Wants and needs…is there a difference between the two? Sure there is, but they are also reliant on each other more than some realize.
Wants and needs…is there a difference between the two? Sure there is, but they are also reliant on each other more than some realize.
With the approval of construction to commence on a new aquatic/curling facility in 2015 with a price tag of $45 million attached to it, there has been a lot of talk of what Cochrane ‘wants' and what it ‘needs.'
Are there any municipalities out there that don't need anything? Very doubtful. There will always be another need waiting in the wings after one is checked off the list…that will never change.
So those advocating for ensuring that all of Cochrane's needs be met prior to approving any of its wants will forever have an argument, one that would result in the wants constantly being put on the backburner.
This is not to say that Cochrane does not have some vital ‘needs' currently starring the community down - roads, business growth, necessary infrastructure like the RCMP station and a bridge connecting Riversong/River Heights with the core of the community. But, according to the town, these issues are being addressed under the same timeline they have always been, and the approval of the new pool does not in any way change or delay those ‘needs.'
Think of your own life and take a moment to look around your house and evaluate what you have spent your money on in the past few years. Do you only spend your money on things you ‘need' in your life to survive and function, or have you bought a new car, TV, decorations for your home, a new bed because the old one just wouldn't do, a new smartphone, a vacation, or a new stainless steel fridge because the white one was just so ugly?
Our wants make our needs worthwhile. If the town were to simply bump our needs up the priority list and never really provide any of the community's wants, why would anyone want to live here? Would you want to move to a town where there are no services like an aquatic centre, community kitchen, library, outdoor green space, recreation facility, indoor and outdoor sports fields, arts and cultural facilities (a.k.a. an arts centre) or ice surfaces for hockey or curling?
All of these ‘wants' that most of us purchase on a regular basis does something very similar to what the new pool/curling facility will do for Cochrane as a whole - they increase our quality of life, making us happier and more fulfilled. They increase the value of our community and make it a desirable place to live, much like upgrading your home with wants increases its value and makes it a place others would want to purchase, and as long as you don't ignore what it may need, there is nothing wrong with keeping on top of those wants at the same time.
It's been said far too often in our newspapers and around town - Cochrane is a rapidly growing community, and it struggles to keep a handle on its ‘small-town feel' and maintain, not just an identity, but one it can be proud of.
One of the keywords many associate with Cochrane when asked to describe the community is family…this is a place where families love to call home. And why do you think that is? Because it has all of its needs accomplished? No. Because it provides what it can to people to enjoy a quality of life, and to do that, it must balance what it needs with what it wants.
Those who feel the same as councillor Morgan Nagel - who is against the new pool/curling facility and wants our needs addressed first - do not deserve to be criticized for their position on the matter, as it is a valid argument, but it's also an easy, risk-free stance to take. Considering Cochrane's needs remain on the radar and are to be addressed during the same timeframe as before, trepidation over a $45 million project (though understandable) should not deter from its moving forward.
This facility will service a large portion of the Cochrane and area population, and, if one were to compare it to Canmore's Elevation Place, which opened recently, its probability of success is high.
Elevation Place exceeded expectations since opening a year ago this past June, recapturing 53 per cent of its costs, compared to the predicted 49 per cent. The first five months of 2014 revealed a cost recovery of 69 per cent, and nearly one third of Canmore's permanent population have purchased a membership for the facility, which cost $39 million to build.
Here's hoping Cochrane's has the same success.
