The future looks bright.
That is what Town of Barrhead mayor Dave McKenzie told the Barrhead Leader during an interview where he reflected on some of the wins and challenges the community faced in 2019 and what lies ahead for 2020.
And although the Barrhead Regional Aquatics Centre officially opened in the summer of 2017, he included it among the bright spots of the past year.McKenzie said the facility has been in operation for more than a year and not only has it survived the awkward initial opening phase, it has become a regional asset.
McKenzie used the example of the North Edmonton Swim Club hosting its annual Father’s Day Swim Meet at the facility.
“Not only because of its amenities but because of our staff and how efficiently it is run,” he said.
One of the amenities the swim club noted it especially appreciated was access to the Charles Godberson Rotary Room as well as the ice rink next door.
The extra space the Agrena provided allowed the more than 200 competitors and their entourages an area to relax when they were not competing. The North Edmonton Swim Club plans to host the swim meet in Barrhead again this spring.
McKenzie noted the event was a mini-boon to the town’s economy.
“From what I heard, that weekend there wasn’t a [motel] room to be had and the restaurants did a booming business,” he said.
Another item on the positive side of the ledger in 2019 was council and administration's efforts to improve the relationship with its municipal neighbours, most notably the County of Barrhead.
In recent years the relationship between the two has been strained due to a disagreement over recreational funding.
However, after the municipalities agreed to a 10-year rec agreement, in large part due to Alberta Municipal Affairs mandated arbitrator in November 2017, relations between the two have continued to improve.
“We [town council and municipal office] have worked hard to improve all our relationships,” he said, emphasizing the efforts they have made with their county counterparts. “We have had some great conversations and there is a lot of collaboration going on between the two municipalities.”
McKenzie added the municipality has also put in considerable effort in improving communication with the business community through the Barrhead and District Chamber of Commerce, as well as the Barrhead Merchants’ Association.
McKenzie said they have also increased their efforts to improve the relationship between themselves and the Pembina Hills School Division (PHSD).
“I don’t know how much dialogue there was in the past, but there is a lot now,” he said. “They are certainly a good partner to have at the table when it comes to marketing our community.”
Marketing is also one of the ways McKenzie said a local government can help with economic development and is one of the reasons he is so excited about the municipality’s rebranding exercise.
In June, the town entered into a contract with Vancouver-based Ion Brand Design to come up with a new logo.
“It is going to lend consistency in how we market the community and give us a template and toolbox as far as advertising events in the community by giving [organizations] a bigger base to draw people from outside the community,” he said. “We have some pretty amazing organizations that put on some tremendous events and activities and some of the tools as the result of this rebranding will make an impact and showcase our community.”
McKenzie is also hopeful 2020 will be the year development will start on what is commonly referred to as the Schneider-Schmigelski lands.
In 2011, the town purchased a five-acre parcel of land for $175,000, near the Barrhead Continuing Care Centre, for the expressed purpose of building the aquatics centre.
However, when the town decided to build the swimming pool on the old site in 2015, council created an area structure plan to commercially develop the parcel as well as the adjacent nine-acre parcel, which they purchased from the Schneider-Schmigelski family for $318,500 in October 2017.
A year later, council entered into an agreement with Colliers Project Leaders to move forward on an Expression of Interest on the lands.
“Getting our name out there and letting people know that Barrhead is seriously open to business,” he said.
McKenzie added marketing the community is a joint effort, noting the efforts the County of Barrhead has made in promoting its Kiel Industrial Park.
Future challenges
As for challenges, he said, the town like all communities will have to deal with the reality of shrinking provincial revenue.
As part of the 2019 provincial budget, the government announced its plan to cut the amount of money it gives municipalities through the Municipal Sustainability Initiative (MSI) by nine per cent by 2023.
“Administration is still dissecting it. Our staff is very good at finding what funding there is available but it will have an impact,” he said. “Our infrastructure has to be maintained and the public works and parks and recreation departments have done an outstanding job getting the most longevity out of our hard features as they can.”
The town also plans to find funding to replace the Blue Heron Boardwalk.
The popular attraction was closed in early October after the town received an engineering report from Associated Engineering recommending its closure and demolition.
The report stated that the boardwalk did not meet the 2014 Alberta Code and that due to the “significant number of elements that are under-designed,” the firm recommended that the structure be closed and be “demolished as soon as possible.”
McKenzie said the plan is to replace the boardwalk portion of the trail that borders the Paddle River with a ground-level walking trail that will access raised observation deck(s).
In addition to being more cost-effective having a ground-level walking trail will allow for a more accessible trail for those with mobility challenges.
In November, the Rotary Club suggested they would be willing to help fund the project to upwards of $50,000. McKenzie noted administration is still in talks with the service organization.
Another funding challenge is the new provincial requirement municipalities under 5,000 as well as counties and municipalities contribute towards their policing costs. In 2020, municipalities will have to contribute 10 per cent. Their share will rise every year until it reaches 30 per cent of policing costs by 2023. The funds, in part, will be used to add 200 additional civilian support workers and 300 RCMP officers.
In the first two years, the impact will be relatively minor, McKenzie noted at about $20,000 by years four and five the town will be expected to chip in $100,000.
Although the province only held limited consultations with the municipalities before announcing their plan, McKenzie said he had an inkling of what was going to happen.
“I had the opportunity to sit on the [Alberta Urban Municipalities] working group,” he said.
The purpose of the group was to make recommendations to the government for potential changes to the province’s Police Act. The group was formed before the last provincial election.
As part of discussions from this group questioning potential changes to the police funding model, only two of about 20 municipalities represented on the committee did not already contribute towards policing.
“They felt there was a misbalance of the amount they had to pay for policing knowing that their detachments or departments were being used to supplement policing required in rural areas,” he said.
And although the change will cause some hardship to rural municipalities, McKenzie added it is something they have gone through before as there was a time that all communities, regardless of size, contributed towards policing.
Despite these challenges, McKenzie said Barrhead faces a bright future.
“There are always going to be challenges but we have a lot to work with,” he said. “We have an amazing community and I want to see us showcase it a lot more.”
