A new executive has been elected to take the helm of the Calgary Regional Partnership during what they say promises to be an exciting year.
Okotoks Mayor Bill Robertson will chair the Calgary Regional Partnership (CRP) again this year, and Patricia Matthews, mayor of Chestermere, will stay on as vice-chair. Calgary Coun. Jim Stevenson remains as executive director at large.
New to the executive are Ivan Brooker, mayor of the Cochrane, in the secretary position, and Turner Valley Coun. Dona Fluter as an executive director.
The five executive members are elected from the board of directors of the CRP, which includes members from each municipality in the partnership.
“I’ve been on the board of directors for 10 years, but I had to make sure I could make the commitment of time to take on an executive role,” Fluter said.
She said it was important to her that a small community was represented on the executive committee.
“It gives us 360-degree vision from the small community, medium and large community perspectives,” said Fluter. “It always brings value to the table.”
Being heavily involved in the transit side of the CRP, Fluter is looking forward to seeing the pilot program of the On-It regional transit system go live in the fall.
She said she also looks forward to seeing what happens with the Growth Management Board (GMB).
“It’s exciting times in terms of moving forward and becoming better and more efficient in all these things we do,” said Fluter.
Robertson agreed, saying this year will be “particularly huge” for the CRP.
Membership is currently voluntary in the partnership, but Municipal Affairs Minister Danielle Larivee will soon announce which municipalities will be mandated into the GMB, he said.
It is expected Calgary, Okotoks, the MD of Foothills and Rocky View County will be part of the GMB, Robertson said, but some regions like Wheatland County and the MD of Big Horn are still up in the air.
Some municipalities that previously withdrew from the CRP, like Canmore, may be mandated back into the GMB, he said.
The core group of the GMB isn’t the only unknown, he said - there’s also the board’s structure.
“The current structure evolved without the rurals, because they withdrew in 2009,” said Robertson. “I expect they will want to have a say in the structure and any executive roles developed.”
He said the GMB could even see a completely different name, if members choose to do so.
In the meantime, Robertson said he is looking forward to tackling the many other initiatives of the CRP, including the regional transit system and an overall transportation network.
The CRP has also been working on a food security plan for the region, he said.
“Right now, we have about four days of food in the region, so if all transportation went down the store supplies would last about four days, and then people would be clawing for food,” said Robertson. “We’re trying to come up with a food security plan to extend that.”
Broadband connectivity and fibre optic networks are also at the forefront of CRP projects, he said, and the partnership is exploring ways to bring high speed connections to the region.
“There are all sorts of initiatives right now,” said Robertson. “With the unknown element of the Growth Management Board it’s going to be an interesting world over the next couple of years.”
