather input and I encourage residents to attend.

Tara's Council Update - Sept 9, 2013

Happy Thursday,

My record for getting council updates our before the papers has been broke by the flu.  It went through our house with everyone getting sick and it's only today that we're all healthy. Regular start to the school year, but disrupted my flow!

In September, Council work gets back into the routine with two council meetings a month and council committees meeting again.  One of the committees I work on is the Inter-Municipal Committee between Rockyview County and Cochrane.  In this committee members of both councils and senior staff discuss joint issues and stay connected.  This meeting was similar to most with updates from both municipalities and discussion on projects like the pool, curling center and issues like fencing between our urban border and their rural ranching communities.  Our council lobbied hard for a solid financial contribution from Rockyview for the new pool and curling center but it's up to their council to decide how to distribute their resources.

A win:  Town staff are not including what their communication/public engagement is for each project in the council reports.  We continue to improve in our communications!

Tara's Council Update

View Agenda and Public Hearing Agendas here

Overview:  3 Public hearings and decision on the related bylaws, decision to continue with municipal bench marking partnership, decision on new council meeting times, update on Wetlands policy work.

1.  Bylaw 16/2013 - Residential Districts -  No public at this public hearing.  The developer spoke to the benefit in that this amendment allows them to introduce another variety of housing.  Councillor Toews and I both had suggestion for further public engagement but our planning managers point that interest on new developments is different than interest on existing communities is well taken.  

This change allows for town homes to be street focused instead of inside facing which is the traditional model.  With the changes it allows for these to be better blended into the communities.  Reassuring to hear that if anything parking should be better.  

It's expected that this form of housing is expected to be used in new developments and not in existing neighborhoods until they reach the 50 age mark and start to re-develop.  As the East End is nearing this point, I'm concerned for the possible impacts to the older neighborhoods.  But as the planning commission (made up of public members and council) would make the decision on this and communities would have the chance to provide feedback, I think this in a good position.

Passed 7 All.

2.  Bylaw 17/2013 - Omnibus to Land Use Bylaw - Unlike federal omnibus legislature that makes sweeping changes, these changes are really about minor details to the Land Use Bylaw like grammar changes and word consistency.  Have no fear, you can still have 2 adult ostriches in the rural areas of Cochrane.  (whew.. I was worried there might be debate on that! :))  No public feedback, but not expected as this is just cleanup.  

Passed 7 All


3.  Bylaw 18/2013  - River Heights Commercial Use Re-designation -   This is to allow for religious institutions (ie Church) to be in the area of Cochrane Toyata etc.  It wouldn't be my first pick to have a church next to highway commercial but as the applicants were for it and spoke to how this is a growing trend, I had no concerns.  No public feedback but a representative of the applicant spoke for it.

Passed 7 All

4.  Municipal Bench Marking - Year Two

Last year council gave approval for Cochrane to join a partnership of like communities to share information.  Their work was delayed due to the impact of the flood on so many neighboring communities but this was an ask to join for year 2.  Some discussion from council that this program instead of providing best in class solutions lead to leveling of services.  ie. - If Airdrie only spent X, we should only spend X, instead of considering the unique needs and deliveries of each community.  I see this as an chance to share knowledge and find improvements, so I was in favor of continuing.

Passed 7 All

5. Notice of Motion - Procedural Bylaw - (Council meeting times)   Notice of motions are how individual councilors can introduce changes.  Councillor Brooker brought the Council Meeting times back to the table.  He'd changed his mind on his decision of the last meeting.  This is an old argument for me, championing that council meetings should be available to the public and not barred by council meeting times that make it difficult for them to attend.  Councillor Brooker supported moving the meetings to 1 AM.  After much debate, and my loosing a number of decisions 6-1, council settled on what I think is an acceptable middle ground.  One meeting a month will be at 1 PM and 1 meeting a month will be at 6 PM

6.  Strategic Planning - Wetlands Policy - Strategic Planning sessions are how council gets updates on key items with the freedom of not being in a formal council meeting.  Makes it easier to ask questions and get clarity.  These are open to the public.

This session was on the Wetlands Policy that we've been working on.  As we get closer to developing the lands in south Cochrane it's key that we have this in place as these lands are "knob and kettle" (full of small hills and wetlands).  The question is, what does preserving wetlands in the Cochrane context mean? 

Staff have done a good job at trying to engage the public in this complex issue. With a few tweaks. The Province doesn't have this clear yet, either.  To get information and to share your thoughts visit the website here 

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As always, if you have questions or comments, contact me at tara.mcfadden@gmail.com  

And please share these updates with your neighbors!

Best,

Tara

Cochrane Eagle Coverage of my campaign announcement.  In the words of Rhino, "Let it begin!"  (10 points to whoever get's the reference! lol)

Cochrane Eagle Article - - http://www.cochraneeagle.com/article/20130912/COE0801/309129994/-1/coe1/mcfadden-seeks-third-term-on-cochrane-town-council

PRESS RELEASE:  Sept 7, 2013

Councillor Tara McFadden seeking re-election

Councillor Tara McFadden announced she is seeking re-election as Town Councillor for the Town of Cochrane.

“Like others, my husband and I moved to Cochrane seeking a high quality of life for our family.  My time on council has been focused on maintaining and enhancing the quality of life in Cochrane, not only for my family but for everyone’s.  That is work that I want to continue.”

McFadden has a track record as a champion for growth management, economic development and community engagement.  McFadden says, “The successes I’m most proud of include the clean-up and development of the Domtar site, greater engagement with the community, the Sustainabilty Plan and of course the pathway expansions in the East End and Gleneagles.”

One of the projects, McFadden commits to delivering if elected, is the new Aquatic Centre.  “Like other families, I want to have my kids in swim lessons, a bigger lap pool and the warm water therapy open for those who need it.  Cochrane has clearly indicated that this is a priority.”

McFadden includes Political Accountability, Environmental Stewardship, Financial Management and Recreation and Culture on her 2013 Platform.  “Not only do we need to focus on what projects we’re delivering, such as the new pool, curling rink and RCMP station, but we need to focus on how we make decisions.  I’m a firm believer that engaging with the public and creating meaningful ways for our citizens to have input, results in better decisions being made.  Decisions that reflect what Cochrane truly values as a community.  We can go beyond the status quo in finding meaningful ways for citizens to be part of decision making.”

This is McFadden’s second term serving on Town Council and she was first elected in 2007.  McFadden in married with two children and is the Community Engagement Officer with Glenbow Ranch Park Foundation. 

McFadden cites her council updates e-mailed out after council meetings and her use of social media as important tools in connecting with residents and sharing information with the community.

Residents can read McFadden’s platform and council meeting updates on her blog at http://taraincochrane.blogspot.ca.  McFadden also has a Twitter and Facebook account that she uses to connect with Cochrane.

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Contact: Tara McFadden

403-519-9619

tara.mcfadden@gmail.com

Twitter: taramcfadden

Facebook: votetaramcfadden

Blog: taraincochrane.blogspot.ca

TARA

McFadden

for Family, Community and Business

2013 PLATFORM

POLITICAL ACCOUNTABILITY

• Expand Public Involvement in Decision Making

• Enhance Town Communications

• Increase Council Transparency

ENVIRONMENTAL STEWARDSHIP

• Conserve our Green Spaces&Wetlands

• Promote Smart Growth

• Manage ourWater Responsibily

FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT

• Implement the 10 Year Financial Plan

• Attract Heath&Knowledge Based Businesses

• Maintain Affordable Taxes

RECREATION AND CULTURE

• Build the NewAquatic Centre

• Expand our Pathways

• Support Arts&Culture