Wee Jackie weighs in
by Jack Tennant
Congratulations to all the folks involved in the Cochrane and Area Humane Society’s huge garage sale April 27.
It was a tremendous success and there were a couple of pleasant surprises.
First, there was no hassle over garage sale signs even though there were plenty of them. Maybe the bylaw officers went fishing. It was good to see a little common sense in that department.
Surely you recall the hassle folks have had in town in the past with signs advertising their garage sales. In the past year dozens of signs have been seized as bylaw officers fulfill their duties.
One of the reasons given for the seizures was the garage sale sign distracted drivers and could cause accidents.
Well, I’m pleased to report that even with more than 70 garage sales in town, and signs with everything from brilliantly bright paper to balloons, there was not one report of an accident caused by a distracted garage sale driver. Maybe we don’t need a bylaw forbidding signs. (more…)
A Cochrane man accused in the driving death of five people can stay with his family, a judge ruled April 28.
Queen’s Bench Justice Peter Clark denied an appeal to revoke Daniel Tschetter’s bail. Clark also ruled that he cannot operate heavy machinery.
Tschetter faces five counts of manslaughter, and seven other charges, in connection with a Dec. 7 crash that killed five people in Calgary.
Icy conditions are believed to have caused an accident on Highway 1A near the east entrance to GlenEagles that closed the road April 24.
An eastbound driver lost control on the ice, colliding with a westbound vehicle entering Cochrane.
The driver of the eastbound vehicle had to be transported to hospital.
By Brad Herron
The Eagle
Another hurdle has been crossed in the pursuit of developing the former-Domtar site in Cochrane.
Town council granted Springwood Developments Inc. subdivision approval on the 44-acre site. In return, the town will receive $79,042 and an option to lease, and potentially buy, a one acre parcel on the northwest corner of the site in the middle of town.
During his first term on council during the 1990s, Coun. Ross Watson had to deal with the creosote-contaminated site. Nearly a decade later, the issue is back and Watson said the town has “had this piece of property for far too long.”
With Springwood interested in the property, the bulk of council wasn’t willing to let an opportunity slip by.
The measure passed 6-1, with Mayor Truper McBride in opposition.
The site was divided in two. Lot 8, which encompasses 36.1 acres, including the southeast corner, has been deemed suitable for remediation.
A 8.81-acre strip, which bends eastwards in a crescent shape from the west corner of the site to businesses on Charlesworth Avenue, and contains a plume of contaminated groundwater, has been deemed a Special Management Area (SMA) and will not be developed or remediated. It will likely be paved over and integrated into the site.
This area will continue to be owned by Cochrane Properties Ltd. and leased to Springwood at a nominal rent. Springwood will then monitor the contamination and take on the water treatment responsibilities in the future.
A document in council’s package showed Springwood has an option to purchase part of the property and lease the SMA through a purchase, sale and lease agreement at a price of $600,000. Springwood will incur environmental liability insurance at a cost of about $750,000 to $1 million on the SMA, which will underwrite Domtar’s indemnity against future damages arising from the contamination.
In addition, the town is owed $483,853 in property tax that will be paid as a condition of subdivision.
Remediation is expected to be completed within two years, according to Bill Butler, president of Springwood. Contaminated soil on the site is proposed to be remediated by either onsite consolidation and partial bio-remediation, which will cost between $6 million and $6.5 million, or by digging the soil and transporting it offsite, which will cost $12 million to $15 million.
A remedial action plan has not been approved by Alberta Environment.
Under the Municipal Government Act, municipalities are entitled to up to 10 per cent of subdivided land. Accounting for previously deferred reserve lands of 2.3 acres, the town could have taken up to 6.71 acres of reserve land.
This option was quickly dismissed by both Butler and town administration. Butler said if another owner existed on the site, they would be unable to acquire insurance.
Jamie Dugdale, a planner with the town, advised council that owning contaminated property would be an unwise option, as the municipality would be undertaking a huge liability.
With administration recommending taking cash-in-lieu, council relied on an assessment from Altus Group Ltd. which valued the site at $520,000 or about $11,800 per acre. In total, this resulted in the offer of $79,042 to council.
To sweeten the offer, Springwood offered a discounted lease on one acre near the Nan Boothby Memorial Library.
This parcel, after council amended the deal, will be available once the land is remediated. The town will have an option for a 50-year period, with five additional 10-year renewals. As per the agreement, Springwood will lease the land to the town at half of its market value, and the town will have the option to purchase the area at half of market value at any period of the lease. Access will the provided once the land is remediated, which will happen at once, and will not be a staged event.
Roads and public utilities contained within the site will be built and maintained by Springwood and offered to the town through a public easement, to avoid liability for the town. It is currently planned that Centre Avenue will be extended across the railway tracks and onto the site, acting as the main entrance.
With the land currently zoned as a shopping centre district, Springwood may construct a commercial complex to a maximum of 18,500 square feet.
A decision to amend the Downtown Area Redevelopment Plan, the Land Use Bylaw, and Griffin Road Area Redevelopment Plan to allow for this construction was made March 12, 2007.
Discussion of whether to accept Springwood’s offer lasted nearly an hour, as council weighed the potential income from the site, which includes taxes, off-site levies and cash-in-lieu.
One concern was that if council rejected the application, or deferred a decision, Springwood could have taken the application to the un-elected Subdivision and Development Appeal Board, which can issue a binding decision.
Coun. Miles Chester supported the application from the onset, describing it as imperfect, but an opportunity to remove a unsightly blight from downtown Cochrane.
Mayor McBride didn’t agree, and called for council to postpone a decision and schedule a future meeting. After remediation some parcels could be worth as much as $1 million per acre, and with that much at stake, he said the town shouldn’t accept the offer.
“The town needs to be compensated for this major piece of downtown,” the mayor said.
Admitting that the monetary offer was a drop in the bucket, Coun. Ivan Davies said it was time to do something.
“I would like to see more (compensation) and on the other hand I understand what Springwood Development is doing and I fully support them moving forward with the development,” Davies said.
In an interview April 29, Mayor McBride said council missed a great opportunity. While he supports the ultimate decision, he believes the town deserved the value of mediated land.
“As time goes on, costs of remediation continue to fall, land value continues to go up and certainly the economics continue to change with that. So, us being told that it is this or nothing and it will sit empty for 25 years, I simply don’t buy that and I think that was some fear mongering,” McBride said.
Nathan Boskers, project manager with Springwood, said the company is continuing discussions with Alberta Environment and the Calgary Health Region on a remedial action plan.
Boskers didn’t offer any details about a potential clean-up, saying only that Springwood has “some idea” how it will happen. He is optimistic work will begin “some time this year.”
By Sarah Junkin
The Eagle
Visitors to Cochrane last weekend were likely astonished to note the sheer quantity of garage sales that were taking place in the community — more than 80 in one day.
The Cochrane and Area Humane Society hosted what it billed as “Canada’s largest garage sale” on April 27 by encouraging people to hold a sale at their home and then donate part or all of the proceeds to the society.
According to Tracy Keith, executive director of the society, more than 80 families registered for the event that raised more than $15,000.
“We had hoped the community would get behind this and rally round and that’s what happened,” Keith said, adding the warm weather resulted in some families getting on board at the last minute.
“I think when people saw the busy-ness in the town they went home and tried to get something together,” she said. “The buzz around town was that people were really into it.”
At the end of the day April 27, the Humane Society threw a complimentary party for families to enjoy entertainment, refreshments and to drop off their cash.
Keith said the proceeds will be used to buy equipment for a surgical room and a recovery area of a new animal hospital planned for the shelter on Griffin Industrial Point.
She added she’d like to see the giant garage sale become an annual event because she’s received so much positive feedback.
“The only problem we had was (lack of) signage which some people coming from Calgary said made finding the sales tricky,” she said. “But Cochrane has such strict signage bylaws it’s difficult. Maybe we’ll have some kind of map next time.”
Keith said cash is still trickling in from families and even quite young children.
“Kids really got into it with lemonade stands, and we had three boys selling golf balls they’d collected from around the golf course,” she said. “I think this was really good for the community.”
By Brad Herron
The Eagle
It’s now easier, and cheaper, to use the Nan Boothby Memorial Library.
Instead of the previous library card fee of $20, the new charge is $15 for an adult. The junior fee, for those aged 12-17, is $5, while the charge to seniors, anyone over the age of 55, is $10. A family card costs $20 and $35 for an organization.
Late fees are 10 cents per day, rather than the previous 25 cents, with a maximum fee of $5 per item. If the item is not returned within three months, the replacement cost is charged.
By Sarah Junkin
The Eagle
Some Bow Valley High School students may be feeling a bit of a chill around their ears, but the payback is a $12,000 donation to the Canadian Cancer Society.
The dozen or so students had been fundraising for the event for weeks, and on April 23 they enlisted the help of local stylists to shave their heads or wax their legs.
The event was spearheaded by Grade 10 student Amy Barnett, who said her life has been affected by cancer many times.
“Three years ago my sister shaved her head for the same reason and that kinda inspired me,” she said. Barnett raised more than $8,500 on her own.
“Everyone has been amazing,” she said. “I’ve had lots of support.”
Barnett added she was especially touched by the willingness of local stylists to help out at the event. The shaving took place over the lunch hour, which wasn’t a lot of time, so each participant had to have his or her own stylist.
“I dropped off letters and in three hours I had nine stylists signed up,” she said of the staff at Fringes, Boogaloo Hair Design and the Krystal Kutting Room. “Almost every salon in town volunteered.”
In addition to the students who had their hair shaved off, Cody Proud, Rob Humphreys, Tom Strachan and Erik Hanson had their legs waxed. And as an incentive for students to donate even more cash, teacher John Davidson waxed a leg and Jason Ness consented to have his head shorn.
Davidson said the leadership class chooses a different cause to support each year, but cancer is one that touches almost everyone.
“The kids really got onside with this and it’s a fun thing to watch,” he said, adding the students raised $500 in only two days so that he and Ness would shave their hair.
“It’s amazing what they can do when they’re motivated,” he joked.
The students who shaved their heads are Barnett, Olivia Hares, Kevin McConnach, Tyler Reid, Claire Weinert, Scott Marcial, Tom Strachan, Wyatt Rupert and Trent Warner.
“I’m just glad I was able to get this going,” said Barnett. “At first the idea of losing my hair was scary, but now it feels good to know I’ve done something like this.”
By Brad Herron
The Eagle
A combined position of fire and emergency services (EMS) chief needs to be created and quickly filled, said the consultant auditing Cochrane’s community and protective services division.
Bob Gerst, with Converge Consulting, said after extensive work with the Fire/EMS division, it became obvious that employees saw a lack of leadership and an under-staffed crew.
“They are saying organizationally that something is wrong,” Gerst told council April 28.
Only 39 per cent of family and protective service employees believed the number of staff was sufficient. To this, and other points, Gerst made it clear that the current system does not function well.
“(The problems) are largely there because of history and the soon-to-be leadership gap,” Gerst said.
In the past year, there has been a transition in the organization. A move was made to the larger facility on Griffin Road. Fire Chief Wally Irons announced his impending retirement and key staff resigned their positions.
Remedies are already taking place. Chief Administrative Officer Julian deCocq said the town is currently recruiting potential staff for the hybrid position and permanent staff are being hired in other roles.
Gerst told council employees’ fear of a potential staff shortage may not be unfounded.
“The fear is when two units go out, what if there is a third call?” Gerst asked.
deCocq said plans are in place, but the worry may still be there.
Converge used focus groups, interviews and a survey. A maximum budget of $50,000 was previously set.
Only 52 per cent of zemployees responded to a survey, which irked Coun. Ivan Davies, who called the response “asinine.”
“How can we qualify the percentages you are giving us?” he asked Gerst.
Davies made it clear that he believed the response was pathetic and many of the numbers should be considered flawed and incomplete.
Gerst replied the best surveys are voluntary because there is “not much we can do to force them to respond if they don’t want to” and mandatory surveys are often inaccurate.
By Brad Herron
The Eagle
A man died after he was hit by a car on the Trans-Canada Highway on April 28.
RCMP Sgt. Audrey Robinson said the Morley resident was walking west on the eastbound lanes of the highway when he was struck by a car at about 9:49 p.m. near the Chiniki Gas Bar.
When an officer arrived at the scene, the female driver was on the phone with 911, alerting police she had hit someone. The body of the deceased was found approximately 200 metres west of the stopped vehicle.
Robinson said it was a case of the driver being unable to see the victim until it was too late.
“She was doing what she was supposed to be doing,” she said.
No charges are expected to be laid and the victim’s name is not being released by RCMP. An autopsy is currently underway.
By Brad Herron
The Eagle
By bringing environmental concerns and hard work together, a local committee hopes to improve Big Hill Creek.
For the 13th year, the Cochrane Environmental Action Committee (CEAC) is hosting Branches and Banks, a local initiative to plant trees along Big Hill Creek on May 10.
This year, the group has scaled back the number of trees to be planted along the creek’s edge. Instead of 2,000 small trees, volunteers will be tasked with planting just over 1,000 larger trees.
“That’s one of the things we have learned over the years — you plant the little guys and they get choked by the grass,” said Tim Giese, president of CEAC. “So hopefully, with bigger trees you have to dig a bigger hole, setting the grass back.”
In the past 13 years, 32,000 trees have been planted in town. Tree survival rate fluctuates from year to year, rising as high as 80 per cent and falling as low as 40 per cent.
“What’s neat, is when kids plant a tree and come back a few years later and remember they planted that tree,” Giese said.
A larger focus will be placed on cleaning the waterway and, in effect, “take ownership of the creek.”
It’s been about five years since the group concentrated on cleaning the creek. That year, volunteers pulled several large discarded items from the water, including shopping carts and even a bed spring.
Sponsorship for this event includes funding from the Alberta Stewardship Network in support of Water for Life, the Town of Cochrane, the Bow River Basin Council and Trans Canada Pipelines.
The planting will start about 9 a.m. May 10, and will wrap up with a barbecue at noon.
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