Rocky View County Couns. Crystal Kissel and Kevin Hanson delivered a joint motion at June 12 council to take the Cochrane & District Ag Society lands off the county's disposal list and discuss whether the sale of the 146-acre parcel is in the best interests of residents. The motion will return to county council for debate on July 10, where a public meeting on the matter that has caused a rift among those vested in the multi-user space who believe the society should remain where it is versus move to another location before its lease expires in 2025. "I would like to hit the reset button - to engage the public and make a plan as to how move forward," said Kissel, stressing that eight of the nine county councillors are at the beginning of their first terms and something of this significance should afford the new team a fresh look. "The Municipal Government Act now mandates us to provide recreational spaces ... my biggest fear is they (the Ag Society) could end up with nowhere to go." Members of the public have expressed concern at what could happen to not only the stability of the society's future in the event of a move, but the possibility of residential development on the site. In the May 31 edition of the Eagle, Ag Society president Justin Burwash said that he "doesn't want the Ag Society to be a pawn in an anti-development or land preservation cause" - indicating it would appear that moving the Ag Society to another site would be the most cost-effective option. The current site poses “significant” challenges for the society, with a price tag more than double the cost of building on a new site. Barriers include water and wastewater infrastructure, which come with a hefty off-site levy cost of $10 million, as well as costs of moving ground to work the infrastructure in around the pipelines for a total cost to implement their 120-acre conceptual plan of $33 million. Should the facility reconstruct on a new site, with existing water and wastewater infrastructure built-in, the cost would be around $16 million. Kissel and Hanson's motion pointed to concerns with the Ag Society's business plan that outlines the estimated costs to move versus staying. It also points to a lack of conclusions that have come out of numerous needs studies on the site. The motion would look to improved public engagement to develop a better picture of what the community wants. Burwash has indicated the 160-acre site the Town of Cochrane is annexing from the county north of Heritage Hills - of which roughly 30 acres would be used for a future high school - could be an ideal relocation site. Mayor Jeff Genung said he is interested to see how the county will proceed adding the Town of Cochrane "supports the current land use on the Ag Society lands" (public service). Genung has directed Burwash to present the society's plans to accommodate not only the Ag Society user groups, but other groups with more ball diamonds, soccer and rugby fields and another campground. In the nearly two years since the county put the Ag Society lands up for sale, no suitable bids have come forward.
