WATCH ABOVE: As Carolyn Kury de Castillo reports, town officials hope the upgrade will bring more clout with the province and more businesses setting up shop in Chestermere.
CALGARY- It started as a resort community on the edge of a booming city but now Chestermere is days away from becoming a city itself.
The Honourable Minister of Municipal Affairs Diana McQueen announced that Chestermere would become Canada’s newest city as of January 1, 2015.
When Chestermere became a town twenty years ago, there were just a thousand people living around the lake. Now it’s bulged to over 17,000 and is about to become a city.
Obtaining city status is a historic milestone for the community.
Once the title is official, Chestermere will be the 14th largest city in the province and the only one that began as a summer village.
“The mindset seems to be more than town. A city is larger and it’s more vibrant, there’s growth,” Christopher Steeves, Chestermere’s Deputy Mayor said.
The status change is a change in “name” only, there’s no impact on taxes or government.
What town officials hope is for more clout with the province and more businesses setting up shop. People who live in Chestermere say the town is lacking in shopping, recreation centres and cultural facilities.
“We don’t have much in the way of restaurants, we need more family friendly type of facilities and venues things we can all go out to be a part of,” Resident Ally Christie said.
“There’s not really the type of facilities like play centres or indoor facilities that we can go to unless you are part of hockey or things like that. There’s no swimming pools.”
The town is looking into creating some kind of recreation centre, but at this point not sure how to pay for it.
“We are looking at that as well we have a facility assessment plan in place. We’ve been talking to our residents over the years for what their needs are and how they want to address them,” Deputy Mayor Steeves said. “We have a lot of interest in a new facility but the residents have asked us to find a way to pay for it without doing it by a tax increase.”
With no business tax, excellent transportation access, and a market excited for more shopping and services, Chestermere is eager to welcome new businesses to share in the community’s success.
Some people are all for the name change, as long as it brings with it more chances to shop and play “here” rather than go to big city next door.
“If things are accessible in Chestermere, I would definitely shop here instead of going to Calgary. The longer I’m in the country, the less I really want to drive all the way in,” Diane McEwan said.
A municipality needs to have over 10,000 residents to become a city.
Other Calgary area towns like Okotoks, High River and Cochrane are all eligible to leave the town status behind.
Already the fastest growing community in Alberta, Chestermere’s rapid evolution from cottage escape to thriving city is a testament to the popularity of its lakeside lifestyle.
Chestermere officials believe that becoming Alberta’s 18th city is a natural step forward for the community and will ensure Chestermere can retain its signature lakeside character while gaining more recognition in the province. .
The celebration for the achievement of city status will be held at the community’s annual Winterfest celebration on January 24th, 2015. More details about the celebration will be posted at the town’s website in the New Year.
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