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