Every spring town council and administration sits down and reviews the Town of Cochrane’s 10-Year Financial Plan. This is something we have been doing for the last four years.
At this strategic planning session we evaluate where we are at in our capital projects, discuss what has changed in the last year and make modifications where required.
These sessions focus largely on what the community wants and needs are and how we can provide these services to our residents.
We discuss the timing of projects as well as affordability and funding.
Currently, we have $228 million of capital projects over the next 10 years, $110 million of that designated for roads. One thing that remains constant at these sessions is that timelines and priorities change. It is important to take a look at the big picture and ensure that we are providing what we need, while at the same time keeping it affordable.
A good example of this is our two upcoming projects, the RCMP station and the aquatic/curling multi-sport centre addition to the Spray Lake Sawmills Family Sports Centre.
The current RCMP station is too small and getting harder to work out of because of the cramped quarters and the current pool and curling rink are housed in very old buildings which cost us more and more to operate each year.
Fortunately, through creative design and a lot of hard work, both of these projects are designed to be more environmentally friendly with the goal of full cost recovery so we do not need tax dollars to operate them (essentially the model Spray Lake Sawmills Family Sports Centre runs on now).
There has been a lot of discussion about falling oil prices and what that means for all of our upcoming projects. The worst thing we could do as a council is to push the panic button.
What we will do is see what comes down in the provincial budget, go into our 10-year financial planning sessions and make adjustments where required.
There are too many variables and alternatives to discuss in this small article, but rest assured, working with the town administrative team and feedback from the community, there are always options.
Please don’t hesitate to contact me at any time if you have questions. I also post updates on my web page at jefftoews.ca.
