Council approved an increase of $71,235 to develop a transportation master plan; the total cost of the plan has increased from $180,000 to $251,235 due to an increase in scope.
The additional funds would come out of the planning operating reserve; the initial $180,000 came from a Municipal Sustainability Initiative operating grant, approved by council in 2013.
Kicked off last fall with Urban Systems as the lead project consultant, the comprehensive study looks to plan for the town’s future transportation network over the next two decades — including vehicles, pedestrians, bicycles and future transit systems.
Expanding the scope of the project would include surveys at five key intersections, including Hwy 22 and Sunset Blvd; Hwy 22 and Hwy 1A; Hwy 22 and Griffin Rd.; Hwy 22 and James Walker Trail/Fireside Gate; and Hwy 1A and Centre Ave.
It would also include an enhanced communication and engagement strategy.
As issues of transportation and traffic congestion remain a hot topic for council, councillor Mary Lou Davis advocated for more information to share with Cochranites.
Councillor Jeff Toews expressed concern that the sum requested wasn’t included in the original budget, while councillor Morgan Nagel emphasized that Cochranites clearly showed in the 2013 municipal election that they are not prepared to reopen the transit debate.
Presenter Jared Kassel, manager of development for the town, assured that this was not reopening the transit debate and that public transit is only one aspect of the transportation master plan.
The coming months would see a number of stakeholder meetings and public workshops to seek input.
Council chose to distribute funds to all applicants to its community grants program who met the application criteria and made an exception for the Cochrane High School iGem Project.
The project did not meet the criteria as it was ‘educational’ rather than a ‘community’ project, but council had made a previous decision to grant the project $2,000 and after deliberation, Mayor Ivan Brooker chalked it up to a learning lesson; three additional applications were not approved based on their failure to meet the requirements as community initiatives.
The Nakoda Pickin’ Party and Music Jam Society was granted the $600 they had requested for their annual Pickin’ Party, and another 14 community project applications were each granted $1,750 of the $2,000 requested.
The town normally budgets $25,000 annually for their community grants program, with a $2,000 cap on each application; leftover funds from previous years are kept in a fund to go toward circumstances such as this.
Recipients included the Cochrane Community Gardens Society, Cochrane Search & Rescue, Cochrane Santa Claus Parade Committee, Cochrane Light-Up Committee, Seniors for Kids Society, Boys and Girls Club of Cochrane and Area, Glenbow Ranch Park Foundation, Cochrane Historical Archival Preservation Society, Arts and Culture Foundation of Cochrane, Sport 4 Life Cochrane Association, Cochrane and Area Events Society (for WinterFest, SummerFest and the Labour Day Parade) and Bow Valley Habitat Development.
Gerry Murphy, manager of parks and open spaces for the town, presented a report to council on the 2014 pilot project ‘Weed Pull for Cash’.
The project will soon be advertising for local non-profit organizations to pull weeds under the guidance of the town’s parks department, earning $300 for their organizations.
While the project is seen as an ‘innovative and efficient way to assist the town in meeting the Provincial Weed Control Act to control or destroy noxious weeds on town-owned lands, the program ‘will not replace the need to treat weeds with pesticides, but if successful, this program will provide an alternative to spraying in some of the town parks and open spaces…’
The approved budget has $1,200 set aside for the pilot project; if successful, town parks would seek additional funds in the 2015 parks and open spaces budget to expand the project, which was coined by parks and open spaces operator Angie Basha.
Council unanimously accepted all three readings of Bylaw 15/2014, to amend the Procedural Bylaw 01/2011 so that how councillors vote in the future will now be reflected in the town minutes.
Councillor Nagel put the notice of motion forward at the May 12 council meeting.
