The closure of the Kinsmen Aquatic Centre has shocked many people into thinking about the direction of their community. It has also trained a fierce spotlight on Barrhead’s economy and potential to expand. Here, the Leader talks to the president of Steele Tech Fabrication who has invested his life in Barrhead amid high hopes of generating growth.
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Sean Steele has no doubt what Barrhead must do to prosper.
It must be forward-thinking. It must market itself effectively. And it must stop seeing itself as a seniors’ town.
The town, says Steele, can be a good place for a young person to set up business and raise a family.
With the right attitude, he adds, the community can even construct a new pool for under $15 million – using local contractors.
“I think Barrhead has a good future,” he says. “There’s all kinds of room for business in town if we want it.”
Not only is Steele a straight talker, he is also someone prepared to put his money where his mouth is.
In 2010 he and his father invested $2 million in a 40-acre site off Highway 33. Their plan was – and is – to create a booming business park towards the north of Barrhead. Sixteen commercial 1.08 to 2.98 acre lots are available for sale or lease, ranging in price from $194,000 to $655,600.
“If someone puts a deposit down on a parcel of land, we will put the water and sewer in,” Steele says.
Recently the site attracted interest from Boston Pizza, something confirmed by the Town’s Chief Administrative Officer Martin Taylor last week.
Talks with the Canadian restaurant giant coming are ongoing.
Steele says oil firms are also thinking of setting up modules at his park. Pre-fabricated buildings up to 100 feet long, the modules would probably take up 20 acres.
Of course, these discussions might lead nowhere. Talk costs nothing; buying or leasing a lot, then developing it, is a different proposition.
Steele has been disappointed before. Developers, including a huge hotel company, have pulled out very late in negotiations.
Yet he believes if one business is prepared to set up shop, then another is likely to follow.
“The lots will sell eventually,” he says.
He has a long-term vision of his park bustling with business, including a gas station, a strip mall or top quality restaurant. Maybe he will construct a building himself and lease out bays.
Born in B.C., Steele came to Barrhead as a child and has made a life here.
He is proof that a young entrepreneur can thrive in the town.
Many will know him as president and board member of Steele Tech Fabrication Inc. Many will also know his father, Ray, whose business acumen he inherited. Ray’s resume includes building a sawmill out of town.
Steele Tech Fabrication was established in 1997 and now employs 18 people. It does work all over Canada, including Yellowknife and B.C. Nearer home, it built part of Barrhead Co-op more than a decade ago, and helped construct the Westlock Rotary Spirit Centre.
Four years ago, Steele’s hopes of filling up his business park became snagged in reams of red tape as he tried to get Alberta Transportation approval for access to the highway.
Engineering had to be done, and he was required to provide an area structure and drawings of services. There was also a lengthy issue over a caveat.
It took him until 2011 to get approval, but by then the economy had nosedived, prompting two prospective developers who had placed deposits on land to back out.
“If I had started about a year earlier, it would have been different,” Steele says. “There would have been a hotel on the land.”
Three years ago he approached Barrhead Town Council about getting water and sewer to the property line, a project expected to cost about $500,000.
The response dismayed him. Nevertheless, he hopes a new council will be more sympathetic.
Two weeks ago he met Barrhead Mayor Gerry St. Pierre. Another meeting was scheduled for yesterday.
“We want them to get water and sewer to property line,” says Steele. “I will put water and sewer in on the lots.”
Steele is wary about raising public hopes about Boston Pizza coming.
“We are still talking, but it’s a ways off,” he says.
The restaurant wants a wider service road. It is also asking for a second approach to the highway for trucks and trailers – something which is doable, says Steele, but requires Alberta Transportation approval. Hopefully, he adds, the Town can pull some strings.
Steele says Barrhead has to capitalize on its potential as a place to do business.
For example, comparable lots in Edmonton and Grande Prairie are almost double the price of those at his business park.
“Companies in Edmonton, like a trucking company or warehouse company, could set up shop in Barrhead if the town is promoted properly,” he says. “It’s easy to do business here. You can run a business anywhere.”
Steele says the broader economy in Alberta is good.
“There’s lots of work out there,” he says. “The economy is good, everybody is busy, just not Barrhead.
“Hopefully, our Town council does want growth.
“A lot of people think this is a seniors’ town, but it is not.
“There are a lot of people with young kids.”
Steele said closing the pool was a backward step.
“The Town should have had one built before they closed it. They should have some foresight,” he says.
“I think closure will affect the economy here. You’ve already got people going to Westlock.”
Steele says Barrhead needs to maintain its infrastructure to keep young families in town.
“We have got to look forwards, not backwards,” he says.
Last Thursday, St. Pierre confirmed he was in talks with Steele.
He said the Town could not put in water and sewer services without being sure of recovering the costs.
St. Pierre said the municipality could act as facilitators for economic development, but did not have a responsibility to intervene directly in private business ventures.
“The bottom line is we are making steps to encourage development,” he said.
Realtor Don Baron, who works for Sunnyside Realty Ltd, said the market for residential and commercial properties was currently stagnant.
This was underlined by the low response to the sale of Beaver Brook lots.
Asked about Barrhead’s potential for growth, Baron said Barrhead had enjoyed several economic upswings over the last 35 years – 1979-80, 1996, and the late 1990s and early 200s.
However, Barrhead’s location and lack of industry meant comparisons with surrounding communities were difficult to make, he said. For instance, Barrhead did not benefit from oil, gas and forestry like Whitecourt.
What the town did offer was a safe and attractive environment. It was a great place to retire.
“I think these are the things we should be promoting,” said Baron.
Meanwhile, the Town of Barrhead has begun work on an in-depth strategy plan, plotting the direction of the community over the next four years.
A wide range of issues – including economic development – will be examined, goals and priorities set.
As part of the process, an Edmonton-based facilitator Russ Farmer has been hired to consult with councillors and administrative staff.
CAO Martin Taylor said the plan would probably be ready by mid-April.
It will be a public document once approved by council.
Economic growth is also a primary concern with the County of Barrhead.
Reeve Bill Lee said balanced growth was the County’s objective.
“We need to have continual growth,” he said.
“But we can’t do it too fast. We have to ensure our infrastructure can keep up.”
Lee said Barrhead had a lot of strengths which could appeal to businesses and families thinking of relocating here.
A low crime rate was a huge asset, he said, so too its 24-hour grocery store.
“We are also only a one-hour drive away from Edmonton and an international airport,” he said.
