Living near a big city, but with more affordably-priced housing and a more intimate, small-town feel is often what draws people to settle in communities near Calgary, like Okotoks, Airdrie, or Cochrane, Alta.
Community is at front and centre for the mayors participating in Mayors Day on 770 CHQR on Tuesday, May 29.
“Our community is at a pivotal juncture,” says Cochrane Mayor Jeff Genung, “moving from a small town to a larger town and trying to maintain a friendly, small-town feeling.”
In just over a decade, Cochrane has nearly doubled its population to 26,320 in 2017, up from 13,760 in 2006, according to federal and municipal censuses.
Originally the home of the Cochrane Ranche, named after rancher Matthew Henry Cochrane, the town of Cochrane sits northeast of Calgary on Hwy 1A, on the banks of the Bow River.
“The best thing is the location,” says the mayor of the town to the northeast of Calgary. “At least that’s it on the surface. But when you dig a little deeper, you will find that Cochrane is different.”
The difference, Genung insists, is a sense of community.
“Cochrane is a vibrant community, where there is always something going on, where people feel connected to the community and to each other.”
When asked about a hidden secret about Cochrane, Genung plays coy, saying, “You have to live here to know.”
LISTEN: Cochrane Mayor Jeff Genung joins Angela Kokott to explore some of the traffic challenges associated with a growing town.
North of Calgary on the Queen Elizabeth II Highway sits Airdie, another community that has seen precipitous population growth. Airdrie and Cochrane are among the five fastest-grown municipalities in Canada. Since 2006, Airdrie has averaged more than seven per cent population growth per year, rising to nearly 65,000 from just over 29,000 people, according to the city’s website.
Healthcare, infrastructure, and property crime all weigh on the mind of Airdrie Mayor Peter Brown.
“Property crime would be listed as the top issue,” Brown said. “This will come as no surprise as we are feeling the same growing pains as any larger community.”
But Brown said the RCMP have been instrumental in helping keep the community secure.
“The RCMP are aware and have employed techniques and tactics to combat this issue. RCMP continue to educate on ensuring vehicles are locked and secured, as well as residential doors at all times.”
Despite the appearances of a bedroom community, Brown said Airdrie’s arts and culture scene is the city’s best-kept secret.
LISTEN: Airdrie Mayor Peter Brown discusses serving his citizens in areas like getting more accessible healthcare
Immediately south of Calgary, situated between Highways 2 and 2A and on the Sheep River is the town of Okotoks.
Okotoks gets its name from the Blackfoot word for “rock,” probably referring to Big Rock, a large glacial erratic, which sits seven kilometres west of the town. Big Rock was used as a landmark for First Nations to find the river crossing at Sheep River.
Even with being on the banks of Sheep River, securing a long-term water supply is the biggest challenge facing Okotoks.
“We have adequate water for 3-4 years of growth, but we desperately need a water pipeline to ensure a stable water source that can accommodate growth beyond that,” says Okotoks Mayor Bill Robertson. “Okotoks’ current business growth and economic climate is still thriving; however, given our water challenges, this will ultimately be negatively affected.”
LISTEN: Okotoks Mayor Bill Robertson joins Danielle Smith to discuss why a water pipeline is the most pressing issue for the growth of the town.
Okotoks, like communities in the Calgary-area, has seen growth in the last decade, to the point that the town annexed 1,950 hectares of surrounding MD of Foothills as part of a 60-year land supply.
Robertson says Okotoks continues to enjoy low crime rates, but annexation has opened up a whole new set of challenges in terms of crime prevention.
“Much like other communities, we have experienced a slight increase in theft crimes, such as automobile break-ins, since the economic downturn. Also, with our recent annexation, the Town is now responsible for both urban and rural area crime prevention so we are concerned about the increase in rural crime over the last several years.”
Robertson says Okotoks could use more funding from the province of Alberta.
“The province meets core levels of funding through the Municipal Sustainability Initiative, a basic level of funding, and has committed to maintaining this until 2021 through legislation,” Robertson says. “However, they have not provided Okotoks with the necessary funding to secure a long-term, stable source of water for our community. Funding for water has been an issue for over 12 years and the province is simply not moving quickly enough in committing to a long term solution.”
Cochrane Mayor Jeff Genung agrees that long-term funding would be ideal for his town.
“What we really need is a long-term, dependable funding source. We are concerned with the legalization of cannabis that we will see increased costs to policing and municipal enforcement. It would be appreciated if the province would share revenues from cannabis to help offset these costs.”